The progressive House Rep from New York City has been made VERY aware that there is a resentment brewing within the House Democratic caucus from some after the party lost seats and did NOT increase seats like they thought they would….
Joe Biden maybe left of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ….
But he’s certainly NOT a Bernie Sanders /Elizabeth Warren and Ocasio-Cortez guy…
So far?
AOC has been supportive of Pelosi and the party though….
The leadership and elements of the party — frankly, people in some of the most important decision-making positions in the party — are becoming so blinded to this anti-activist sentiment that they are blinding themselves to the very assets that they offer.
I’ve been begging the party to let me help them for two years. That’s also the damn thing of it. I’ve been trying to help. Before the election, I offered to help every single swing district Democrat with their operation. And every single one of them, but five, refused my help. And all five of the vulnerable or swing district people that I helped secured victory or are on a path to secure victory. And every single one that rejected my help is losing. And now they’re blaming us for their loss.
So I need my colleagues to understand that we are not the enemy. And that their base is not the enemy. That the Movement for Black Lives is not the enemy, that Medicare for all is not the enemy. This isn’t even just about winning an argument. It’s that if they keep going after the wrong thing, I mean, they’re just setting up their own obsolescence….
…
You are diagnosing national trends. You’re maybe the most famous voice on the left currently. What can we expect from you in the next four years?
I don’t know. I think I’ll have probably more answers as we get through transition, and to the next term. How the party responds will very much inform my approach and what I think is going to be necessary.
The last two years have been pretty hostile. Externally, we’ve been winning. Externally, there’s been a ton of support, but internally, it’s been extremely hostile to anything that even smells progressive.
Is the party ready to, like, sit down and work together and figure out how we’re going to use the assets from everyone at the party? Or are they going to just kind of double down on this smothering approach? And that’s going to inform what I do….
image….slate/Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images and Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty
Always glad to see James shill for the Republicans.
AOC is their bete noire.
She’s not s leader of the Democratic Party.Shes nothing more than a second term Congressperson
Right wing media has built her up as this villainous ,radical ,Hispanic who is a dominant force in the party.
She’s not .
Oh, I agree…..
She IS a media icon…..
Not much MORE….
Well if you believe that?
Then why do you publish so many articles about her?
Cause she’s news…..
I see.
So,despite your well known yakking about the “ media this and the media that.”
You are nothing but a shill for them.
Got it!
Jack…..
Jack….,
We ARE Social Media…..
And we ARE FREE to knock things we don’t think are right…
AOC is very visible and very influential within her part of the D party, just like prominent Tea Party Republicans were.
There seems to be no doubt that all the talk about “defund the police” and various other things championed by AOC hurt her party in down ballot races from Congress to the local level.
If you guys want to avoid this in the future, she absolutely should be called to account.
I went through all the House races and my predictions. There are still a lot unresolved, and I think this number for me will drop, but it looks like worst case scenario is being wrong on 21, All things considered, with this many surprise results, that’s pretty good this year.
Gubernatorial races, I will be right on all for the first time, but that was fairly easy this cycle.
Senate looks like I will be wrong on Collins and Tillis. The Georgia runoffs give me a loophole to change my prediction before January and not have it count against me. Right before the election, I said Ossoff over Perdue on the slight chance he might get just past 50 on election night.
Presidential, if everything holds, I will be wrong on Florida, North Carolina, and Maine’s 2nd district. It just seems so odd in theory that Georgia would go blue before Florida or even North Carolina, but at least I will be right on GA.
Is the Alaska Senate race done?
49-51 McConnell is a far cry from what we have now….
For Biden?
It’s probably doable on certain pieces of legislation….
What do u think the final House balance will be between the parties?
She does NOT have to be ‘called to account’….
As Jack said…
She’s just one person….
She shit’s like everyone else….
Democrats need to LISTEN to the left….
But tailor their approach to 2022 to fit different regions of the country ….
The Democratic Party — unlike the hollowed out shell of party that the Trumpists have neutered and bent to their own obsessions — is and should be a big tent.
After Bernie Sanders (Ind., Vt) spoke (I think) to George Stephanopoulos while the networks were awaiting Biden’s victory speech, ex-Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-Nonpartisan League, North Dakota) said her former colleague had outlined all the things (if not approaches) that all wings of the party agree on, such as education and health care. And wise Democratic leaders like FDR can achieve a great deal of progress by sincerely including all the party’s parts, moderate and progressive.
I agree DSD….
But in order to hold and increase it’s political power foot print?
It is gonna HAVE to tailor it’s efforts to deal with DIFFERENT area’s of the country….
And THAT means LESS progressive reaching….
The vote IS a clear message that the ‘hard’ left leaning policies do NOT work in certain parts of the country and cannot be pursued….
AOC acknowledged that ….
I agree the part on the whole needs to get smarter on this
Some of the rhetoric (not necessarily from people committed to the election process), if not the substance, was obviously harmful when weaponized by the GOP.
For example, “Defund the Police”, while most folks in both rich and poor communities want to maintain or even increase police availability. It’s always futile to try and explain what your slogan “really” means, but most people (including most working police officers) agree that maintaining or increasing the police force requires also increasing complimentary social and medical services, as well as more specialized police training. Working cops don’t like having to be expert social workers, addiction counsellors, shelter providers, domestic mediators or mental therapists when that’s not part of their training. But they also know that their job just becomes futile and frustrating without such services — sometimes to the point that they feel the need to use physical force when other approaches might work better.
But saying more funds need to go to these services at least as much, if not more, than to another class at the police academy is obscured rather than aided by “Defund the Police”.
However such a slogan is extremely useful for an attack ad.
I agree DSD and said so here ….