Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Tuesday on Newsmax that the Democratic Party has been hijacked by radical elements, claiming the “lunatic fringe” now defines the party’s agenda.
“They were hijacked and have been hijacked,” Blagojevich said during an appearance on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren.” “It doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s been a process. I think it began with [former President Barack] Obama, and then it took on a life of its own.”
Blagojevich, who served as governor from 2003 until his impeachment in 2009, said the Democratic Party has shifted from including a radical wing to being dominated by it.
“It’s a party that really is no longer, you know, with a lunatic fringe. The lunatic fringe is now taking over the party,” he said. “It is a party where the energy is from the socialist wing. The communist wing. That’s not an overstatement.”
He cited New York congressional candidates and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as examples of Democrats embodying the party’s new direction, saying they are “very socialist oriented, no common sense.”
Blagojevich also commented on what he sees as a strategy of negativity within the party, referring to comments made by billionaire Mark Cuban, a surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris, who reportedly said the party’s platform is now simply “Trump sucks.”
“Well, that’s right. That’s among the reasons why they lost,” Blagojevich said. “The American people are smart.”
He drew a contrast with former President Bill Clinton, whom he praised as a skilled politician with a deep understanding of the electorate.
“One Democratic president who was very good at politics was Bill Clinton,” Blagojevich said. “He could overcome all kinds of difficulties that were unbelievable. But he understood the American people when he used to say, ‘the American people almost always get it right.'”
Blagojevich said today’s Democrats have abandoned the empathy Clinton once expressed, instead favoring ideological imposition over understanding the concerns of working-class Americans.
“What they want to do is they want to impose their crazy ideas on everyday, ordinary, working people,” he said. “They’re the [Democrats] who want to say, you can’t disagree with us. We’ll cancel you.”
“They’re the ones who want to tell you that you, biological women, have to play sports against transgender men. They’re the ones who won’t even define what a woman is.”
Blagojevich concluded by accusing party elites of pushing falsehoods, including about President Joe Biden’s fitness for office.
The American people “can see through the lies, and they’re sick and tired of being lied to,” he said.
“President Biden’s incapacity to be president was one of those big lies.”
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