And I may be incorrect about this, but it appears the down ballot folks running for/winning these special elections appear to be fighters. I’m not sure why Harrison got so defensive about this. It’s a worrying problem for dems. I’ve called out many of them for their quite shocking passivity.
I assume because he knows many of them and he probably reflects what DC insiders think. You hear Newsom and Pritzker warning about Trump becoming a dictator. DC Democrats are acting like Trump is a run of the mill Republican. Hence no urgency and the obsession with "kitchen table issues."
Well, they ran on "Trump will be a dictator" in 2024 and they lost. It's clearly not a message that resonated with voters.
It’s the pivot after running on "Trump will be a dictator" to “now we’re looking for bipartisanship” and confirmation votes for some of the early though awful picks that had me reeling. The fact that btwn 6 nov - 21 jan they had decided on an opposition plan of passive resistance was stunning.
And the same people saying Trump will be a dictator now say Trump rapidly moving to become a dictator is a "distraction" and we need to "focus on kitchen table issues."
exactly!! 🫨😵🤯 i keep writing to my senators/reps (one of them seems to have adjusted his website to no longer allow for general contact messages but we are now given choices for very particular requests. None of them include fighting to save democracy.)
People on Bluesky care about that but average voters clearly don't, or we wouldn't be in this position. Most people only care about how much of their paycheck is going to groceries. I don't like it either but everything points to it being true.
If they don't care why are Newsom and Pritzker resonating instead of Shapiro and Whitmer? You can't beat something with nothing.
I don't see evidence Newsom is particularly resonating outside of Bluesky, where people fall in love with anyone who hires a social media team that knows how to meme. I think a bigger question is, "if Newsom is the frontrunner, why does he have to start campaigning so early?" We're three years out.
That seems insane. He's the most talked about Democrat hands down no matter the context. It's not a Bluesky thing. He isn't "campaigning." He's fighting for democracy after Trump invaded Los Angeles. That was the turning point for him.
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He's always campaigning. As a former Californian I can tell you he takes whatever position he thinks will poll best, and claim it's his new set of principles.
Ever since he decided to run for President he's been veering right to try to distance himself from California's lefty reputation. He used to be pro-trans before he started quashing trans rights bills and paling around with Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk.
For that to be true Newsom must have access to special polling 90% of them don't. There are 23 Democratic governors. Only 3 are standing up to Trump. It's a similarly anemic ratio in Congress.
Because it was hypothetical and people did not believe it because Trump is viewed as a clown. Now it's real. What's the argument? You fight for democracy once and then just quit?
My argument is they should run on stuff that resonates with voters. Satisfying people on Bluesky doesn't win elections on its own.
Which only matters if there are elections. You don't stop autocracy by twiddling your thumbs. Ask 1930s Germans.
What are you suggesting? Yelling that Trump is a dictator doesn't do anything to stop him either. Words aren't magic.
Remember when Trump was popular on immigration? Then Van Hollen went to El Salvador. The public heard the other side and Trump's never recovered. The first step in stopping autocracy is calling it out and via that changing public opinion.