Sane Democrats are looking at the rubble of their 2021 election hopes and are, in normal political fashion, searching for a scapegoat. The obvious candidates? The progs, hard Left, socialists, etc. Liz Peek goes into full detail.

Peek: Progressives are so 2020. They may not know it yet, but the ultra-liberal cabal that has choked Democrat politics and humiliated spineless party leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has lost its mojo.

That was the message sent this past Election Day, and it was long overdue. Two questions remain. First, will a weakened progressive wing allow Joe Biden to pivot toward the center in a push to help Democrats in 2022? Second, what does the rooting out of the malevolent kudzu-like progressive movement mean for Democrats going forward?

The answer to the first question is that Biden desperately needs to tack toward the middle, but probably will not. Despite the election thunderclap and poll numbers that are truly horrific – the latest Suffolk/USA Today poll shows Biden with only 38% job approval and 59% disapproval – the president seems unmoved.

Biden continues to press for his Build Back Better program, which is chock-full of progressives’ ambitions. Having campaigned on it for months, it will be impossible for him to walk away from his increasingly unpopular legislation, even if the Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., crowd is on life support.

This is a problem for Biden, and for Democrats. Second, what does voter repudiation of progressives mean for the future of Democrats? It will likely mean that a looming changing of the guard will not favor the Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, D-N.Y., faction of the party, and that is good news.

As they begin to anticipate a punishing election, members of the party about to be hammered stream for the exits. It happened in advance of the GOP washout in 2018, and it is happening to Democrats now. Sensing trouble ahead, a total of 37 GOP representatives in the House decided not to run for reelection in 2018, compared to only 18 Democrats. Three Republican senators also left the sinking ship; no Democrats gave up their seats.

Already, 14 Democrats have indicated they will not stand for reelection. Some are seeking other offices; some are simply burnt out. There is every expectation the number will grow. Most important, there is widespread speculation that some senior caucus members might retire. Top of that list is New York’s Jerry Nadler, who has served in the House for 30 years, but can 81-year-old Pelosi and 82-year-old Majority Leader Steny Hoyer be far behind? Do they really want to again serve in the minority? Such retirements would ignite a scramble for new leadership. It is inconceivable that Democrats who blame progressives for their setbacks will elevate members of that group.