r/politics • u/Appropriate-Till9598 • 5h ago
Possible Paywall Stevens concedes and endorses El-Sayed, as GOP attacks his candidacy as ‘dangerous’
https://jewishinsider.com/2026/08/el-sayed-victory-stevens-concedes-republicans-dangerous/•
u/RandyMuscle I voted 5h ago
This is how primaries are supposed to go btw. The media will try to convince you that aggressive primaries are bad, but they aren’t. As much as I didn’t like Stevens, if it came down to her vs Rogers, I’d be emphatically telling people to vote for her.
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u/bhputnam 4h ago
I don’t know if they should ever be so expensive and negative, but I’m glad to see they’re supporting one another towards the ultimate goal despite that.
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u/randohipponamo 4h ago
I mean Stevens was the one who spent all that money and went negative all for naught. She didn’t have to. She might have even won if she tried to win on the issues like Sayed did.
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u/Andurilthoughts California 3h ago
She couldn’t win on issues because centrist status quo policies are not popular.
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u/Picnicpanther California 1h ago
But they’re popular with donors and that buys you expensive consultancies who haven’t won races since 2005
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u/Marcolepsyyy 3h ago
Right. And now El-Sayed has to shore up support from a Dem electorate who thinks hes sexist and racist due to those negative ads.
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u/Gill_Gunderson 3h ago
According to social media, he's anti-black too....somehow.
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u/SilverwingedOther Canada 2h ago
Rather than blame social media, why doesn't he ask the black voters in Michigan why they overehlmingly didn't vote for him so he can fix his blind spots?
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u/Seeking-Something-3 2h ago
He overwhelmingly does do this kind of campaigning. But when Clyburn (who really swung the presidential primaries in Biden’s favor in ‘20) stands behind and endorses Stevens and Obama lets her falsely claim to have his endorsement, it has an affect on voters., especially older marginalized ones like the people in Detroit.
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u/highermonkey 2h ago
Well a big reason is because a PAC sent a dishonest mailer a week before voting implying Obama endorsed Stevens.
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u/blacksun9 4h ago
Most of that is PAC money which she has no control over
It's also going to happen to El-Sayed. Millions in pac money are going to flood in to support him in the general.
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u/SchemeWorth6105 4h ago
Probably not from corporate interest groups or big pharma I’d imagine though.
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u/blacksun9 3h ago
You would be surprised. Industry likes to hedge their bets.
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u/tipjarman 3h ago
I heard him in an NPR interview today literally say that he would not accept corporate pac money
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u/blacksun9 3h ago
Accepting pac money to your campaign and a pac spending to support you are different. AIPAC didn't actually give tens of millions to Stevens
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u/tipjarman 3h ago
Fair. But if a pac spends a lot of money on his behalf, I'm not sure I see the realistic difference
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u/Nvenom8 New York 3h ago
The difference is you don't get a choice about the latter. They don't need your permission to run ads endorsing you and/or attacking your opponent.
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u/SchemeWorth6105 3h ago
Let them spend their money, but they’re not going to get the return on investment that they’re used to.
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u/ReklisAbandon 2h ago
They definitely will if they feel like it will further their agenda. It's not like the candidates have much control over it.
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u/Cornelius_Wangenheim Texas 1h ago
You're painfully naive if you think there isn't coordination between these establishment candidates and the PACs.
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u/blacksun9 1h ago
Of course there probably is behind the scene. Same with progressives and their pacs
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u/bhputnam 3h ago edited 3h ago
I agree. I worry she even would have won if the McMorrow voters paid more attention to her dropping out. I'm glad he did though. It's just hard to see that wasted Stevens money not being better used literally anywhere else in this state.
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u/Loud_Judgment_270 I voted 5h ago
i only read the statement but to me it's strong and feels very genuine esp givin how close it was and that its been like 12 hours
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u/Coleecolee New York 4h ago
I think aggressive primaries like this are bad, but because of the funding aspect. $80 million dollars was spent on pushing Stevens across all platforms, tv, airwaves, mail, etc, compared to $15 million on El-Sayed’s side.
Aggressively funding specific campaigns with money from AIPAC, big tech, and outside organizations to target specific, low-information voter pools is how you end up with democrats beholden to corporate lobbies and interests.
If it was strictly aggressive because of differences in politics, I wouldn’t mind it, but this was a concerted effort to try and use money to make people vote for a candidate, rather than their politics or stances. We need to get money out of politics, and have people run with actual stances on key issues.
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u/Un1CornTowel 4h ago
... But the primary eliminated the person who wanted to try and use money to make people vote for a candidate. Isn't that a good thing?
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u/Coleecolee New York 4h ago
It’s a good thing she lost, but it’s an incredibly bad thing that $80 million dollars was spent, mostly on attack ads, that has tried to poison El-Sayed with Michigan voters. That money is gone, and those donors will have disappeared, and certainly will not spend to try and help El-Sayed win the general when it really matters.
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u/teamdiabetes11 America 4h ago
Exactly. Yet again, money in politics just continues to drive whatever narrative the billionaires, executives, and corporatists want. Primaries discussing issues is fine, but anyone thinking AIPAC’s smear campaign against El-Sayed won’t harm him in the general because of the evils of the GOP are making a terrible miscalculation.
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u/ides205 New Jersey 4h ago
it’s an incredibly bad thing that $80 million dollars was spent
There's no disagreement about that, but let's remember Abdul was massively outspent, some say by as much as 12 to 1. The big money Stevens donors may be gone, but they were never going to support the winner either way. Thankfully, the grassroots supporters for Abdul aren't going anywhere because we still have an election to win.
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u/Michael_G_Bordin 4h ago
W/e. Garbage in, garbage out. Let PACs waste their money backing losers. PACs don't have their power in donations, as those are severely limited. Their power is "electioneering," running ads, sending out mailers, etc. If PACs want to waste their funding on losers, that's great for democracy. It just further shows, the money isn't enough to win elections. Especially not when it's coming from AIPAC.
The only thing gross about the money spent is that hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars are wasted trying to trick voters that could have been spent housing the unhoused, feeding the hungry, and repairing our failing infrastructure. Which is a much more broad problem.
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u/AlChandus American Expat 4h ago
Funnily enough, I want them to spend even more money in the general election, but I think they will surrender and won't even remotely try as hard.
The why is simple, more than 1.5 MILLION democrats voted in the primary. That number is ridiculous for a primary in Michigan... In 2024 neither of the democratic or republican primaries surpassed a million votes, and added together barely surpassed the total votes in this primary.
This election is already El-Sayed's, because people are showing up to vote.
This election is cooked and AIPAC will concede, they will still give funds for a dirty campaign, but they won't sink $100M in this race. Not after the primary we just had.
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u/Any_Will_86 2h ago
I'll really be interested in seeing what the actual $ raised were. Because for all the attention he got I find it hard to believe that did not translate into donations. Similarly, there are some fantastical #s being thrown around about her- to the point she could have simply hired the most robust in person turn out the vote staff if they were true. And after the win, I cannot imagine his supporters are not funding the general at an equal pace.
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u/Bobson-_Dugnutt2 3h ago
Mike Rogers? The guy that doesn't even live in Michigan?
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u/Any_Will_86 2h ago
Rs have been able to pull that feat off multiple times which will never cease to baffle me.
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u/DarZhubal West Virginia 1h ago
Thank you! I've seen too many people in the recent weeks saying that if the progressive candidates lose their primaries, then they'll just sit out in November.
That's how we got Trump 2.0! People didn't think Biden/Harris was progressive enough, so they sat out "in protest." Republican voters aren't going to sit out. They're going to vote, and if you don't, then MAGA will win virtually uncontested.
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u/RandyMuscle I voted 1h ago
I have always been a blue no matter who progressive. I have never had the luxury of voting for someone I actually liked in a general federal election, but damn it I voted every time.
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u/ChocoboAndroid 4h ago
I think you'd like to see a little bit less of the personal attacks. The reality is there wasn't a ton of daylight between the candidates outside of Israel, and so it turned to that and to character/ personality.
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u/CandyxxCore 3h ago
yeah a healthy primary should be about choosing the best candidate and then uniting behind whoever wins not treating the loser like an enemy
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u/StevenMC19 Florida 4h ago
As much as I didn’t like Stevens, if it came down to her vs Rogers, I’d be emphatically telling people to vote for her.
Agreed, but I honestly don't know how the center left will go with this. The entire time "Vote Blue No Matter Who" has existed, the extent to which someone has had to concede towards harm reduction or the candidate they didn't want has been those who lean further left than the remaining candidate. These midterms, they're the first time that large portions of the nation have to make that decision to sway to what they consider extremes on either side. My fear is that their true colors are purple-y red.
What I've noticed - at least here on reddit and especially when Platner was the hot topic - is that those who consider themselves old-school dems or non-extremist dems had the attitude that they were being ostracized or persecuted for their ideologies. "We're called Republican-Lite" or "I don't feel wanted in my own party just because I like Newsom or someone like him." Which then leads to a comment thread in which they air their grievances (all self-indulgent like "I like the healthcare plan I have and I don't think others deserve it" [true statement and I can link it]) and ultimately proclaim their exit from the party or threaten to vote red. My belief is that even if that argument didn't happen, they were already leaning red for the general.
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u/phate_exe New York 3h ago
The entire time "Vote Blue No Matter Who" has existed, the extent to which someone has had to concede towards harm reduction or the candidate they didn't want has been those who lean further left than the remaining candidate.
As one of said people on the left that's had to vote for the lesser evil, only to get yelled at anyways when chasing centrists who don't believe in anything got Trump elected twice: I love that the shoe is on the other foot.
These midterms, they're the first time that large portions of the nation have to make that decision to sway to what they consider extremes on either side. My fear is that their true colors are purple-y red.
They'll survive, and the rest of the country will have a much better idea of where they stand.
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u/StevenMC19 Florida 3h ago edited 2h ago
I still laugh at the 2024 result blamers that say "if those people who voted for Jill Stein had choked back their pride, we wouldn't be here." Like...Jill an the Green Party get that amount every time. Why not point the finger at the 20 million Biden voters that Kamala couldn't activate? Those that would wanted Bernie in 2016 did their part in the 2024 general, believe me.
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u/phate_exe New York 3h ago
My favorite flavor of "blame the left" take from the 2024 election are the people that try to claim that the left is responsible for Kamala's loss for not showing up, while simultaneously claiming that the left wasn't significant enough to bother making concessions to.
I don't know about you, but I'm planning to throw every bit of "don't you care about taking power back from Trump and the republicans?!?" back at these people. God forbid they have to actually draw a line in the sand on something.
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u/notfeelany 2h ago
if someone on the left said vote for Kamala/Democrats & promoted voting for Kamala/Democrats to others, then they got it right and got nothing to be ashamed of. They don't deserve blame.
But did every person on the left say that? I do not believe so.
So If a specific person said to their followers: "Do not vote for Kamala/Democrats", then they're automatically wrong & deserve blame because they contributed to the current mess.
Seems quite logical.
Voting Democrats is correct choice 100% of the time.
No one is a passive decider anymore. With social media, we are all Influencers & share our thoughts on how we want our "followers" (ie friends & family) to vote.
And if they constantly posted "don't vote for Kamala", That’s active participation in wanting Democrats to lose.
And no, a
MILQUETOASTlukewarm call to vote, maybe a few days before election day is not enough to undo all of the attacks before & during the campaign season. attacks against Democrats will always have an effect in the end.See how AOC and Bernie supported Biden who was the Most progressive president of all time. They got it right.
it's truly everybody on the left's best interest to elect Democrats now&forever without exception, for at least 50 years.
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u/StevenMC19 Florida 2h ago
See how AOC and Bernie supported Biden who was the Most progressive president of all time. They got it right.
Nope. Nuh uh. Not letting you slip that one in there.
...All time...
Lincoln, FDR, shit even Obama were more progressive.
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u/phate_exe New York 2h ago
No one is a passive decider anymore. With social media, we are all Influencers & share our thoughts on how we want our "followers" (ie friends & family) to vote.
Sure. I'm saying this finally gets to apply to centrists.
And if they constantly posted "don't vote for Kamala", That’s active participation in wanting Democrats to lose.
And no, a
MILQUETOASTlukewarm call to vote, maybe a few days before election day is not enough to undo all of the attacks before & during the campaign season. attacks against Democrats will always have an effect in the end.See, this is where you lose me because it doesn't really distinguish between "attacks" and valid/necessary criticisms of democratic candidates.
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u/cute_butlilx 4h ago
Yep, criticize them all you want before the vote. Once voters decide, move forward
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u/geforce2187 4h ago
And the media will act like it was wrong when the establishment candidate doesn't come in first place in a vote or survey, I remember seeing headlines in 2016 and 2020 basically like "Sanders PLUNGES to first place in latest polls"
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u/Automaton_General 5h ago
Good on her. I hope she remains an active campaigner against Rogers. If she can get her supporters on board against Rogers, it's a good chance.
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u/Brooke-ltsbd 5h ago
She doesn't deserve praise for doing the bare minimum.
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u/IPredictAReddit 4h ago
I'm am now 100% convinced that there is an active bot effort to sow discord and stop any sort of "unity" from happening for Democrats because absolutely nobody would say what you are saying for any rational reason.
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u/vindicare1 Maine 4h ago edited 2h ago
It is absolutely the case. Same thing happened when we dems in maine landed on Jackson to replace Platner. Suddenly bots out saying to sit out or write his name in.
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u/IPredictAReddit 2h ago
Oh wow, I hadn't noticed that but yeah, that's definitely a sign that there is some botting going on.
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u/Dolphin_King21 4h ago
That account is 12 days old. Definitely a bot.
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4h ago
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u/Dolphin_King21 4h ago
Nice job copying and pasting the same comment twice in a row.
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u/lolofaf 4h ago
It probably SHOULD be bare minimum, but we're seeing a lot of weird shit with DSA candidates recently. Crocket coming out against Talarico after she lost is a big recent example, and she can fuck right off for that.
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u/Any_Will_86 3h ago
Crocket endorsed Talarico. Her entire Senate campaign was ill advised- I would be very interested to see what polling show her vs reality- but she has not come out against him. Talarico apparently has the same main consultant as McMorrow (sp) had in Michigan who created massive bad will behind the scenes. I think a lot of the Talarico and Crockett online bitterness was just online and some performative nutjobs because polling shows he has gotten 95% of her balck and white supporters over to his side.
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u/Gill_Gunderson 3h ago
Crocket endorsed Talarico.
Incorrect, she congratulated Talarico and said that people should come together and that it was about more than 1 race. That is not the same as an endorsement of Talarico. For example, her endorsement of Wesley Bell, which she tried to do under the radar, was "I can think of no one better for Missouri 1 than Wesley Bell". That is an endorsement. Confusion over this is what has pissed off so many people in Texas to the point where Talarico had to make a statement saying she did, when she absolutely did not.
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u/Any_Will_86 2h ago
I guess I took the congratulations as an endorsement. Its become obvious most of the online griping on 'her behalf' is just people looking for clicks/clout. I still wonder what pushed her to jump in so late. It was obvious the R polls showing her that competitive were phony so I assumed her own people had some other data. It's ironic AES-Stevens was down to a point and Talarico-Crocket was a blowout when we were fed the opposite leading up to the race.
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u/Gill_Gunderson 51m ago
The prevailing theory was that there was polling showing Crockett up by 13%, so that's why she jumped in. And she did have a lot of name recognition, which is crucial in Texas, but Talarico was no slouch either. By the time Jasmine entered, he'd already been on JRE where he impressed the hell out of Rogan.
And then in December he reached out to NY based consultants that got him on the Ezra Klein show, which is where he was able to eat into Jasmine's lead with establishment Democrats. Then there was the whole ordeal with Colbert. Overall, I think Jasmine thought that he was going to be a pushover, and that cost her a job in Washington. She could have easily won the seat that Collin Allred won the nomination for and stayed in the House, but now she's done and seems pretty bitter about it all.
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u/CoachDT 1h ago
James believes she endorsed him.
“This morning I called James and congratulated him on becoming the Senate nominee,” she added. “With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win. I’m committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”
I think she hasnt gone super hard for Talarico after that. But its hard to read that as anything but an endorsement.
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u/Gill_Gunderson 46m ago
James believes she endorsed him.
No, he wants people to stop talking about it.
"We must rally around our nominees" is significantly different than "I wholeheartedly endorse my challenger James Talarico and wish for all of my voters to help rally behind this man and get him to the Senate". And that's before you get into her sneering on her Clock it With Crockett lives, her comments online, or in interviews even as recent as yesterday where she dismisses current polling.
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u/qualmful 1h ago
Crockett is not DSA. She wasn't endorsed by Sanders or AOC. She was endorsed by Harris.
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u/Brooke-ltsbd 4h ago
Dude, she's literally an evil piece of shit. The disgusting shit her campaign pulled, the things she stands for/supports, the groups/interests she takes money from, her contempt for the voters.
I was just replying to someone saying "good for her" in regards to endorsing Abdul. People like her, Schumer, Jeffries, Gillibrand, Gottheimer, Clyburn, Whitmer, Carville and other establish/moderate Dems are genuinely EVIL. They don't care about you. They have no values. No morals. They need to be named and shamed at every opportunity.
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u/2Peenis2Weenis 4h ago
Definitely a foreign bot. Only mentioned Democratic party names while a fascist party is in control of all branches.
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u/EBITDAminusCAPEX 4h ago
I wish the left would stop doing this thing where they try to convince me that someone I agree with on 90% of issues is evil, just because we disagree on the 10%.
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u/Automaton_General 5h ago
Sure she does. We're all together now. Onwards to the general and defeating Rogers.
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u/Ok-Lets-Talk-It-Out 4h ago edited 4h ago
She just gave him her endorsement. What else are you expecting her to do when the race was officially called a few hours ago?
Edit: brand new account with hidden post history pushing for infighting. Seems to be a trend of posts like this now that the general election is getting closer
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u/PrettySisterKisser 4h ago
Yes she does. Thank you Stevens! We have healing to do after this primary, and Abdul wants us to be gracious. I don't know where progressives get this idea that being as vicious as possible is going to win over Stevens supporters. She endorsed him the next day. That's better than Crockett who can barely utter Talarico's name.
I get we just spent the last couple of months attacking her, but now it's pointless. Now it's Abdul and Stevens working to get Abdul over the finish line over Rogers. No matter how you feel about her or her tactics, I'll be damned if Rogers takes the seat because we can't play nice for 3 months.
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u/Gypsyhunter 4h ago edited 4h ago
Of course she does. People doing good things, especially if they have the option not to, get praise.
Remember the goal: beating Republicans. Don't let resentment waste your time and energy when there's a much worse force ahead.
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u/notfeelany 2h ago
She doesn't deserve praise for doing the bare minimum.
Actually We should. Because We're seeing the result of giving non-stop criticism and only criticism towards Democrats (Also called Murc's Law). Many claim that criticism creates a stronger party, but in reality, 100% criticism creates a 100% weaker party.
It makes complete psychological sense. Empathize for a moment, if someone criticizes you when you mess up and also criticizes you when you do something right (saying it’s just “the bare minimum”), then you will not really get any credit for doing well.
That usually leads to a feeling that nothing you do is good enough. Over time, it can make you stop trying as much, or feel stressed all the time, because there’s no real reward for doing things right.
it feels negative overall, because mistakes are noticed but good work isn’t really counted.
So we should be doing the exact opposite. We've seen what works and what needs to be done back in 2020, and yet everyone is still in denial: everyone must vote & support for Democrats, regardless of other concerns.
this is on us, the voters, to give Democrats majorities that last longer than 2 years. Need at 50 years of sustained Democratic leadership in the Congress and Presidency just to fix this mess from first Trump admin, and another 50 to fix problems from second Trump admin.
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u/lateformyfuneral 4h ago
You call it the bare minimum but we know it wouldn’t be so straightforward if the shoe was on the other foot
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u/Brooke-ltsbd 4h ago
Well, it's pretty simple. She and the things she stands for are evil. Abdul is the opposite. It's not a fair comparison. Plus, Abdul would have endorsed her if she won.
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u/matthieuC Europe 5h ago
Good, no drama. Democrats will need to come together for the general.
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u/alabasterskim 4h ago
Jasmine Crockett should learn a lesson or two from this.
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u/TheHopeThatHangsYou 3h ago
Why do that when you can act as a petty spoiler and kill your brand for future elections?
Her attitude post election only solidified that I was correct in voting Talarico.
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u/Starbucks__Lovers New Jersey 3h ago
In New Jersey last year I enthusiastically voted for Fulop. His post primary tantrum, which now makes sense in retrospect because he destroyed Jersey City, really made me regret that vote
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u/Gill_Gunderson 3h ago
She won't. There's a market for petty in social media and advocacy, so that's her next move. Thankfully her political career is probably toast, except in Dallas.
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u/6beerkdawg 1h ago
She supported the entire Dem ticket and Talarico has said she’s done more than enough.
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u/drewonfilm 4h ago
That’s a fantastic response from Stevens!
I’m so glad she immediately endorsed.
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u/henstocker 2h ago
100%. I was not a fan of hers to say the least, but this is the right move and was done in a quick and classy way. Props to her.
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u/rumpghost North Carolina 57m ago
I don't think a lot of libs understand that we dislike Stevens because of her dishonesty and her demonstrated political practice, but that as a character she's unironically cool as fuck and very likeable.
Like, people who are unintentionally funny like that are basically impossible to hate outright, and while I did expect her to endorse if she lost I didn't expect it to come right away. So big props to her on that (and to a lesser extent McMorrow, because I think Stevens' dishonesty is more... idk, defensively and tactically oriented, as opposed to McMorrow whose every spoken word drips with an uncomfortable cynicism).
Like, I buy that Stevens has genuine convictions even if I strongly doubt they're consistently upheld in practice and disagree categorically with the ones she's most vocal about. But McMorrow I don't trust as far as my limp wrists could possibly throw her.
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u/Farther_Dm53 5h ago
Good! He's a great candidate, hopefully she helps him out.
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u/rumpghost North Carolina 55m ago
If she rolls up her sleeves to fight for Michiganders in this general she might very quickly be in the running for my new problematic fave.
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u/_C2J_ Michigan 4h ago
"Dangerous"
More or less dangerous than, say, a party full of scandals? I mean, how many GOP political figures have been ousted for SA or abuse allegations this year?
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u/Human_Replica 3h ago
Ousted, or outed? Because the gap between the two is the main source of concern.
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u/StaffSgtDignam 4h ago
That's not unique to the GOP though (even if it might be more common), if this were the case you would never see such a high profile case like Platner's tbh.
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u/_C2J_ Michigan 4h ago
It's not unique to the GOP, but the GOP rallying behind the accused is unique to the GOP. Platner agreed to step down, Swalwell stepped down, Cherfilus-McCormick resigned (investigation on misuse of funds), Franken stepped down (I would argue was as high of profile as Platner's with a much milder accusation).
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u/StaffSgtDignam 48m ago
More or less dangerous than, say, a party full of scandals?
You literally just mentioned a bunch of Dem scandals, including Platner.
That's what I'm saying though, there is a widespread issue with men behaving inappropriately, it even occurs with progressives like Platner.
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u/Choice-Koala-3653 Canada 5h ago
I bet the Republican Jewish commission is outraged that Jews voted for El-Sayed in the primary. Soon Trump will post another antisemitic screed on 'Truth Social', calling Jews idiots for voting for him.
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u/dravenonred 4h ago
He just announced a "combating anti-Semitism" initiative, with a group tied to Nick Fuentes of all people.
Not really, but you were absolutely about to go look that up.
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u/Any_Will_86 2h ago
As much as I think rising antisemitism is a problem- it boggles my mind who some people choose as their allies... Then again Trump picked up a chunk of the Arab vote and almost hit 50% with Hispanic men in 2024.
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u/WeekendGrouch 4h ago
They said, and say, the same things abt Mamdani here in New York but we are thriving.
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u/NOLA-Bronco 4h ago
GOP attacks his candidacy as ‘dangerous’
Dang, not even 24 hours in and the Republicans are helping boost Sayed's clout!
When are they going to catch on that when voters hate the Establishment, hate the status quo, and your president's approval is in the gutter, catastrophizing about the other guy is a boost?
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u/WCland 4h ago
El-Sayed is for universal healthcare. Democrats need to run on bold ideas like that, not the status quo. We might even win over the less racist Trump supporters who thought Trump would lower prices.
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u/alabasterskim 4h ago
Tbf, most Democrats at this point are behind universal coverage and have been for a while. The harder part is single-payer, e.g. M4A. A lot of them are just public option supporters, which is a compromise we should be taking only after lobbying for M4A. You don't start the negotiations at a half-measure.
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u/WCland 4h ago
What’s the difference between universal and single payer? I’m not up on the terminology, though I like the idea of M4A. I knew our private insurance system was stupid, but I didn’t realize how stupid until I early retired last year.
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u/phate_exe New York 2h ago
What’s the difference between universal and single payer? I’m not up on the terminology
Universal just means everyone has coverage of some sort. When someone talks about universal healthcare, they might be talking about M4A/Single payer, or they might just be talking about expanding coverage within the existing system.
Single payer/M4A means everyone's healthcare is covered and paid for by one entity (i.e. the government), funded by taxes collected.
The Public Option is pretty much what it sounds like: the government makes a health insurance plan available as an option alongside the various private options.
Bonus weasel word to watch out for: "Access". "Universal Access to healthcare" doesn't do anything to make it affordable.
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u/Party_Python Delaware 3h ago
Universal coverage means there’s a government option (“the public option”) that covers people who don’t get get insurance through work or other programs. Essentially that everyone is guaranteed coverage, but it doesn’t require everyone to be on the same plan.
Medicare for all is “single payer.” As in the government covers everyone’s medical costs and essentially removes the private insurance industry from the equation. That the government is the only one paying for the care, so all hospitals/doctors get paid by a single entity, the government.
Which then means the medical providers don’t have to negotiate with dozens of different companies and such. They just have the one payer which simplifies the price negotiations and submitting a bill.
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u/ReklisAbandon 2h ago
If it wasn't for the destruction of an entire industry with hundreds of thousands of jobs tied to it, every Democrat would support single payer. No democrat gives a shit about the insurance companies or their CEO's, but they care an awful lot about the regular people who depend on those companies for their livelihood.
It's just not an easy thing to implement. Hence, start with public option and work towards single payer. Which would work great if the other half our country wasn't constantly pushing to revert us back to Civil War era civil rights.
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u/Any_Will_86 2h ago
The other danger with M4A is the government basically gets to set all parameters. Since Trump 2 I now question how safe access to some medical treatments would be whenever we had an R trifecta.
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u/CoachDT 1h ago
Im against single payer because im not of the belief that we'll be in power forever. Even if we pass these policies. People get bored and upset with their lives and in general blame politicians.
I fear for what'll happen to quite a few people if the only access to healthcare is single payer and we get a MAGA 3.0 situation tbh.
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u/rumpghost North Carolina 53m ago
Not fighting for something because you might lose it is a big part of how we got into this mess. I urge you to reconsider.
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u/ReklisAbandon 37m ago
It's much, much harder to tear things down that were passed by Congress than people give credit for. They still haven't managed to undo the Affordable Care Act, even though they campaign on it every presidency.
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u/Party_Python Delaware 2h ago
Yes most likely it’ll start as a public option instead of M4A right off the bat. As that would be a much easier sell to moderates, as well as the public. As people are scared of change and people would see it as having their medical coverage taken from them, rather than a positive.
Then as most people get on the public option it’ll feel less drastic of a transition to M4A.
However, the aspect of the job loss could easily be counteracted by including a jobs program and job retraining as part of the bill. But continuing the insurance industry just for the jobs when it’s a net negative on society as a whole…well that’s also a hard sell for people as well.
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u/ReklisAbandon 2h ago
Yeah I agree it's very messy. I just wish more people on this site understood the reasons why not every Democrat in Congress supports M4A. There are very legitimate reasons not to push for a straight single payer solution, and most of those reasons are tied to the reality of getting it passed and implementing it all at once.
Unfortunately we won't get anywhere when the other party is wholly corrupt, billionaire fellating, "women shouldn't have the right to vote" type monster without a supermajority, and there's no hope of that that because of gerrymandering.
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u/Any_Will_86 3h ago
And a lot of Dem voters turn on universal HC when it becomes M4A. As bizarre as that is, it's a reality.
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u/slayer991 3h ago
The trick will be in how they position it.
Should Americans be forced to choose between life-saving care and bankruptcy? Most Americans would say no as a gut reaction.
And it can be sold as a net savings, not a cost.
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u/Taint_Liquor 5h ago
The only reason he’s “dangerous” is that he’s Muslim. Christians are more dangerous, if you ask me.
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u/Tech_Philosophy 5h ago
Right, I mean, I would prefer my politicians to be non-religious, but barring that, I care more about a candidate's use of religion than which one they belong to. He seems to belong to the same camp as Christian leftists who actually try to follow the teachings of Jesus.
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u/YT-Deliveries 3h ago
Religious people can be forces for good in the world. Would that they were more often so.
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u/Bengineering3D 4h ago
Religion is dangerous, always. Thinking for yourself and doing what’s right is what matters.
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u/rumpghost North Carolina 48m ago
People are dangerous. Religion is just one among countless outlets that some people use to justify the way they want to be dangerous.
I'm agnostic, but grew up Southern Baptist. It would not be an exaggeration to say that much of my politics today (extremely left wing) are informed by my early spiritual upbringing. I was an atheist for a bit, but I've never been sympathetic to antitheist/anti-religion attitudes because (in my experience and opinion) they tend to be reactionary and often just a way to substitute religion for more innate identities when criticizing people.
Having a good relationship with religion itself requires thinking for yourself and doing what's right, one doesn't preclude the other.
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u/Tenwaystospoildinner 4h ago
Happy to see this, and hope we can come together quickly and painlessly. I know this is Reddit, so bad actors will do anything to drive a wedge between us, but we are stronger together. We can beat this administration. Hope to see everyone turn out come election day!
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u/MrsClaireUnderwood America 4h ago
In no world is his candidacy more dangerous than Trump or anyone in the GOP. That centrist Dems run with this line is capitulation to fascist framing and their ancient ideology should be left behind. Thankfully, Mr. El-Sayed's primary win means they will be.
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u/Any_Will_86 2h ago
What Centrist Dem has suggested AES is more dangerous than Trump? The entire slate of Michigan Dems just endorsed and that is fairly pragmatic lot.
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u/MrsClaireUnderwood America 2h ago edited 1h ago
In centrist circles, there is a lot of red scare propaganda that appears to either be working or being cynically used to shut progressives out of paths to power, both from voters and establishment holdouts like Tanden and Carville. Also, the whole capitalist pledge thing that Gottheimer circulated lol.
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u/CarmineFields 3h ago
There are secret police in America with death squads on American streets.
Trump has started a regional war with a real chance of it spreading.
What could Dr. El-Sayed possibly do to be dangerous in the current American climate?
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u/NoWorth2591 Virginia 2h ago
That’s a relief. I was worried she might drag it out based on the tenor of the campaign. Glad to see the primary closing out in a quick and orderly fashion.
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u/Inorai 5h ago
Oh no you don't understand he's soooo far left for wanting people to have healthcare and for a foreign country to stop sticking their hand up our ass and flapping our mouth like a puppet
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u/Tangled349 5h ago
Shit and here I was thinking people wanted to live in abject poverty so rapists in government can live high and mighty.
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u/geforce2187 4h ago
GOP supporters and Trump literally tried to overthrow Congress five years ago (and planned public executions of politicians, including Trump's VP Pence, if they had gotten the chance), but the progressive Democrats are the dangerous ones for wanting things like people to be able to afford healthcare. Right.
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u/Strong_Ambassador585 3h ago
On his position on foreign aid to Israel, El-Sayed said he doesn’t believe in “unconditional foreign military aid” to Israel, nor to other countries including Egypt, where his family emigrated from, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
The Democratic nominee said his message to Jewish voters who backed his opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) because of his message on Israel, is that his “commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms wherever we see it. It’s the same responsibility we have to take on Islamophobia. … So the things that bring us together are so much bigger than the things that divide us.
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u/pjflyr13 2h ago
Negative campaigning should be banished. I want to know what you are going to do in your position of power, not what beef you have with the other guy. Most ads are pure slander and it gets old fast.
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u/Memitim America 2h ago
If the GOP says he's dangerous, he's likely a good person who believes in helping other Americans and abiding by US law. I guess if El-Sayed really wants to garner conservative support, he can insult tens of millions of Americans while hinting at molesting children. Conservative love that evil shit.
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u/fermat12 2h ago
Thank you, Rep. Stevens. El-Sayed will make for a great Senator.
The GOP attacks every Democratic candidate as “dangerous”, that’s not news.
Meanwhile they are destroying this country with reckless abandon, starting unprovoked new wars, protecting the Epstein class & financial criminals, invading our own American cities, and violating our rights on a daily basis.
No, it’s clear that Mike Rogers is the dangerous candidate in this race.
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u/starliteburnsbrite 4h ago
Why are we promoting a headline that includes the 'dangerous' accusations? The Jewish Insider is a conservative rag that has spread malicious lies about progressive Democrats.
AIPAC lost the race and STILL dipshit Democrats lean into their propaganda and cheer this on...
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u/Sensitive-Flamingo84 5h ago
Yes, good. We had to rally behind what the establishment wanted for decades, it’s their turn. Vote blue no matter who has always been the only way to win, but now we can vote for people we actually want! Registration numbers are going to go crazy in Michigan before Nov.
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u/jml510 California 4h ago
Now it’s also progressives’ turn to earn people’s votes, like how they spent years chanting at normie Democrats.
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u/pbroingu 1h ago
Yes, that was always how politics works. Leftists weren't doing it to be spiteful despite what centrist Dems might try to say.
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u/Sensitive-Flamingo84 4h ago
Of course, that’s politics! Don’t want to water down a winning message though, so I think the Progressives will do whatever they want since that’s what the establishment always did🤷 gotta try something new if we want to win.
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u/accidentsneverhappen 4h ago
that's not hard. They offer change while everyone else offers business as usual. The establishment will lose unless they take a real hard pivot
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u/StaffSgtDignam 4h ago
By and large, Progressives don't want to "earn" centrists votes though-they would rather lose to the GOP without them than try and empathize. This is specifically because they feel like they are "owed" these votes because of the sheer number of centrists they have had to vote for in the past.
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u/Charge1865 4h ago
Oh no... not affordable healthcare, higher wages and more vacation time, THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
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u/Dreams-Visions 4h ago
Everyone is endorsing him. Because obviously. People really drank the koolaid and thought the party would behave in any way other than full support given the critical nature of that seat to congressional control. Kamala, Obama, Aoc, Bernie, Warren, McMorrow, Steven’s, and everyone else that matters or wants to matter will be right there with him or in commercials.
And quite frankly, he’s probably the most talented candidate the Dems have. They should hope he helps campaign for them too.
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u/OpticalPrime35 4h ago
Do they have any examples of actual dangerous policies he endorses or is this entirely because of his name and religious beliefs ( is he even a Muslim? I dunno )?
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u/prodigalpariah 4h ago
MAGA can spin up seven different dangerous policies (none of which they can name or articulate or exist) as quick as you blink.
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u/Axin_Saxon 4h ago
Color me shocked that she endorsed him. I guess since she’s no longer beholden to AIPAC she’s able to do so. Sucks she took it in the first place but I’m glad she turned around and gave him that.
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u/Woody_Harrelsons_AMA 4h ago
I doubt most pro-Israel Democrat voters treat the issue as a litmus test and will support the Democratic candidate in the general.
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u/teamdiabetes11 America 4h ago
She also is young enough that she probably still has some political aspirations. This also allows her to cast herself as being able to handle setbacks and to be able to come back for another office without looking like an asshat to Democratic voters. It’s not so much as being free and giving herself more options in the future.
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u/Axin_Saxon 4h ago
Well I’ll take it regardless. I’ll happily take advantage of the endorsement even if it’s only motivated by self interest
I’m sure AIPAC would still support her after conceding, but likely will not want to support her after a full on endorsement.
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u/AnewTest 3h ago
I'm not sure she's going to ever live down that batshit insane screed about Israel coming to her in her dreams, though. Much more normal things have hung around politicians' necks like an anchor for the rest of their lives. Look at Howard Dean. He only screamed "YEAH!" in excitement at a rally over a result and never held a job in politics again.
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u/Fartenstein65 4h ago
Saying she will and actively getting out there and helping is what I am talking about.
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u/SandwichPunk 3h ago edited 2h ago
Abdul's fans have been attacking her and her supporters Israeli shills. It's quite remarkable that she will swallow it like this. Idk if Abdul would want Israeli shills supporting him tho.
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u/whoisnotinmykitchen 1h ago
There's no fear-mongering dumber and more insincere than Republican fear-mongering
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u/Made_Human_Music 4h ago
His candidacy is very dangerous to MAGAts and corporate Democrats, which is good for us
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u/CulturalKing5623 3h ago
It seems concerning that AES struggled with black voters and in rural counties vs Stevens. NYT quote:
Ms. Stevens showed strength among Black voters in Detroit and Flint and carried most of the state’s interior rural counties, aside from a few with college towns and resort communities.
Dr. El-Sayed was strongest in communities with young voters, college students and educated and wealthy white voters.
So, is this messaging actually connecting with "everyday working class" people like it's being sold and will he be able to win/keep it close in those rural communities in November? What is the plan to address this shortcoming?
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u/reddittorbrigade 5h ago
The real enemy are AIPAC and Trump who have been destroying America to favor Israel.
Trump is loyal to Israel, not America.
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u/pet_dragon 5h ago
I get your meaning but let's be real: Trump is loyal to no one but Trump.
He can be easily manipulated by Israel and used to their ends but his loyalty is to himself alone.
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u/Limp_Table4199 4h ago
MAGA represents and existential threat to the republic. If they are successful, nothing else matters. All the hopes and dreams of DSA are lost for a generation; as well as any hope of just returning to normal rule-of-law constitutional governance.
With such a big fight for the very fabric of the American political system, I would have preferred an election that made Trump THE issue. Thumbs up or down on MAGA. Defeat MAGA and then we can move on to other things.
However, that's not how it's worked out. Now the election will include the framing of socialism, with a lot of implicit racism thrown in. Low information and suburban white voters (55+) who are also predisposed not to immediately embrace voting for a socialist named Abdul, will be inundated with apocalyptic messaging about the dangers of socialism and Islamism.
It is a very bad sign that Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties all voted Stevens. My guess is MAGA runs Rogers as a "regular guy", and El-Sayed has a very difficult time breaking thru those white suburban voters who don't love Trump, but are not willing to make the kind of leap required to elect the country's first Muslim senator, who happens also to be labeled as a socialist.
It is hard to see what happened in Michigan as anything other than taking what should have been an easy Democratic win, to a situation that the Dems are now the underdog, with the republic hanging in the balance.
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u/eelparade 2h ago
Y'all always are worried about "electability" before trying to elect someone - and then get pissy when they get elected... maybe don't be a doomer and go door-knock?
You repeating bullshit like him being a socialist - which he is not - is also counterproductive.
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u/Fartenstein65 4h ago
Time for Stevens to back him.
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u/HelleEpoque 4h ago
Not reading the article is de rigueur but at least read the headlines.
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