Scott Jennings sharply outlined what he sees as the current Democratic strategy, arguing that the only real requirement to run as a Democrat is a form of extremism, whether that be on economic policy, terrorism, or political violence.
On a CNN panel Sunday, he pointed to figures like Graham Platner, who is the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), often mentioned as a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, as examples of a broader trend. In his view, the Democrats are increasingly relying on political extremism as the defining qualification for candidates.
🚨 SCOTT JENNINGS NAILS IT: “Democrats will forgive ANYTHING, even a Nazi tattoo, as long as you've got the right radical energy.”
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 10, 2026
“I take everybody seriously except Newsom, who I do not take seriously!”
The party of communism, fraud and BETRAYAL. pic.twitter.com/JKn5gw7yH9
"I assume (AOC's) running. I mean, I take everybody seriously, except Newsom, who I do not take seriously. Well, we'll talk, put a pin in that," Jennings said. "But, but, I take her seriously because of what Brad said. She's, I mean, she is the energy. That's where, on the left, what she does and what she says, as silly and stupid as it may be, that's where all the energy on the left is right now."
"You look at the primaries that are going on at this moment. They got this Plattner character in Maine. They've got lunatics running in Michigan. All the energy in these Democratic primaries are flowing towards people, and they'll forgive anything, even a Nazi tattoo, as long as you've got the right radical energy."
Democrats were left with three options after Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024: continue defining the party around opposition to the president, moderate their politics, or move even further to the left. So far, they have remained relentlessly anti-Trump while increasingly embracing more extreme positions heading into the midterms, and likely into 2028 as well.
The bigger question is whether that strategy could actually work. Currently, a string of Democratic victories and early polling suggest that it might resonate with parts of the electorate, as seen in Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City, Abigail Spanberger’s redistricting effort in Virginia, and Graham Platner’s polling numbers in Maine. Republicans may assume that left-wing extremism will ultimately backfire at the ballot box, but that theory has yet to be definitively proven in the post-2024 political landscape.
This comes as the left has continued to embrace extreme characters in recent months, including a series of “democratic socialists” and communists, and even terrorist sympathizers. The most startling example has been Hasan Piker, whom Democrats have refused to condemn despite his calls to violence against the capitalist class and telling his audience that America deserved 9/11. As a matter of fact, some Democrats have even defended his rhetoric as an expression of voter frustration.
No matter the Democrats' strategy, Americans will have their say in this year’s midterm elections, and we’ll see whether voters embrace the growing extremism on the left or choose to stay in the realm of political sanity.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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