Has the progressive fever broken? Are Democrats finally abandoning the crazy policies that have delivered damaging inflation, soaring crime, unsustainable illegal immigration and failing schools? 

There are five positive signs. 

1 .Joe Biden shocked Leftists by declaring he will veto Washington, D.C.’s new soft-on-crime bill, leaving 173 House Democrats who voted for it twisting in the wind;

2. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot gets unceremoniously dumped by voters and a pro-cop Democrat leads the initial round of voting;

3. Puffin Books faces outrage by vowing to make Roald Dahl’s iconic books woke, and quickly announces it will continue to publish the originals;

4. #BoycottHershey’s trends on Twitter for two days as critics bash their ad campaign honoring women that features a trans activist;

5. The Board of Governors at the University of North Carolina voted to ban "DEI" statements in connection with hiring, admissions or promotions at the prestigious campus.

Could these events signal a shift in the political winds? For the sake of our nation, we can only hope so.

LORI LIGHTFOOT TORPEDOED AFTER LOSING RE-ELECTION BID: 'GOOD RIDDANCE!'

President Biden’s decision to oppose weakening crime enforcement in Washington, D.C. infuriated progressives in his own party and the many House Democrats who voted in support of the proposed measure – a vote which will likely be used against them by Republicans in upcoming elections. But Biden’s handlers aren’t stupid. They know that communities across the nation are furious about surging crime, and ready to topple the legislators and district attorneys who are pushing "social justice" instead of protecting their families. 

Indeed, backlash against the bill was so widespread that Washington’s City Council Chair just recently announced he would withdraw the bill, possibly saving Democrats in the Senate from also having to take sides on the measure.

Voters don’t like Biden’s lenient stance on crime – a recent Economist poll showed 32% of respondents approve of his handling of crime, while 50% do not. As he prepares to run for a second term, Biden does not want rising homicides and theft in our blue cities hung around his neck.

Meanwhile, voters in Chicago, which last year recorded the highest murder rate in the nation, booted Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who had won 74% of the vote when first elected in 2019. Lightfoot’s fall from grace can be traced to several issues, including fights with the powerful teachers unions and failing schools, but crime was absolutely a top concern.

LORI LIGHTFOOT'S CRITICS SOUND OFF ON CHICAGO MAYOR LOSING RE-ELECTION: 'CRIME DOESN’T PAY'

How could it not be? Already this year there have been over 70 murders in the Windy City; as rival Democrat Paul Vallas declares on his campaign website, "Sadly, almost 200 school-aged children have been murdered since 2019, including 72 just last year."

In her first year in office, Lightfoot promised to cut Chicago’s police budget by $80 million; a year later, she begged the federal government for help in quelling the city’s soaring crime. Too little, too late; voters have had their say.

Voters are incensed about crime, but they are also angry about the spread of know-it-all liberal wokeism. Puffin Books recently announced it was re-writing the brilliant children’s books of Roald Dahl, to eliminate "hurtful" words like "ugly" or traditional gender descriptions like "female". What kind of children are too tender to hear the word "fat" or are better off reading that the Chocolate Factory’s Oompa Loompas were "small people" instead of "small men"? Are these people nuts? No, they just have an agenda and think they know best.

Thankfully, incensed fans worldwide howled over the desecration of Dahl’s works. Salman Rushdie tweeted that the changes amounted to "absurd censorship" and added that "Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed." Penguin, parent of Puffin, quickly announced that they would continue to publish the original books, in addition to the "sensitized" versions. 

HERSHEY'S FACES BACKLASH OVER PUTTING TRANS WOMAN ON CANDY BAR WRAPPER FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Make no mistake, though, wokeism is alive and well. Witness Hershey’s ode to International Women’s Day, in which the chocolate maker issued candy wrappers celebrating five women, one of whom was trans activist Fae Johnstone. Calls to boycott Hershey’s over what many saw as a slight of women dominated Twitter for two days; the company, undaunted, is sticking by its "inclusive celebration of women and their impact…"

The other four (actual) women showcased by Hershey’s are an indigenous rights and water activist (?), a teenage climate innovator, a gender and education equality activist and the founder of Girl Up Quebec, which was actually founded by the UN.

Here’s a crazy idea: instead of spotlighting progressive activists, how about selecting some outstanding mothers? I know women who have raised developmentally disabled kids and given them a terrific life under incredibly difficult circumstances. Or how about moms like those of Sen. Tim Scott or Dr. Ben Carson, who overcame poverty and racism to raise brilliant men? Or how about some of the women home-schooling their kids today, fighting back in their own way against the failures of our power-mad teachers unions?

Women undertake many important roles, but none more important than parenting and, to be sure, educating.

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Educating has never been more important, especially since our schools and universities, with few exceptions, spend more time explaining "inclusive" pronouns than teaching kids how to read. These institutions have cowered before the woke mob, buying into every progressive diktat, including demanding racially biased teaching and regulations.

It was therefore a pleasant surprise to see the Board of Governors at UNC vote to ban diversity, equity and inclusion statements and preferential hiring. No applicant for a professorship or kid hoping to gain admission will have to affirm their political beliefs.

It is insane to think that such demands are made on campuses, where debate and free speech have traditionally been celebrated. But these are the times we live in, at least for now.

It may be that voters are disgusted by this leftist tide, which is leading to soaring crime, profound division and the disparagement of the American Dream. Let us profoundly hope that disaffection dominates in 2024.

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