Thom Nickels: This is what happens when Democrats lose the plot

Hyper-local politics today is all the rage. When you look at the left – meaning most Democrats – you see an interest in joining school boards and neighborhood associations as a “must do” endeavor. Get involved, they say. True change begins at the local level. 

In many ways, I believe that, although you still must be careful of Trojan horse influences. I’m thinking specifically of when I first moved to the Riverwards neighborhood and joined the Olde Richmond Civic Association many years ago. I didn’t last long because joining the group were ex-New Yorkers and people from other states whose goal seemed to be to remake Olde Richmond into a Colonial Williamsburg version of Northern Liberties.  

These were the early days of woke so certain tics in this direction could be detected in the newcomers, who were on the same page politically and had the same views on virtually every subject from abortion to race. It was as if the neighborhood had been invaded by a left-wing version of the Stepford wives. And yet despite this change, there was one bright light, namely Representative John Taylor, a Republican who oversaw the predominately Democratic 177th District that included Bridesburg, Fishtown, Port Richmond, Frankford, Northwood, Kensington, Wissinoming, and Harrowgate. 

Taylor had wide appeal and a reputation for constituent service. His popularity was often linked to his relatively moderate political views, so much so that Philly Democrats forgot he was Republican, while Republicans were grateful that one of their own was so popular in a blue city. 

A Republican-Democrat consensus like this could never happen in 2026, but Taylor had the good fortune to be working before Democrats lost their minds with woke policies and Trump Derangement Syndrome. 

Taylor’s tenure was from 1984 to 2017; he was reelected easily year after year.  

That relatively benign political landscape is long gone. When you asked a local Democrat then why they supported Taylor, they might have said, “Well, a local Republican politician isn’t like one on the national stage. The main thing is he really cares about the neighborhood.” It was the same thing when Philly Democrats explained why they loved the local edition of Fox News: “It’s not like national Fox news. They do the best city coverage, period.” 

When Taylor retired in 2017, Democrats knew an era had ended and lined up like hungry raccoons to take Taylor’s place. Trump had just been elected and the party was feeling a newfound fanaticism. One Democratic leader in Harrisburg stated, “The fact is that for too long the representative from the 177th District has supported Republican leadership that does not share the values of Philadelphians. Rep. Taylor’s decision to not seek reelection creates a real opportunity for House Democrats to add a seat to their ranks…” 

One Democratic candidate emerged from the field of hopefuls, the good looking and charismatic Joe Hohenstein, a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School in 1993, who grew up in a Philly working-class neighborhood. As a lawyer he did some immigration work; his father was a member of the Philadelphia Teacher’s Union, his mother was a shop steward with AFSCME DC 47.  

Though his parents were Roman Catholic, somewhere along the line Hohenstein became a Quaker. Quakers are rarely traditional or conservative, although they can be stick-in-the-mud stubborn (The Quaker mentality kept Philly’s skyline in dwarf status until the arrival of developer Willard Rouse III who shattered that prohibition with a 60-story skyscraper, One Liberty Place.) 

Quakers in recent decades have often defined their political role as opposition and protest. In Quakerism, the concept of a heaven or hell has been traded for the pursuit of a more “just” society. 

As City Journal observed, “Over the centuries, Quaker schools became some of the East Coast’s most prestigious educational institutions. That legacy of excellence, though, is now in jeopardy as Quaker schools embrace critical race theory, undermining more than 300 years of commitment to objective truth and betraying the tenets of Quakerism itself.”

In short, a woke mentality has overrun Quaker education. Among the 22 Philly regional K-12 schools listed by the Friends Council on Education, 17 have adopted similar diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements. Spiritual content is null and void. Quakerism is a political religion where racism is a sin and abortion and reproductive rights for women is practically a sacrament. 

Hohenstein campaigned door-to-door for Taylor’s seat and won. His victory was the beginning of the end for the 177th District. Indigenous working class families bought Hohenstein’s charming smile, citing his union connections and his commitment to economic equity, while not seeming to be aware of his support for late-term abortion rights and trans issues, such as his endorsement of pronouns and terms like “birthing person.” 

Many of the Democratic — largely Catholic — voters in the 177th District (“My father was a union man and because of that our family has always been Democrat!”) brushed these issues aside, citing old clichés like, “Hohenstein is nice. He is for the people. Trans rights? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Hohenstein smiles, shakes hands, nods his head, and appears to listen like any smart politician. I’ve spoken with him several times and he is somebody you’re drawn to — until he opens his mouth and the Democrat psychobabble pours forth.

On ICE: “I have 30 years of experience in the immigration system — before ICE even existed. I have never seen civil immigration laws enforced with such reckless disregard for public safety. ICE’s paramilitary tactics must be reined in and made accountable.”

The Advocate mentioned Hohenstein in 2023 in an article entitled, “Pennsylvania Democrats Look to Out Maneuver Republicans to Support LGBTQ+ Students,” saying “Rep. Joe Hohenstein, who has a transgender child, said he plans to sponsor a bill that would call for LGBTQ-inclusive lessons, allowing ‘children in the LGBTQ+ community to see themselves reflected.’”

Of course, it is commendable when a father says he loves his children unconditionally. It gets even more complicated and tragic when the father in question utilizes his daughter’s situation to influence public policy in Harrisburg.

Hohenstein, however, has gone full woke in his political opinions, whether the topic is BLM, ICE, illegal immigrants, abortion, or gender ideology.

His fiery defense of the term “birthing person” on the state House floor when that term was challenged by other legislators regarding a resolution honoring January 23, 2026, as Maternal Health Awareness Day in Pennsylvania, was an indicator of how far left Hohenstein has drifted since he replaced John Taylor.

In his weekly email to constituents, Hohenstein wrote:

“I responded as the parent of a non-binary person who may someday be a birthing person. I love and respect my child because of their bravery.”

It’s not bravery but a dangerous fad promoted by gender studies departments in universities. In fact, it is highly likely that his so-called non-binary daughter will one day end up calling herself a lesbian, or just be content being a biological woman. 

I don’t think Hohenstein is aware that the LGBTQ community is a community that is still very much split on gender ideology, the use of pronouns and the belief that men can be “birthing people,” or even compete in women’s sports. 

I have to wonder, if Hohenstein had remained Catholic and not become Quaker, would he hold the same political views today? 

Perhaps sticking to his Catholic roots would have kept him from being one of the prime sponsors of PA House Bill 1957, which legalizes abortion up to birth. Imagine butchering full-term babies in the name of progressive politics. 

Thom Nickels is Broad + Liberty’s Editor at Large for Arts and Culture and the 2005 recipient of the AIA Lewis Mumford Award for Architectural Journalism. He writes for City Journal, New York, and Frontpage Magazine. Thom Nickels is the author of fifteen books, including “Literary Philadelphia” and ”From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia.” His latest work, “Ileana of Romania: Princess, Exile and Mother Superior,” will be published in May 2026.