Democratic (Party) Direction

“And whenever I make a mistake, I say, "OK, this was clumsy." and then I restate what my point was. But it's— it's not the same thing as— as the President lying about immigrants. It's not the same thing, at all.” - the next sentence

Cover the quote in context, thanks. https://t.co/e5zHw4uHaw

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 7, 2019

xp :)

Thanks for the context, it is 2019 and I still have not learned to ignore twitter.

But I still don't like the idea of admitting people care more for being "morally right" than factual details, those two things shouldn't oppose each other. Plus comparing one sin to the many sins of the lowest of lows is not exactly a standard of excellence I think AOC belongs to.

Good answer imo

Meghan McCain: "Do you agree that @AOC and the ideology of the socialist left could splinter your party?@KamalaHarris: "No...she is introducing bold ideas that should be discussed." pic.twitter.com/M7f61VXaCH

— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) January 9, 2019

The fuller answer in the clip is better

it's too bad brain cancer isn't hereditary

Classic Outic.

More like OUCHic

THAT IS A SIGMA

take it to the “fuck cancer” thread.

Hm, I actually felt like Harris's comment about AOC there was somewhat distancing and patronizing.

I used to teach... and the thing I love about teaching is it requires you to always examine a premise... Let's look at the bold ideas! And I'm eager that we have those discussions. And when we are able to defend the status quo let's do it, and when there's not merit to that, let's explore new ideas."

AOC is not Harris's student, just throwing bold ideas out there to be discussed and decided on by a superior. (Or is she?) Tbf, she was answering a question about whether the ideas could splinter the party and not what she thinks of the ideas but she does seem to be assuming that a more left platform won't garner wider support in and of itself.

Hm, I actually felt like Harris's comment about AOC there was somewhat distancing and patronizing.

In a different context I'd probably agree, but there I thought that was a pretty good answer - and if someone just shows up and literally start moving the overton window while you are sat in it, how much choice do you have anyway

Yes it's a good answer!

I don't know much about ms Harris except that a UK paper says she could be the next POTUS.

As good of a shot as 20 other Democrats, at least.

Who do you think has the best chances, milo?

That is such a professor answer. I get annoyed by the professors I know on fb who want to keep discussion open and civil and I am like "can you please just call this guy an asshole and unfriend him, ffs."

I wouldn't begin to place a bet on the Democratic field, aside from maybe one against the winner being an old white man.

beto: hey look at me I'm not old

i'm eyeing the contenders to see whose stances on the issues are as good as Bernie's

still looking

look over here!

Alfred's running

Stay hydrated!

brb gonna make a list of ten reasons why I should run

brb gonna make a list of ten reasons why I should run

8 to go

keep it in the primary [sic] thread

Progressives shut out key candidate recruitment committee to run Democratic elections. Centrists totally dominant in all key centers of party power. https://t.co/fNqjQEfpcB

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 10, 2019

There is only one place for centrists and that is facebook neighborhood groups.

you misspelled "racists"

This isn't just Pelosi, she has a caucus full of centrists. Progressives got crushed in nearly every primary (except @aoc) in 2018. People may think 'the left' is ascendant, and perhaps it is, but not among Democratic primary voters.

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 10, 2019

b-but her retweets

it's more complicated than that tho cause you also have to account for establishment centrists adopting progressive stances like m4a etc., as well as the gradual retirement of blue-dogs which makes this the most progressive dem congress in quite some time. progressives winning any primaries for seats previously occupied by centrists is significantly different from them losing all of those races. people in AOC-esque districts with complacent old leadership will be looking at her playbook for 2020, and some will win. stacey-abrams-esque candidates will win some statewide races. sanders-y DSA candidates will win some others. and so on.

Progressives got crushed in nearly every primary

Randy Bryce beat a more centrist candidate, Cathy Myers by 20 points, in one of the most high-profile 2018 primaries!

I mean, he said "nearly every."

I feel like we've had this debate more than once before -- if you're measuring the mood of the party by progressive primary victories rather than the adoption of more progressive policy positions driven by progressive primary challenges then you're measuring wrong.

otm

more weak ass centrism from Fred, what a surprise

honestly i'm more disappointed in stoller who was once an advisor to grayson, a fellow insufferable but at least a reliable left vote; stoller's remade himself into a socially lefty libertarian and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth

The Beto dental cleaning...please stop.

Rick Perlstein about AOC

I think psychologically there’s a lot of, shall we say, neurosis. Again, going back to this trauma of the Reagan victory, the Gingrich victory, the Bush victories—it’s people who built their political identities around a neurotic response to trauma. It’s, We gotta build a protective shell around ourselves because, if we show our egos, our egos will be destroyed, to put it in psychoanalytic terms.

To have this young person who hasn’t experienced this trauma . . and one of the things that’s fascinating about this—I’ll call it an often-used word—authenticity that she has is that you see her, in very interesting ways, going back to modes of rhetoric and modes of political communication that you associate with lots of pre-Reagan figures. Although I’ll also say figures like Reagan. It’s like Harry Truman.

AOC sparks joy.

that's v interesting, i'm unfamiliar with perlstein -- is he somebody to appreciate

yes

yeah I liked that interview

Chotiner comes off like a real asshole in that interview, displaying the exact pathologies Perlstein is talking about, and I'm glad he pushes back and calls him out on it ("You sound like one of these super-analytic Democrats—you’re immediately negotiating with yourself, you’re immediately apologizing.").

If you haven't read Perlstein's late twentieth century trilogy on the history of conservativism (Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan), I envy you -- I'd love to read them again afresh.

yeah HOOS, read Nixonland

honestly I couldn't tell if Hoos was being sarcastic or not

The next clip in Beto's Insta-story is him interviewing his Mexican-American dental hygienist -- Diana from El Paso -- about her experiences on the border & how her neighbors helped her mom pass her citizenship test.

Can we please chill w/ the cynicism?https://t.co/D1bvDrdp6J pic.twitter.com/bgXi4GB8rr

— Dan Lavoie (@djlavoie) January 10, 2019

One of the great mysteries to me is why Tammy Baldwin has such a low profile as a model for progressive electoral success in not-overwhelmingly-progressive states. Still feel like she's not well-known outside the Midwest.

xp Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge are both great. Perlstein's take on AOC's strengths is really interesting.

I was wondering about that. We're pretty divided among Republican and Democrat but Tammy just steamrolls everyone. People really like her here.