I'm not worried about that. But I think he's the Flavor of the Month for lefties because of his anti-Israel stance, and they think they can use him to attack the Dem establishment.

If supporting Uncommitted & Leave it Blank costs Mamdani the election he will only have himself to blame. I like that he speaks for working people, has charisma & brings the young vote. It puts a spotlight on Dem need to focus on working people & stop being afraid of socialist/populist labels.

Dems shy away from socialism because it doesn't get them elected, except in unusual, isolated cases. The right wing has brainwashed Americans against it since forever, so the country leans right. Lefties think that Dems can charm/bully people into voting left but that's a fantasy.

On the Dem side we need to stop labeling each other and pull in the same direction. Socialism is just a vague term that Republicans throw against the wall to see if it will stick & manipulate voters. Mamdani's policies & Dem policies are largely the same.

But Mamdani himself adopted the label of socialist, some years back.

We can vote for anyone that supports policies that help all Americans (aka Dem party policies with another name).

WE can, but the American electorate isn't all like us.

This thread makes me remember Kamala had plenty enough charisma. But she too was drowned out by right-wing propaganda. We have got to find a way to beat that shit. I'm thinking a candidate that can bring the young vote is key because I think most young people don't like right-wing bullshit.

But last election, young people voted for Trump in large numbers. They are prone to being propagandized because they are so online. As I keep droning on about, the BIG problem is the rightwing propaganda and I don't see any solution to that yet.

Big money is killing us with propaganda. I grew with unregulated right-wing talk radio, whose success inspired GOP/Reagan to create Fox "News" & the current right-wing propaganda machine. Once great news & TV orgs now spin truth into lies. On the plus side I expect voters to get tired of Trump.

I thought voters were tired of Trump in 2020.

Biden did not win by much. I had the uncomfortable realization then that Trump would have won re-election in 2020 if he had not bungled covid so badly. This time around Trump's damage to useful gov services will turn some voters. & some will finally believe Putin is destroying the US though Trump.

That's what we hope, but voters have demonstrated over and over again that they make bad choices, and this last election showed that they are comfortable voting for a convicted felon and obvious fascist. I certainly don't think that trying to push moderates toward the left is going to work.

Do you follow HCR? She has her ear to the ground, listening for what ideas will resonate & who they are coming from. She thinks it is too early to see who the best Dem candidates will be. Historians have an interesting perspective.

I hear you. What got me excited about Mamdani is the young vote stats. He pulled in big numbers of young voters, indicating he inspired young people to vote that don't normally vote. I figure a mixed ticket with a traditional Dem & an up-and-coming young Dem might be good.

I thought it in 2016. 😞

Ha. same!!

There’s never a plus side to Trump. I remember my neighborhood dem group in 2015 getting tons of purple hair types saying “thank G-d for Trump” because that meant Hillary was a slam dunk… 🤦‍♂️ The Hamas apologists and MAGA freaks are cut from the same rage-a-holic cloth and the media gobbles it up.

Biden focused more on working people than any president in decades. I don’t think leftists cared about that or bothered to give him any credit for it. This narrative is nonsense.

Agreed Biden was all about supporting working people. Biden's good work was drowned out by the right-wing propaganda machine. Mamdani is getting through on a small scale (NYC) but still a good thing that his message is positive (except for undermining Biden/Harris).

It's a good thing, but it's bad that so many lefties are promoting him as an anti-Dem who is riding in on a white horse to save the world. Same way they promoted Bernie. At least Mamdani is only running for mayor. But he can be used as a target for the fascists to destroy NYC.

Some elements to the NYC plot can be useful for national elections. I don't buy into labels. Young people always want change. Dems can bridge the generation gap with AOC. If she wins the Dem primary we can go with it. If not, she's an excellent VP choice. If she runs 3rd party we're screwed.

I disagree. I don't think she would go over well outside of the big liberal cities.

I'm not sure about that anymore. My gut tells me voters are ready for big change. AOC has charisma. She is articulate. If she runs in Dem primaries, like Bernie, the vote counts will tell the tale.