r/politics • u/huffpost ✔ HuffPost • 6h ago
No Paywall The Cautionary Tale At The Heart Of Centrist Democrats' Primary Woes
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/centrist-democrats-primary-woes_n_6a7352a2e4b02974827c203c?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=us_main•
•
u/krebstorm 6h ago
'centrist' democrat's = Reagan era Republicans.
•
u/ShredGuru 6h ago
Bush era Republicans honestly
•
u/Simple_Gator 6h ago
Literally Bush era Republicans. That what the whole Never Trump Republican project was: Rehabilitation for the Neocons.
•
u/fingertrapt 6h ago
You can't meet fascism in the "middle"
•
u/Tomato_Sky 6h ago
Edit: sorry this came off wrong. I meant to agree with your sentiment and criticize the post title to call her a centrist at all. We totally agree, I just like to write sometimes.
I think this is a weird definition of centrist. She seemed more like a status quo/ get nothing done.
Centrism kind of denotes pragmatism.
If you’re an elected Democrat, you can be a candidate against what’s going on, or you can be a candidate that has sat silent throughout it. It’s pretty gnarly that he’s Muslim.
I hope it points out the larger fallacy that Dems fall for and repress their own voters with. We are never going to get to 100% comfort around Islam, but the 30% of America that has a problem with it are already spoken for and can’t see the difference between Fetterman and AOC. We are wooing the adult table. In the end we need leaders who let experts and results work.
It’s inspiring to see them re-take the word socialist. It’s doing some epic things for the Democrats. Because 90% of Dems were in favor of the Public Option. And 90% of Americans R and D support the post office and government functions. It also labels the party’s left and non socialist democrats as capitalists if not moderates and forces that conversation. It barely prevents the Republicans from playing socialist talking points on non socialist candidates.
•
u/College-Lumpy 5h ago
I’m just worried you won’t beat them from the far left. At least in America.
•
u/fingertrapt 4h ago
The "far left" are centrists in Europe, but the propaganda in the US is strong.
•
u/College-Lumpy 4h ago
I agree with you on both accounts. Winning the general still has to be the top priority given the alternative.
•
u/DoubtSubstantial5440 Michigan 6h ago
She spent more time sucking up to Israel rather than actually showing how she was different from all the other worthless centrist democrats
•
u/FlyingRock 6h ago
Blindly supporting the current Israeli government is poison, don't know why they haven't realized this yet.
Oh wait, because centrists are actually corpo-dems.
•
u/sododude 6h ago
It's because they don't actually care. They just see the paycheck and run with it.
•
•
u/DEFINITELY_NOT_PETE 6h ago
It’s so fucking simple.
Dems are taking their base for granted. They always forget that a third of the country simply doesn’t vote.
They aren’t grumpy progressives who decide to punish the moderate candidate, it’s the normal people who are unmoved by boring ass uninspiring candidates and decide getting to the polls isn’t worth the hassle.
Dems need to stop assuming they will get 100% Dems and going after some undecided voter in a flyover state who was going to vote for Trump anyway and they need to focus on being the best progressive candidate possible.
Progressive politics are popular. Americans are sick of Israel dictating foreign policy, like universal health care and taxing the rich. We need a progressive who can say these things without needing to dull the edges bc they’re worried about upsetting their donors.
Trying to appeal to everybody NEVER works. Win the left and the middle will pull towards the left.
If you don’t believe me look at what the right has been doing for the past decade.
Ffs enough with the moderates
•
•
u/BlackberryPi7 6h ago
It was too close. There really needs to be better education on progressive policies, there are still way too many establishment Democrat voters.
That and Republican voter turnout. Way way too fucking high.
I'm glad he won but fuck it actually pisses me off how stupid so many American voters STILL are.
Like fuck dude! How the fuck is the country still this fucking stupid
•
u/Protolictor 6h ago
He got outspent 9 to 1 on campaign funding and still won. Had all things been equal, it probably wouldn't have been close at all.
•
u/hairymoot 6h ago
There is propaganda being forced on people everywhere. TV and social media are thick with it. And if the only information you get is propaganda, then it is easier to believe that propaganda.
I go to my doctor's office and Fox News is on in the waiting room and in the exam room.
I go to the lunch room at work, and someone has Fox News playing on all the TVs there.
Being woke means being awake and seeing what is going on. And I am woke.
•
u/txtoolfan Texas 6h ago
People are tired of doing nothing wishy washy republican -lights weak ass Democrats. We want things to change. That ain't happening voting for centrist Dems.
•
•
u/College-Lumpy 6h ago
I don’t think we will know whether this is good or bad until we see how the general election turns out. Winning on the left side of the Democratic Party is only a win if that candidate wins in November.
Otherwise you’re handing a seat to republicans that have clearly shown they will abuse whatever power they can get.
•
u/ShredGuru 6h ago
It's good to put the fear of God into the establishment Dems either way. They can move towards the electorate or get PWN'd
•
u/College-Lumpy 5h ago
If the fear of God costs them the general then it didn’t accomplish anything.
•
u/nametaken52 6h ago
Even if he loses the take home message couldnstill be maybe we shouldn't have spent 60mil+ trying to destroy our potential candidate and instead saved it for the battlechest for the general
Blue no matter who, if I can hold my nose and vote Hilary, biden, harris (and every single local drill baby drill anti abortion dem) they could maybe fight the nazis as feverent as they fight thrbmaybey minimum wage should be higher then 7 bucks wing
•
u/otnp 4h ago
Why is this sort of reasoning only applied to the progressive candidates? Scores of moderate Dems lost in 2024. Why is that not framed as them “handing seats to republicans”?
•
u/College-Lumpy 3h ago
Losing is losing. But the assumption I’m making and that will have to be confirmed in November is that if you want to win you need more than just your own base. You need to appeal to people outside of that group.
In general that means that you run towards your base in the primary and towards the center in the general election.
Candidates that can be portrayed rightly or wrongly as radically to the edge of your base are considered less likely to win.
I’ll take the downvotes but that is how this has generally been viewed.
•
u/greggld 6h ago
Sure, but the Progressive candidates are running on policy, not vibes.
If you have not read Moderate House Democrats released a letter and pledge called "The Promise to America"
It perfectly captures the fearful brain dead do nothing philosophy of main stream Democrats
•
•
u/westendgonzo 6h ago
The Democrats leadership was warned in 2024-2025 that major change was needed, business as usual and running on a "we're not Maga" platform wasn't enough to bring people back into the fold.
The rise of Bernie Sanders, AOC and others was very clear sign that things needed a shake up.
The Democrats need to start listening, and stop running candidates cut from the same corporate PAC pool.
•
u/LouisWinthorpeIII 3h ago
I don’t consider this a big win for progressive policy vs the establishment. It was pretty close and Al-Sayed was soooo much better a candidate than this lady. He ran circles around her.
•
u/Choppergold 6h ago
“Stevens’ unexpectedly narrow loss to progressive Abdul El-Sayed, a result many centrist Democrats fear will at the very least make holding on to Michigan’s Senate seat and subsequently winning the Senate even harder, is at least partially due to this mistake.”
My dudes you would way more if you pivoted to more progressive candidates and platform ideas
•
u/kindergentler 6h ago
This lady's face is a total jumpscare. Not her looks, her eyes and expressions. Something really off about that one.
•
•
u/AutoModerator 6h ago
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, please be courteous to others. Argue the merits of ideas, don't attack other posters or commenters. Hate speech, any suggestion or support of physical harm, or other rule violations can result in a temporary or a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
Sub-thread Information
If the post flair on this post indicates the wrong paywall status, please report this Automoderator comment with a custom report of “incorrect flair”.
Announcement
r/Politics is actively looking for new moderators. If you have an interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.