Defining a clear line between the progressive and moderate wings of the Democrat Party, the third-highest ranking member of the U.S. House endorsed a primary opponent of frontrunner Nina Turner in Ohio’s 11th District special election.
“What I try to do is demonstrate by precept and example how we are to proceed as a party,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC-06) said after his endorsement of Shontel Brown. “When I spoke out against sloganeering, like ‘Burn, baby, burn’ in the 1960s and ‘defund the police,’ which I think is cutting the throats of the party, I know exactly where my constituents are. They are against that, and I’m against that.”
Turner, an outspoken progressive and former co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential bid, responded cryptically on Twitter after Clyburn’s endorsement.
“Ohio voters know the politics of yesterday are incapable of delivering the change we desperately need,” she said.
My campaign is focused entirely on the issues that matter to working people. Ohio voters know the politics of yesterday are incapable of delivering the change we desperately need.
When I’m elected to Congress, my only special interest will be the people.https://t.co/DD6uDgOU89
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) June 29, 2021
Turner and Brown are two of 13 candidates running to replace Marcia Fudge, who was appointed by President Joe Biden to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The district encompasses Cleveland and is solidly blue. The winner of the August 3 primary will very likely win the general election in November.
Turner has separated herself from the pack as the clear leader in the primary, but questions about her extremism linger.
As The Ohio Star reported, she is closely tied with far-left activist Linda Sarsour, who has been largely drummed out of the public square for her Islamic extremism and anti-Semitism.
The pair have often exchanged mutual admiration on social media, and Turner once hosted Sarsour on her radio program.
“[Turner] is a national treasure. Every time I am in space with her, I wanna fight for justice even harder. She has taught so many of us about self worth. Taught us that we are fighting for what we deserve, not any favors. She inspires me every day,” Sarsour said in 2019.
.@ninaturner is a national treasure. Every time I am in space with her, I wanna fight for justice even harder. She has taught so many of us about self worth. Taught us that we are fighting for what we deserve, not any favors. She inspires me every day. https://t.co/jg9n1CiLpQ
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) July 6, 2019
There is a deepening divide between the moderate and progressive elements of the political left.
The progressive left has put increasing pressure on moderate members of the party in traditionally-red states, like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to vote in favor of their far-left agenda, which could doom the moderate Democrats in their eventual reelection bids.
Recently, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) ordered the moderates in the party to “grow a backbone” and abolish the filibuster, a move that would pave the way for the left to ram any legislation through the U.S. Senate.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
