Sweeping Democratic victories in off-year elections seem to be foreshadowing a very good midterms for the party, and one expert believes it’s even bigger than that.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally transform legislative power,” Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), which focuses on electing Democrats to statehouses, told Mother Jones.
Even if this were true–which I am skeptical that it is–we cannot wrest our republic from the brink by winning every election by wide margins. If we can’t find a way to reconcile the degree to which we can’t agree on a basic set of facts and institute government that is responsive to the needs of the people, then the seemingly impending authoritarian age will come to pass.
lol. The great blue tsunami? Probably more like great blue tear splash. Never underestimate their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It’s by design.
I’ve heard that the guy leading the Democratic Party right now has been pushing for a 50 state approach as well as pushing for all levels of government, even state legislatures. Putting more money into state parties as well. Seems like the right approach at least.
The last guy who had that idea got absolutely railroaded for showing enthusiasm during a stump speech.
He was right, though.
Well yes, but that wasn’t enough to save him once the powers that be decided they wanted him gone.
What’s your point though? He’s was right, the party moved on and that was clearly a mistake. Now it seems like they’re recognizing that mistake and doing something about it.
That is certainly a better start than years past where they simply ignored everything except top level offices. Including their voters.
But it still won’t help anything if they try to run the most focused group tested, middle-of-the-road, oligarch approved, bland candidates. Mamdani and others are showing another path. But so far, local and national Democrats have always seemed to want to fight their kind.
I don’t understand why people are so hot on Mamdani. His vote totals were actually significantly lower than most recent Democrat nominees in this primarily Democratic city.
Why are you acting like this wasn’t a race between democrats though? The Republican canidate and any other 3rd party canidates had no chance.
In the primary Mamdani beat all the other democrats. Then for the general the run of the mill corporate democrat ran independent and still lost.
It’s essentially a race showing us the type of democrats proffered by democratic voters
Well, yeah, since the Democrat he beat in the primary ran against him as an independent in the general election. So of course that cut his margin of victory.
Didn’t hear to much from our blue maga lemmitors about the spoiler effect for that NYC mayoral race. I wonder why.
/u/Rhoeri@lemmy.world got anything for us buddy?
Electoral Reform Videos
First Past The Post voting (What most states use now)
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Because according to conventional wisdom. People like him weren’t supposed to be able to win.
According to progressive wisdom he should be able to win elsewhere but even in blue Minneapolis the same kind of progressive lost.
It’s not a silver bullet and the person replying above you that it takes all kinds is entirely right. I like mamdani but there’s not a shot in hell he’d win my city.
But hey, I’m sure more purity tests will help progressives as always.
I’m an anarchist. Honestly, I don’t believe that there should be anyone with more power than a mayor. And that the mayor of New York has too much power already. But that’s neither here nor there.
Everyone, every group of people is different. They’re is no magic bullet. No one size fits all. My city is also to ignorant and insular for a similar candidate to win. Currently. But it doesn’t always have to be that way.
if they try to run the most focused group tested, middle-of-the-road, oligarch approved, bland candidates. Mamdani and others are showing another path.
We should not care who they try to run, and instead show up in the primaries to dictate to them who we choose.
Wether we should or shouldn’t doesn’t matter since the last election showed people will either stay home or defect if Dems run another Corpo shilling milquetoast do nothing right of center candidate.
I’ll still vote for them just to spite the Fascist Right Cunts but I certainly won’t like it and I will certainly bitch about it.
Just be aware that you’re not bitching into a vacuum. Think about the consequences.
I do think there’s room to bitch, but it’s important to be smart about it.
And yeah, let’s win some primaries. I’m not compromising in the primaries. And I’m not going to be fooled by a run slightly left to be followed by a run towards center-right.
I agree. Though one addendum. showing up in the primaries is good, but it’s not going to solve bad candidates. We need to start running ourselves. Rebuilding state parties ourselves. And telling the disastrous national party to get fucked.
That sort of concentrated power always results in conceitedness and corruption.
I think it’s important to remember that different parts of the country require different types of candidates. Dems flipped out about Manchin, but he was the only Democrats would get elected in the region.
We didn’t exactly prep anyone to replace him either.
We knew for years Manchin would eventually leave, and we opted to just give up the seat more or less rather than setting up another Democrat like him or even one that could sway West Virginian voters like Bernie managed to do in 2025!
We could 100% run progressives in rural Red states and win. They just need to paint a vision of hope for these people and give them a common person making their problems worse, the billionaires and big corporations.
Yeah, it should be easy for rural voters to see the benefits of Dems and to see how republicans are actively harming them. Just need somebody to say it.
I agree, our messaging is so bad in terms of actually reaching these people. Politicians need to get out of their comfort zones and give a compelling message to these voters.
It’s shocking how little of the Democratic platform even reaches these people’s ears and what little they do hear is wishy washy corporate speak rather than giving direct ways a progressive platform can change their life for the better.
“Your father and I support the jobs the comet will provide”
Weber is that quote from?
Don’t Look Up. Good, but frustrating in a way too real way, movie.
Only if progressives throw their hats into the primaries in 2026.
I’ve seen a disturbing lack of progressives readying up to kick out establishment dems, just like every year.
Dems broke their spirit.
MAGA took over the republicans without bitching that it was hopeless.
The Tea Party gave Repubs the courage to be the racist Christofascists they already were, the left side of American politics is far less homogeneous.
The Tea Party and MAGA also had billionaire funding.
Yah this. The idea that an organic, grassroots movement can overcome current oligarch control over media and politics is nonsense. Ever since Citizens United and all the prior consolidations of power (Nixon, Gingrich, Patriot Act, etc.), there is no fighting back for the common man, even en masse. There are protests as large as 14M people and it had no effect on politicians, revolution should have already happened, but politicians are ignoring the call. They are hell bent on answering only to Billionaires. I really think there’s only one solution left and it’s right here in a quote from JFK: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
JFK has a lot to teach us about how politicians should be treated.
A wide ranging peaceful protest movement with specific legislative goals such as the Civil Rights Act.
And when that doesn’t work, it’s time to touch grass. Lots of grassy knolls are available if people are motivated.
Yep. All it ever is is excuses.
MAGA did not try to upend the pro-buisness nature of the Republican party. MAGA and old school republicans serve the same masters.
Progressive reformers have a much steeper hill to climb, as it would require a near-total destruction of the Democratic Party status quo in order to effect meaningful change.
Both D and R politicians are deeply addicted to dark money donations; we have legalized bribery and corruption. Ending this addiction, even in one party, is not a small, simple act- it is a revolution.
A revolution sounds pretty damn good right about now.
lol yeah in 2012
With a true left-wing leader, someone with leadership like FDR in the 1930s could be worth something. This bunch of cowards won’t change anything, at least nothing that really matters.
Even if they win every election they will find a reason not to do anything
Probably, my questions would pertian to what wealth could you get a majority of the population to agree on taxing, and how much.
It’s easy to say “I think we should put in wealth taxes” it’s hard to get people to agree that above $x dollars and for y% is what would be needed. Many Democrats would agree on wealth tax of 10% over $300 million. A lot of progressives would say that is far to little and to high starting entry, but if you shift those numbers lower/higher you would lose chunks of the population agreeing, and ultimately destroy the possibility of it being started. Which to be honest getting it instituted first, then modifying it seems like the easier thing to do, than launch i high enough tax to fix the issues up front. You’ll lose all the corporate democracts, and essentially have 25% voting for it at that point… making it a dead end
I’ll believe that shit when and only when it happens. I’m so sick of having only false hope.
Well I’m prayin’ for rain I’m praying for tidal waves I wanna see the ground give way
-TooL
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Ahhh yes. Why fight against evil if all my boxes aren’t ticked. Enjoy 100 years of fascism.
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The donors will never allow the democratic party to change. That’s why its all on the voters to change what they are asking for to what the donors desire.
It’s not about ticking boxes though. It’s recognizing that just sitting on your hands and doing nothing for people other than saying “well at least we aren’t the Republicans!” and not fighting tooth and nail for important things (like the PRO Act, voting reform, minimum wage increases, etc) just means people are gonna walk away and try voting for the other team next cycle because at least they’re promising something.
Fascism has never been overthrown by limp oppoisition parties suddenly finding a spine. It’s either war, revolution or (in a few odd cases) a coup, such as the one carried out by Spain’s otherwise useless and corrupt king when Franco bit the dust.
I’m all for revolution.
agreed, the new wedge issues havent dropped yet.
Who knows what they will tell us to think about for this round, so excited.
every other year we got once in a generation elections
I fell like Every American presidential election in my life has been advertised as the most important of all time.
That’s what Democrats are afraid of.
LMBO yeah, so amazing we can flip the coin! WOOOOOO go BlueMAGA!!!
i think the democratic party should do that in the midterms. if NOT, we should form an alternative socialist-progressive government of the united states as a micronation. seriously!
Time to have a bad candidate in the “once in a life time” election from the Dems again so Trump gets his illegal 3rd term. Can’t have a popular candidate, they might raise taxes on the rich and lower them on the poor.
