The Democratic establishment is getting desperate
They're pulling out all the stops to save an incumbent who deserves to lose
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) is in trouble. Engel, who is white, 73 years old, and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been in Congress since 1989, and currently represents the state's diverse and heavily Democratic 16th District. He faces a strong primary challenge from Jamaal Bowman, a local black middle-school principal nearly 30 years his junior. For the first time in decades, Engel is having to campaign hard — and he is none too good at it. Earlier this month, he tried to address a crowd regarding anti-police brutality unrest, and when rebuffed, he said over a live mic: "If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care."
Bowman got a surge of campaign donations as a result, and has since been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren. But the Democratic establishment is rushing to save Engel. He has recently collected endorsements from Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, and bizarrely, the Congressional Black Caucus.
The establishment plainly fears losing their grip on their constituents. The desperation is palpable.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Engel's current position is a sort of microcosm of both the politics of the Democratic establishment and its tangled relationship with its base. The 16th District is split between a northern chunk of the Bronx borough of New York City, which is extremely diverse and relatively poor, and the southern portion of Westchester County, which is whiter and much richer. Domestically, Engel is a member of the moderate New Democrat caucus, and hence tends to support center-left policies (though he is a supporter of Medicare-for-all).
On foreign policy, where he exercises the most influence as chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee, Engel is much worse. He voted for the Iraq War, and he opposed President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. He is one of the strongest partisans of Israel among Democrats — indeed, he supported the inflammatory idea of moving Israel's capital to Jerusalem even before President Trump did (though he occasionally criticizes Israel for illegal settlements, to be fair). Though he is not quite the bloodthirsty warmonger of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), he is at bottom a staunch defender of American empire and, as Akela Lacy writes at The Intercept, a major recipient of defense lobbyist money.
All this makes for a rather poor fit with the views and needs of Engel's poorer constituents in the Bronx, and to an increasing degree, even the whiter and richer liberals in Westchester County (who have moved left on many issues of late, particularly racial justice). That is probably why the main axis of the primary campaign has been his chronic absence from the district — a pretty clichéd anti-incumbent complaint, but actually true in his case. Indeed, Engel kept his primary residence in Maryland for years to keep his taxes down, until the state forced him to stop in 2013. Bowman's argument is not that Engel isn't doing enough gladhanding and ribbon-cuttings in the district, it's that he doesn't care about his constituents. And Engel himself was caught on tape saying as much.
The Democratic establishment views its primary task as managing and controlling its voters rather than trying to do what they want. They have convinced themselves that the country is unshakably conservative, and therefore the best they can do is hang on to power and occasionally pass milquetoast reforms. This attitude is extremely convenient for the establishment's fundraising and career prospects — by forestalling any egalitarian policies that might threaten the top 1 percent, they can rake in campaign contributions, plus cushy corporate consulting jobs and buckraking speech gigs after they leave office. That's how you get incumbents like Engel who can barely be bothered even to pretend they cater to the needs of their districts.
The prospect of the slumbering Democratic base being awakened by candidates like Bowman, and demanding the party fight for progressive policies just as hard as Republicans fight for conservative ones, would blow up this comfortable arrangement. That strikes fear into the establishment. If Engel goes down, a whole slew of elderly Democratic bigwigs, previously comfortable in their deep-blue seats telling their voters what they can't have, might be next — especially since this is an open fight, not an under-the-radar upset as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pulled off. That is why all these party grandees are trying to save his skin. And as Alex Sammon argues at the The American Prospect, that also explains why the Congressional Black Caucus, which has consistently prioritized its insider connections, endorsed a white incumbent over a black progressive.
So far the aging Democratic elite has managed to maintain its grip on power. But the left of the party is slowly chipping away at it, winning an increasing number of seats on the national, state, and local levels. Recently leftist challengers knocked off moderate incumbents in Pennsylvania state legislative races, and one of the city council wards of Washington, D.C. It may take many more years, but sooner or later Pelosi and company will retire or die, and the people who replace them might not be so concerned with their future consulting careers.
Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
'Not cross buns': the row over recipe revamps
Talking Point New versions of the Easter favourite have sparked controversy but sales are soaring
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
The England kit: a furore over the flag
Why everyone's talking about Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: March 29, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published