Not Working for Him

John Avlon joins with us in today's NY Post with a critique of the ideological danger that the Working Families Part poses-to both the Democratic Party as well as to NY State as a whole: "Formed a dozen years ago by local labor unions and the now-infamous community-organizing group ACORN, the WFP has emerged as the key power broker and ground-game organizer in local liberal politics -- thanks to its remarkable rate of success in backing leftist candidates in Democratic primaries...With most elections in the city determined in closed partisan primaries, the WFP endorsement -- and the help it brings -- has become critical for any winning campaign. This has shifted the Democratic Party and the entire local elected government significantly to the left."

But does a shifting political landscape make the leftward shift a danger? Well, if what's happening in Massachusetts is any indication-and the latest poll shocker shows Republican Scott Brown with a four point lead in a state where Republican enrollment tips the scales at 14%-then the shift is into a potential mind field in the upcoming statewide races.

And making it even more ominous is the poll's findings about ObamaCare: "But if Brown’s momentum holds, he is poised to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy - and to halt health-care reform, the issue the late senator dubbed “the cause of my life.” Yet even in the bluest state, it appears Kennedy’s quest for universal health care has fallen out of favor, with 51 percent of voters saying they oppose the “national near-universal health-care package” and 61 percent saying they believe the government cannot afford to pay for it."

If this is a shift, it is certainly a seismic one. So by saying, "Leftward Ho," the Dem/WFP alliance may be heading them both into a political buzz saw come November-and the zombie-like response from our two senators on the president's proposed bank tax, one that might just cripple a significant slice of the city's tax base, is symptomatic of a general tone deafness.

So, while we're uncertain about the legal ramifications of the WFP tial in Staten Island-now postponed until February 23rd-we more convinced than ever that the continued tail wagging by the WFP spells doom for Democrats. We'll give Avlon the last word about the dangers of the leftwing lurch: "More important, the "left" here means a party established by public-sector unions and a community group that depends on taxpayer funds -- a profile that takes on more sinister connotations at a time when our city and state face deep budget deficits."