Commentary: The Squad Aims to Make Pro-Life Democrats Extinct in 2020

by CHQ Staff

“Conservative” Democrats are an all but extinct political species. Most of the old-timers, like former Senator and Congressman Phil Gramm, became Republicans during the Reagan years or, like Rep. Larry McDonald, have died.

A few linger on because they hold positions, such as being pro-Second Amendment or pro-life, that put them outside the Far-Left mainstream of today’s Democratic Party, even though on most other issues they are typical Democrats.

They are tolerated by the Speaker Pelosi because they are incumbents who easily win reelection and because they can be relied upon to support the Leadership when necessary.

But in today’s “woke” Democratic Party non-conformity is not tolerated, especially on abortion, so any Democrat who votes pro-life is bound to draw an opponent.

Such is the case of Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-3) a pro-life Democrat who represents a district that encompasses parts of southwestern Chicago as well as much of its southwestern suburbs. His father, Bill Lipinski, held the seat from 1983 to 2005.

Rep. Lipinski is a believing Catholic, he is a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep and once taught at Notre Dame. Lipinski has a reputation as one of the most conservative Democrats in the House. Lipinski did not endorse President Barack Obama for reelection in 2012, opposes legalized abortion and stem cell research, was the only House Democrat from Illinois to vote against the Affordable Care Act, supported reauthorizing the Patriot Act in 2006, and supported the Defense of Marriage and First Amendment Defense Acts.

Rep. Lipinski has defeated every Republican who has run against him better than 70 to 30, but his Far-Left opponents in the Democratic primary have been creeping closer; in the 2018 primary election he won 51.2 percent to 48.8 percent.

Now, Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and “Justice Democrats,” the controversial PAC associated with her former chief of staff have endorsed Marie Newman, who ran against Lipinski in 2018 and lost by 2,145 votes.

“Marie Newman is a textbook example of one of the ways that we could be better as a party — to come from a deep blue seat and to be championing all the issues we need to be championing,” Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Times.

“The fact that a deep blue seat is advocating for many parts of the Republican agenda is extremely problematic. We’re not talking about a swing state that is being forced to take tough votes,” the New York Democrat said of Lipinski, who’s district gave former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 55 percent of the vote versus 40 percent for President Trump.

Rep. Lipinski did not take Ocasio-Cortez’s attack lying down and immediately fired back, saying:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement of Marie Newman makes crystal clear that Ms. Newman is an extreme candidate who is completely out of step with the voters of Illinois’ Third District who do not want to be represented by a fifth member of the ‘Squad,'” the Lipinski statement said. “The Democratic Party — and our country — cannot afford an obstructionist ‘Tea Party of the Left’ when we need to focus on winning this next election and passing policies that will truly help working families and all who are struggling in America today.

The Daily Caller’s Virginia Kruta reports Ocasio-Cortez was quick to respond to Lipinski, calling him a “corporate candidate” and claiming that his “aggressive” language was the real division in the party. “This is a real quote from a Democrat representing a safe blue seat. Aggressive statements like these are so casually thrown from corporate candidates towards grassroots ones, yet they never get branded as “divisive,” despite their rhetoric. We should ask ourselves why that is,” she tweeted.

And Ocasio-Cortez was joined by Far Left Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren who also endorsed challenger Marie Newman over Rep. Lipinski: “At a time when women’s reproductive rights are under attack daily from Republican lawmakers across America, Illinoisans deserve a leader with an unwavering commitment to fighting for women’s access to reproductive healthcare,” Warren said in a Monday statement. “Marie Newman is that leader.”

Far-Left organizations have also weighed-in against Lipinski with EMILY’s List, MoveOn, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) all issuing endorsements of Marie Newman.

The Far-Left endorsements came just a few months after the head of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, fellow Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, canceled plans to fundraise for Rep. Lipinski after facing fierce backlash from the party’s left flank over Lipinski’s pro-life votes and other conservative positions.

To learn more about pro-life Democrat Dan Lipinski click this link.

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Photo “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” by Senate Democrats. CC BY 2.0. Photo “Ilhan Omar” by Ilhan Omar.