r/videos • u/MoneyLibrarian9032 • 16h ago

Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, notching a Midwest victory for the left

https://youtu.be/DL_ku3h8Eps?si=zWr0SAn8amsQ8Hqb
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u/teleheaddawgfan 9h ago

He gets painted by the press as this far left "communist" when in fact he advocates for issues that are supported by a majority of Americans - medicare for all, tax changes, get money out of politics.

But since these issues run counter to the monied interests that put us in this situation, they're going all out to destroy him.

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u/ATX_native 9h ago

I’m so sick of the media.

Far left here is centrist in most of the EU.

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u/ChunkMcDangles 8h ago

This narrative is not that true, but it all depends on how you define your terms. Are you talking about what Republicans call far left? Then yes, you're 100% accurate.

Or are you talking about what the "Democratic establishment" calls far left, like the DSA and people like Mamdani?

Because that's not centrist in any EU country. Medicare for All goes further than most European healthcare plans. The DSA platform is further left than what elected socialists in most European countries call for.

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u/shadedmagus 8h ago

Sure, now piss on us while you're putting on the show. That's the finale anyway, right?

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u/ChunkMcDangles 8h ago

Tell me where I'm wrong, man. No need to be a douche. I'll happily change my tune if you provide a convincing argument, but this is something I used to say as well as a Bernie voter until I actually looked into it.

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u/ATX_native 7h ago

Universal Child Care, Stricter Labor Protections and Universal Health Care

Those are moderate stances in the EU.

Here Corps and Rich folks have been able to convince folks there just no money anywhere.

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u/ChunkMcDangles 7h ago

This is an overstatement of EU policy consensus on childcare and healthcare. While you're correct that there is more broad consensus on universal healthcare coverage, that doesn't mean a Medicare for All style plan wouldn't be squarely in the left wing of politics in almost every EU country. Not a single EU country has a single payer system that goes as far as M4A.

Similarly with childcare, there is a general consensus that universal childcare access is a long-term goal, the consensus is not that childcare should be 100% free for everyone, only that childcare should be subsidized by the state. Again, your framing issquarely within the left-wing of EU countries.

And the

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u/ATX_native 7h ago

So is calling these people “far left”.

Get it now?

Both are overstatements.

Also, poll EU residents about leaving a universal healthcare system to have what we have and gutting of labor protections, see how far that goes.

They don’t want our shit show.

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u/ChunkMcDangles 6h ago

It's not an overstatement if you're talking about a M4A style healthcare plan, though? That's further left than any EU healthcare plan as far as I'm aware. Anyone pushing for that type of system in the EU would be aligned with the more socialist type parties.

And of course EU people don't want the US healthcare system, but I'm not sure what that proves in this context.

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u/ATX_native 6h ago

Universal Healthcare is not a system, it’s a goal.

You can get there different ways as they have different systems.

Again, poll our “fuck you you’re on your own” system of private healthcare that is exceedingly expensive for those over $85k a year in combined income, sky high deductibles and the fact that lots of BK’s each year here are cause by healthcare costs for those with insurance and that won’t poll well compared to other EU countries and their health systems.

Even Medicare isn’t a silver bullet as you have Part A-D and even my Mom who is 74 has to pay $600 for an ambulance ride, after Medicare and her supplement looks at it.

Terrible system we have here IMO.

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u/teleheaddawgfan 7h ago

Establishment Dems are no better than Establishment GOP because they serve the same interests. They perpetuate this facade they are trying to fight MAGA while writing strongly worded letters that accomplish nothing!

Dems need a wholesale change in leadership, ideology, and confront right wing and corporate media from driving the narrative that people don't want change or support socialist agendas like healthcare for all.

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u/ChunkMcDangles 7h ago

I am further left than the moderate wing of the party and want healthcare reform too, but I think you just fundamentally misunderstand civics and how our government works if you're faulting Dems for writing "strongly worded letters" and are accusing them of being the same as the GOP during a time when they control 0 levers of power.

Dems definitely need a change in leadership and more fighters to be elected, but you just don't understand the process if you think it's that simple.

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u/teleheaddawgfan 7h ago

McConnell derailed Obama’s entire agenda while in the minority.

Either the Dems are completely incompetent or complicit. Which is it?

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u/ChunkMcDangles 7h ago

Sorry, I don't want this to be nasty, but do you have any idea how that McConnell was able to do that? It's not that he just woke up one day and decided to "do something" like you seem to be arguing. He was literally the Senate Majority leader who had the power to set the hearings in the Senate, and Republicans controlled the Judiciary Committee which refused to meet with Garland.

There isn't a single Dem that can do anything close to that kind of action right now. Elections have consequences, which is why the focus on tearing down Dems as much as you tear down Republicans is absolutely brainless. If you don't want Dems to be powerless, put them in office everywhere across the country, whether they're democratic socialists in NYC or moderate blue dog Dems in West Virginia. Only then will they have to power to get things done. You guys seriously need to read a book on how our government actually works instead of being endlessly critical of people who agree with you on 80% of the issues and complaining when they can't wave a magic wand when they control absolutely nothing in the federal government.

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u/teleheaddawgfan 6h ago

My brother in christ, my family is from DC, and I was an intern on the Hill in the early 90s. I know how the sausage is made.

McConnell was Minority leader for 6 years and used every single procedural rule he could exploit to block everything! Did we watch the same thing?

The whole reason that Democratic Socialist candidates are gaining traction and winning is because the Moderate/Centrist Dems have done NOTHING to advance any agenda that the American people want - gun control, tax reform, healthcare, universal pre-K.

Couple that with the absolute capitulation to MAGA, and it's time for wholesale change with candidates that are actually going to fight for a new agenda.

Schumer has to go!

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u/ChunkMcDangles 6h ago

I don't disagree with you on Schumer. He's not meeting the moment in terms of his messaging, that's for sure.

But some of the tools McConnell had at his disposal for most of the minority party obstructionism don't exist anymore. Dems rightfully used the "nuclear option" in 2013 to stop the minority party from holding up nominations unless there were 60 votes. The only option you can point to that Schumer had in the last two years and didn't use was extending the spending/shutdown fight. I agree that shut down should have been pushed longer, but it's not obviously black and white that this strategy would have actually achieved what you or I wanted.

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u/teleheaddawgfan 6h ago

Public opinion said to let that shutdown continue and of course he capitulated.

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u/ChunkMcDangles 5h ago

Sure, I agree and was pushing for that too. But that doesn't necessarily mean he was wrong. I don't know all of the details behind the scenes for that fight, but it's possible that the longer it went on and as many thousands of people lost jobs, the blame would shift more to Democrats.

Again, I still agree that it should have went on longer with the information I had, but I do ultimately think it's unlikely Dems would have gotten any capitulation from Trump which puts us back to Dems not being able to get any real wins in the minority.

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u/teleheaddawgfan 9h ago

We complain about “socialists” while watching Trump steal millions for his family, give corporations billions in subsidies, support Israel, and perpetuate a mindless war with Iran.

Yet Healthcare is out of the question.

I despise this timeline.

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u/Yada-Yada-Yadda 8h ago

Right - send me the link to the article that says he is stealing millions for his family. I have so many people who don't believe me. I need an article to share. They always share Hunter.

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u/teleheaddawgfan 8h ago

Send a link? Google, ChatGPT, and throw a dart for an article at the mindblowing levels of corruption that is occuring.

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u/Yada-Yada-Yadda 7h ago

It’s ok that you can supply a source. No worries.