The Left’s obsession with ideological ‘purity’ is igniting a friendly fire in Boston
Briana Oser
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The Boston chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America proposed a motion on July 4 to expel progressive Massachusetts Rep. Mike Connolly from the organization.
Connolly has co-sponsored 31 progressive bills and is rated an “A+” on the Progressive Massachusetts Legislature Scorecard. But that is not enough for the DSA. In Boston, the more extreme the Left gets, the more it opposes its political representatives.
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The DSA’s expulsion of Connolly is a small piece of a bigger conflict: the infighting between the “center” Left and the far Left. The infighting is mostly sparked by a small but vocal minority vying for ideological “purity.” The demands of this minority have become so intense, they are now dividing the Democratic Party.
We can see these divisions in the DSA’s removal of Connolly and ostracization of other progressive politicians, as well as in the recent uproar over Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s opposition to budget cuts for the police department and veteran services. But some Democrats are warning that the obsession with “purity” could cause problems for the DSA and their fellow members of the far Left.
According to the DSA, one of Connolly’s crimes against ideological “purity” was his support of Democrat Lydia Edwards’s state Senate campaign. But Edwards is a golden example of progressivism: She is the first person of color and the first woman to represent her district. Her campaign goal was to diversify the Senate in order to open up more racial justice conversations. She told local Boston radio station WBUR, “It’s really hard to talk about us being in a racial awakening in the state and not having African Americans in the room or Zoom, you know, to bring a perspective.” The DSA endorsed her when she ran for the Boston City Council. However, because she does not support certain socialist notions such as defunding the police, her progressivism does not reach the DSA’s standards.
Edwards noted the difference between ideological purists and politicians who must consider the good of their citizens: “The ‘let them eat cake’ wing of the Left is so out of touch with the lived struggle of so many people. They will hold their breath for purity and throw a temper tantrum, while they are stably housed, food secure, and healthy.” To her credit, even a racial justice warrior such as Edwards recognizes the instability of political “purity.”
Edwards went so far as to liken the DSA to white supremacists because they seem to “believe they know what is better for BIPOC people.” Her remarks pertained in particular to the progressive movement to defund the police. She said, “I can’t think of a greater way to say, ‘I am white, rich, and privileged. So privileged I can afford to have an arrest record.’”
Wu defended Edwards’s principle of “people over purity.” Her decision to keep the law enforcement and veteran budgets was disputed and despised by some Boston council members. Taking the high road, she told the city council members, “Our budget must be responsive to the needs of our constituents, fiscally responsible, and built on a foundation of effective delivery of City services that are central to our residents’ quality of life.”
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It is hard to find people more progressive than Connolly, Edwards, and Wu. I think they would agree. Some center-left Democrats are questioning the unattainable standards of ideological purists. Liam Kerr, the founder of an organization that promotes center-left policies in order to attract independent voters, told the Boston Globe, “Power and purity are forever at odds, and progressive candidates will always have to choose one.” Purity is an obsession that is bound to cause division.
Regular progressivism is not cutting it anymore for the far Left. To the extremists, conservatives are bigoted and hateful, and even the far Left is dangerously moderate. It is only a period of time until ideologues shove centrists and conservatives into the same camp in their fight for “pure” politics, causing an irreconcilable division in the Democratic Party.
Briana Oser is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.