Progressive Democrats want the 'Clinton-corporate wing' of their party gone forever

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

published 12 November 2016

The Democratic Party finds itself at a crossroads in the wake of Hillary Clinton's unexpected loss to Donald Trump, and party progressives want to see the "Clinton-corporate wing" of the Democratic establishment gone for good.

The Democrats' power struggle currently centers on who will be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, a seat presently held by embattled interim chair Donna Brazile. Candidates for the position have rapidly multiplied as too many Washington connections have become a liability.

"There is no question there is a civil war taking place inside the Democratic Party," said Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks of the post-election climate. "And the progressive side is going to win." Still, it won't be an easy fight: The Democratic establishment will "hold on to the party mechanisms until you rip it out of their dying hands," said Jonathan Tasini, a Bernie Sanders surrogate. "It's all about power and money and influence for them."

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.