Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is a seven term member of the House of Representatives. For the past three years he has been the Minority Leader of the House.
I admit to not having thought a great deal about Mr. Jeffries’ capabilities in that regard, other than commenting here and there about the bills he tried to get his Democrat colleagues to either support or oppose.
But Matthew Continetti, writing for the Wall Street Journal, has published an article examining/critiquing, Mr. Jeffries, that has given me a far more nuanced view of Mr. Jeffries; most significantly his largely unsuccessful attempts to maintain cohesion, as Democrats rapidly turn from major political party status to being the socialist opposition.
Here is a particularly salient part of Mr. Continetti’s commentary – describing Jeffries’ lack of success in mobilizing all Democrats in his caucus to vote against bring several Republican bills to the House floor:
The real loser was Mr. Jeffries. He was exposed once again as a weak leader in hock to his party’s progressive, anti-Trump base. Since taking the reins of the House Democrats from Nancy Pelosi in 2023, Mr. Jeffries has done little more than act as a thorn in the side of the Republican majority. Otherwise, he’s been a bystander, watching complacently as the Democrats swerved to the left. And now, as expectations build for a Democratic majority, Mr. Jeffries is under increasing pressure to lend his caucus purpose and direction. That hasn’t happened. Instead, his tenure has been a case study in embarrassment and indecision.
Ouch.
And further on, after giving other examples of why he has drawn these conclusions, Continetti says this:
Rather than address the root of the problem—the Democrats’ turn to socialism—Mr. Jeffries lashed out at the very congressmen who offer an alternative to radicalism. This is typical. Mr. Jeffries is chasing after the far-out progressives, the Pramila Jayapals of the world, rather than setting a course for a party that can appeal to every American.
I’m not in love with admitting that someone has thought more carefully about a particular politician than I have and, as a result, made conclusions I did not. But I have to admit that is what happened here.
My (imaginary, I almost never wear one) hat is off Matthew Continetti. His commentary makes all the sense in the world….and is an important part of the explanation for why the Democrat Party has degenerated from mainstream to far left/socialist this quickly.
