Voters beware: Centrist promises often mask a radical agenda

The “moderate Democrat” is like the tooth fairy — a feel-good fantasy you want to believe in but that doesn’t really exist.

Many reasonable people got excited when Rep. Seth Moulton’s post-election comments appeared in the New York Times, in which the Massachusetts Democrat and father of “two little girls” said he didn’t want them “getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete.”

Moderate Democrats are a relic of the past. A Tom Daschle or Joe Crowley could never get elected under today’s radicalized Democratic umbrella.

Yet for merely suggesting that Democrats should shift their messaging on transgenderism, Moulton drew swift condemnation, with Steve Kerrigan, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, strongly rebuking the congressman’s remarks.

But the truth is that Moulton is no level-headed classical liberal. He’s a pro-choice, pro-gun-control, pro-open-borders climate-change alarmist. He gets a lower score from the conservative Heritage Foundation than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

Even so, Moulton was pilloried because admission to the liberal sanctum demands absolute ideological purity.

Similarly, laying the groundwork for a 2026 gubernatorial run, Bronx-area Rep. Ritchie Torres recently branded New York Governor Kathy Hochul as the “new Joe Biden.” He talks about her “failed leadership” but not her policies. Indeed, he says, “She’s well-intentioned but ineffective.”

The young lawmaker is merely masquerading as a moderate. This is a politically shrewd yet deceptive approach. It was only in 2022 when Torres supported granting citizenship and health care to all undocumented immigrants — a radical policy that is dangerous for all Americans.

Moderate Democrats are a relic of the past. A Tom Daschle or Joe Crowley could never get elected under today’s radicalized Democratic umbrella.

Take Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a Jewish liberal darling who consistently touts his pro-Israel credentials when it’s politically expedient. He advanced Biden’s pressure campaign against Israel back in April over concerns about how “Israel has executed aspects of this war.”

And when lawmakers professing to be friends of Israel aren’t voting like far-left anti-Semites, they’re defending them.

Last year’s vote calling for the ouster of Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee fell along party lines, with House Democrats, including Gottheimer and Torres, choosing to protect the Jew-hating politician.

No matter what these so-called moderates say, today’s Democratic Party has no space for tempered governance. Ultimately, the priority will always be to harness the party energy that still resides with progressives.

In the past, Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) declared his support for the Jewish state at major pro-Israel conferences held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Today, Markey consistently votes to block to block arms sales to Israel during its war against genocidal terrorists.

But for voters, it’s better to know the truth.

A far-left progressive is a wolf in wolf’s clothing. A politician posturing as a centrist Democrat is merely a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

However twisted and abhorrent the policies may be, knowing what to expect from radical Rashida Tlaib offers more comfort than having hopes dashed by a squeamish Chuck Schumer. As well-intentioned liberals continue their false fixation on curating a moderate path for the party, the Democratic establishment is ensuring that politicians aiming to be sound stewards over progressive power elites are left marginalized.

It's unlikely that Democrats such as Torres would offer a real departure from the likes of Hochul and the progressives their party has helped popularize. The only question is whether voters will continue being duped by politicians who will, in the end, abandon any semblance of sanity due to the cannibalization of the Democratic Party by the left.

Our nation’s extraordinary challenges will not be solved by leaving critical decisions up to spineless lawmakers whose power depends on defaulting to the rising influential progressives in the party.

I used to believe in the tooth fairy, but then I turned 8. I’d like to believe today’s pseudo-centrist Democrats are sincere. But I woke up and there was nothing under the pillow.