Bernie protege wins in major NYC congressional upset

[catherine]

A Democratic Socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated an entrenched democrat, Joseph Crowley, in a major upset in the primaries. She put her finger on one of the reasons why Trump won:

“What I see is that the Democratic Party takes working class communities for granted, they take people of color for granted and they just assume that we’re going to turn out no matter how bland or half-stepping these proposals are,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said in a recent interview about why she was running.

There's a reason why, as different and Trump and Bernie are ideologically, there is overlap in their supporters--and I think these types of upsets are just beginning.

As they say in Les Miserables: Do you hear the people sing--singing the song of angry men?

[Ultralight]

Hooray for our side!

[LDAHL]

Hooray for our side!

As goes Queens, so goes the country?

I was happy to see Romney, the prior progressive ogre, win his primary.

Will we see the dawning of a new age of leftist triumph? I will be interested to see if the country at large regards democratic socialism as other than oxymoronic.

[Williamsmith]

So far as capitalists have taken the economic philosophy to the brink of abuse and exploitation and created a toehold for socialist reform, I can see progressives making inroads into urban America. Rural America still appreciates a public hanging, mass incarceration, ethnic...racial...and sexual prejudice, as well as the good old boy system of getting ahead with a sprinkling of violence. Where the democratic socialists will falter is when they hint at revolution. All in all, middle Americans yawn and reach for a Yuengling and a pool cue.

[oldhat]

I don't know many details yet about the Dem primary in NYC, but it does seem to be part of a growing wave of disgruntlement among progressives who are sick of the old guard's bland and compromising leadership. This American Life did an interesting show on an insurgent progressive Dem running in upstate NY who was rather stunned at how his own candidacy took off in a heavily working-class district after he based it mainly on single payer. It looks like the NYC primary win was a manifestation of the same phenomenon--when upstart candidates espouse truly progressive agendas that are deemed "too extreme" or "unrealistic" by a party leadership that has grown far too cozy with corporations and the big money boys, people rally behind those candidates in droves. This is what happened with Bernie, and it's happening more and more.

IMHO, Dems are far too worried about losing. It's helpful to recall that when Ronald Reagan first appeared on the national scene, he was regarded by many as far too right-wing to ever be elected to national office. But his ideology fit the temper of the times, and he eventually triumphed. (It didn't hurt that he was an even more skillful con man than Trump, or at least a far more agreeable one.)

The lesson here is that to win in the long term, you take your stand and you take your lumps. If you lose, you lose--at least in the short term. Eventually, history catches up.

[jp1]

For me the takeaway from this is that candidates who focus on the issues that are imporant to regular people will do well. Hopefully democratic candidates across the country get that message because this election is theirs to lose. And if all we do is bash trump, lose it we will. But if we focus on healthcare, tax cuts for rich people, and all the other things that matter to regular people we will do quite well.

For instance this woman is probably a long shot since she’s in Texas, but her message is spot on.

https://youtu.be/Zi6v4CYNSIQ

[LDAHL]

What you suggest was the winning formula for Democrats from the thirties to the eighties. Why they waste so much energy on identity politics, elitist virtue-signaling and cultural warfare is a mystery to me.

[jp1]

I dunno. Identity politics, racism and cultural warfare seems to have worked for the other side.

[LDAHL]

I dunno. Identity politics, racism and cultural warfare seems to have worked for the other side.

Perhaps, but (and this is true for many in both parties) isn’t it more important to win elections than than to indulge in ideological chest-thumping and an endless loop of youtooism?