White liberals, who play a disproportionately large role in Democratic primaries, is among the driving forces behind the increasingly leftward stance of the leading Democratic presidential candidates

It's a long rambling article of "on the one hand . . . on the other hand" without as much insight as usual. From Is There Anyone Who Can Unite the Democrats Besides Trump? by Thomas B. Edsall.

There was one interesting observation.

Where the progressive wing of the Democratic Party faces a more difficult problem is on issues of border security. While the Democratic left is highly critical of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and sympathetic to immigrants seeking entry from Mexico, the public as a whole is much less so.

“Americans are fine with the general idea of increased border security,” Newport wrote.

A January ABC/Washington Post survey asked, “Do you think the United States is doing too little, too much or about the right amount to keep undocumented immigrants from coming into this country?” 54 percent said too little, 16 percent said too much, and 24 percent said the right amount.

A July Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 25 percent of voters would get rid of ICE while 54 percent would keep it.

A December 2018 Quinnipiac poll asked voters “Do you think border security is an important issue, or don’t you think so?” 81 percent said yes, 17 percent said no.

A month later, in January 2019, Quinnipiac asked voters whether they would “support or oppose a bill that funded new border security measures, but did not fund a wall along the border with Mexico?” The response: 61 percent yes, 33 percent no.

The changing attitude of white liberals, who play a disproportionately large role in Democratic primaries, is among the driving forces behind the increasingly leftward stance of the leading Democratic presidential candidates on immigration.

The rapid movement of this key bloc of voters can be seen in surveys conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs tracking the question of whether “large numbers of immigrants and refugees coming into the U.S.” are a “critical threat, an important but not critical threat, or not a threat at all.”

In 1994, 65 percent of surveyed white liberals chose “critical threat.” By 2016, the percentage fell to 16 percent. (The chart was produced from data compiled by Zach Goldberg, a political scientist at Georgia State University.)

The Changing Shape of White Attitudes on Immigration
Question: Are large numbers of immigrants and refugees coming into the United States a critical threat, an important but not critical threat, or not an important threat at all? Survey answers, by ideology, from 1994 to 2016.

The insight is in that one line.

The changing attitude of white liberals, who play a disproportionately large role in Democratic primaries, is among the driving forces behind the increasingly leftward stance of the leading Democratic presidential candidates on immigration.

In day-to-day life, at work, in church, on the street, in volunteer activities, I rarely encounter the zealotry of the critical theory postmodernists. Regardless of party affiliation. People are by-and-large pragmatic, share most goals, get along.

The polarization, division and tension is out there on the far left wing. Among white liberals in academia, in the press, in government and NGOs. They are a tiny slice of the population but they have a bully pulpit which exaggerates their appearance. They seem more common than they are. When they swing far left, it has the appearance of an existential threat. They are, though only the vanguard, not the people. They speak for the interests of the ideological vanguard not the interests of the people.

And they are on the wrong side of history. Not only are their policy positions extreme and out of touch with the interests of the electorate, they are profoundly illiberal and statist. As can be seen by the revolution occurring in most the major democracies as the electorate turn on the establishment parties and the Mandarin Class.