TRENTON – Sue Altman of the state’s Working Families Alliance was on familiar territory. For at least the third time this month, Altman and other liberal groups rallied outside the Statehouse in support of such goals as raising taxes on millionaires, legalizing pot and giving driver’s licenses to those here illegally.

She joked that she had seen a lot of the attendees at previous gatherings.

That was a joke, but it also demonstrated the problem. Just why are traditional liberal goals not being supported by a Democratic Legislature? As Altman admitted, the groups’ demands have fallen on deaf ears.

Philosophy is one reason why.

Just because most lawmakers are Democrats doesn’t mean most of them are liberals.

There’s also a “fear factor” here. One who watches politics for a long time eventually realizes many lawmakers simply lack the guts to support innovative ideas. That really is the problem with marijuana. Polls show widespread support for legalization, but a legislator who gets a handful of calls opposing the idea is going to be scared to support it. Ridiculous, but true. It is disquieting for many – especially those protesting today – that pot legalization keeps marching on in other states, but not New Jersey. Illinois was the most recent to support legalization.

Raising taxes on millionaires seems dead no matter how loud advocates say they want it. On this issue too, the public is on the side of raising the tax.

But you have to wonder about another issue that was raised Thursday – the ongoing investigation into EDA grants. You might think Republicans would be happy to take a look at grants going to companies connected with George Norcross, a south Jersey Democratic political boss.

Not really.

Despite a report casting doubt on the propriety of some of the grants, most Republicans last week voted to continue the current program, at least temporarily. You’ve got to love bipartisanship.

Of course, the business grants in question were championed by the Christie administration and were the main reason the GOP governor and the Democratic boss had – and apparently continue to have – a pretty chummy relationship.

That explains the angst of the groups who rallied Thursday and also the frustration of Gov. Phil Murphy, whose views are decidedly more left wing than many legislators.

All this begs the question, how does this play out down the road?  The battle over the budget will be settled soon; Murphy said Thursday that he will sign it.

But how about the ideological battle in the state’s Democratic party? Organizers of this morning’s rally talked of a long-term strategy.

That’s good, because in the short term, nothing can happen. Only the Assembly is up this fall and the time for challenging incumbents is long gone.

But in 2021, there will be elections for the entire Legislature and governor. That may be the time for liberals to make a push for control of the party.

Granted, a lot can happen between now and then. There may be a new president and closer to home, the investigation into the EDA grants may turn up something of consequence.

Altman hinted as much In a brief conversation after the rally when she talked of escalating the fight for progressive values.

“It won’t happen overnight, but I guarantee it will happen,” she said.

There’s nothing wrong with confidence.