As I have said many a time, my fight is not with the establishment liberal. They are fighting that battle internally, just as the GOP is fighting their own internal struggle. I am left to wonder, after Tuesday’s defeat, if Nina Turner’s loss signals the canary in the coal mine for either establishment party. As Slate Magazine notes:

“The race was a bitterly fought proxy war between the Democratic establishment and the left, between senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus and members of the Squad, and, most of all, between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in what is now the sixth year of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.”

Much hay was made last week when Trump’s chosen candidate for the vacant U.S. House seat in Texas lost.  His preferred candidate however, was the wife of the man who died, leaving the seat open to a special election.  While she may have been a wonderful candidate, electors tend to shy away from simply ushering in the spouse of a previously elected politician.  Her opponent was also a Trump supporter, so it doesn’t seem to suggest as much as the media talking heads wanted it to.

On the other hand, Nina Turner, made quite a name for herself when she compared a vote for Biden to eating a bowl of $#!T:

Look, I am FAR from prudish with my language.  I can swear with the best of them.  As a kid, I used to ride my bike around the block literally practicing a stream of profanity because I loved the feel of the words tumbling out of my mouth.  But I also understand knowing my audience.  While Bernie Sanders voter’s may love Nina Turner’s analogy, it clearly didn’t help her win a broader audience.  

I also wonder if Facebook and Twitter will kick her off their platforms like they did with President Trump.  Did she say ANYTHING different, really:

.@ShonteMBrown wins in Ohio. Nina Turner (who out-raised her 2:1) gives a Trumpy concession speech – https://t.co/y6E7KYlT2S

— Nancy: Fully Vaccinated #HR1 #1/6Commission (@BowmanNancy) August 4, 2021

No, I’m guessing they won’t.  She still has a “D” next to her name.  And she’s a person “of color.”  So equity and all… 

I am hoping however, that this diminishes Nina Turner’s voice a little.  I am hoping this loss is a small yellow birdie of things to come.  Will this give the lunatics in Washington a moment to consider that progressive politics aren’t what voter’s actually want?  They might be vaguely in favor of rebuilding roads and bridges but what the hell does “human infrastructure” mean?  And who is going to pay for it?  Voter’s know.  They aren’t dumb.  The Progressive’s just think they are.

I had another wonderful conversation this week with a Low Information Voter (LIV).  Unlike most rational people, I wear my politics at work daily.  As she and I were discussing her need for a reasonably priced home in Austin, I gave her my 5 minute lecture on why prices have skyrocket in Central Texas.  I hate having to qualify that she was black, but it seems relevant to the next bit. 

After I finished my spiel, she asked, “Do you think Donald Trump is coming back?”

Without hesitation I said, “Funny you should ask, I just wrote an opinion piece on that question.”

And then the questions delved far from Real Estate.  She was hungry to know more.

“What about the stuff on January 6th?” – She had no idea the only person killed was Ashli Babbit.

“Why are they trying so hard to make it difficult to vote?” – She was completely unaware that Texas’ Bill expanded the time frame to vote early and merely demanded an ID and signature match.  Oh, and that it forbids mass ballot mailings and harvesting.

“Isn’t it easier to commit fraud that way?” she asked.

Ummm, yeah.  That’s the point my friend!  And then the slow dawning of understanding spread across her features.  

As Mark Ellis wrote just a few days ago on PJ Media:

“The low-information voter begins his or her day largely unaware that any snippets of news they consume are likely to be spun leftward. Many don’t know any better, but some, with guarded comprehension, don’t want to know any better. They’ve subsisted on a diet of mainstream and Big Tech news for so long that biased reportage has become their media comfort zone.”

I don’t know if Nina Turner’s loss is the canary in the coal mine I hope it is, but I do know that if more of us take a small moment to calmly explain the facts we can win.  We will never ever ever change the mind of a true Progressive.  But the LIV is low hanging fruit.  They aren’t so ignorant as to believe in a free lunch.  They want better for their families and their neighbors.  But they also don’t want to set themselves on fire to keep somebody else warm.  

So go be the canary my friends.  Go spread the gospel.  I promise you I have these conversations day in and day out.  90% of the time, I make a conversion.  So can you.

Featured Image: “Nina Turner” by S.A.Mossman is licensed under CC BY 2.0, cropped and modified