Will Democrats ever stop arguing over what they should say, how they should say it, and where they should say it? They really should, because the answers are obvious: It all depends—on who you are, where you live, and what you believe. New from me @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/shocking-i...
Please consider the feelings of Third Way. They're very fragile and shouldn't have certain words spoken around them.
Will we ever STOP bashing Dems.
What is painfully clear is that Schumer and Jeffries are NOT the leaders that we need to move the party forward.
Just fucking tell it like it is.
Diversity, anyone?
The higher ups in the Democratic party are not willing to give up their own perceived control & power over the party. They still think they should govern the party like previous generations did. That is their biggest roadblock. If they can't embrace this new diversity, the party is dead.
There's something that pisses me off about our current broken, lazy major media... This new fantasy that advocating for European-style Democratic Socialism means that "Billionaires will cease to exist". You can say Billionaires shouldn't exist, from a moral standpoint... while they still exist
Yep ....interesting how polls are showing the Democratic Party is not popular and yet in local politics there up in Federal and local races. The Dems need to speak to their constituents, to their needs and how they can help working people.
Dear God, yes. Nothing dampens my enthusiasm for Dems as much as Dems (and useless pundits!) arguing about what Dems should do. Politicians and advocates should just DO whatever they sense needs to be done, and quit wasting time and burning energy on dissecting options and opinions.
Dems in-fighting is one of the main reasons why repubs win
You may be right.
A: No. Democrats are, often it seems, their own worst enemy. For reasons too long to explain w/in the limited character space of Bluesky’s shitty and restrictive confines.
Or Democratic consultants are Democrats own worst enemy.
$2.3B in spending by Dems and their SuperPACs to run the worst campaign in twenty years. Harris slightly underperformed John Kerry in 2004 who ran against a president a bunch of Democrats now say they like.
I’m in NYS so I see very few campaign ads. But when I saw that paying for trans operations for prisoners ad during NFL games, without any pushback, I knew she was done.
I don’t know what people don’t understand about this. A good public servant for the people s/he wants to serve, is of those people, the milieu, and not one size fits all for all of the diverse towns, cities, counties, and states of America.
Meet the voters where they are. My liberals in NC are not the NYC liberals. AND THAT’S OKAY!!!
This is 💯 correct. Zohran Mamdani doesn’t play in Pretoria. He plays in a very diverse and expensive NYC. Not in the Midwest. Not in upstate NY. Not in Maine. In LA? Sure, why not. Dems arguing Gaza is main issue? How about Natl Guard HERE? Healthcare HERE? Inflation HERE? Perfect-enemy of good.
Mainer here and he'd probably play in ME. We went for Bernie in 2016 and Graham Platner is surging right now. Mainers like independent voices and tend to distrust establishment candidates. That's why Collins wins here. She pretends to be independently minded. And King is literally an independent.
Doesn't he? I kept hearing how he didn't play in NYC until he won by a landslide. The idea that low cost housing, groceries, and accessible mass transit only appeals to one tiny corner of the nation seems... flawed? Mamdani had a killer campaign strategy. But his message? Generically popular.
Isn’t Pretoria in South Africa?
It’s Peoria…spell check and ME failed. (Illinois).
Yeah.
Ah, I thought you might have meant the old theatrical cliche about a show not playing in Peoria. 🤷♂️
PEORIA, sorry. (It’s in Illinois and put that town on the theatrical map).
That's actually hilarious. Thanks for the shares, btw.
“I ain’t gonna play Sun City no more…” (Stevie Van Zandt)
And “conservative” Dems/centrists don’t play in a lot of non-Midwest locations.
They don't play well in Midwest locations either. That's why they keep losing in the Midwest.
Very true. I lived in NYC for 35 years. I moved 100 miles north to farm country. I have neighbors here who have never been to the City. Nor do they care. Life changes rapidly when one group needs cheaper Subway prices (TRUE) and the other needs tractor parts plus fresh oil for the snow plow.
That’s a pretty wide gap between groups. Most non-city voters are not farmers with tractors. It’s interesting how it’s become acceptable to denigrate cities but never ever to say anything negative about places outside them.
l love both cities and rural country. I’m lucky I guess, having lived in cities around both the country and the world. In October I move back into NYC for 2 months for my musical… But I’ll certainly be grateful to come back to farm country where life is slower, quieter & the stars shine brightly.
And it would extremely hard to define every gap in American demographics in 280 characters. Yes, we go from urban > suburban > to farm > ultra rural in most states within 100s of miles (drive NY or Cali, La or Colorado, Texas or Oklahoma). In 250 miles everything changes rapidly. So do voters.
How do you know he doesn't "play" there?
I’m taking a wild guess from my experience living in NYC, SF, Ohio, LA, Upstate, NY, Sydney, Zurich, London, and…New Jersey. Every place I lived was a different cultural experience. Especially New Jersey.
I've lived in very blue areas and very red ones. Affordability is an issue in both areas and I'd bet Zohran's authentic way of campaigning and his focus on specific issues would play in both, especially with younger people.
We are broadly very different with varied approaches, but we need to keep in mind: Collectively we have ONE JOB.
Yes! I’ve hated the whole discourse around Mamdani — no, not every Dem should do everything he does, they should do and say the things authentic to them and resonant with their constituents.
Ok you’ve done it, you’ve gotten me to subscribe to the Bulwark.
You mean me?
Yes, although I have been appreciating the work of many writers, this article just pushed me to subscribe.
Many thanks.
They sound like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon
Exactly this!
An elected official’s job is to represent his or her constituents. Just like the entirety of the democratic party, constituencies are not all the same. Get to know the people you are trying to represent and listen to them. That should dictate your playbook.
I will say….we raise an eyebrow when Republicans do just that 🤷🏼♀️
It’s easy. Govern for working class Americans. Not billionaires. They can’t seem to figure that out.
I still don't understand why the Congress Dems aren't making everybody put their names on whatever the latest impeachable offenses are. Even if it's only Boy Johnson. Especially if it's more than once a day.
Republicans tied Abigail Spanberger to Mamdani and it didn't work so they moved on Trump tied Biden to AOC & Bernie & lost in 2020 STAND STRONG BEHIND YOUR BOLDEST MEMBERS, DEMOCRATS!
that's anti-semetic! Zohran is Jewish, right? /sarcasm
This really needs to be taken to heart. Anyone that is telling you what the Democratic party (a very large and inclusive institution) should be is telling you what they, personally, want the Democratic party to be.
