Thought AOC made some great points. Curious to hear @RustyShackleford’s thoughts too
She is making 50% great points mixed with 50% self-serving points
She made great points about being online and anti-racist deep canvassing. I think in the absence of a robust post-mortem analysis of the election, these are great points.
But the interview but came off really self-serving and in some ways hypocritical.
She takes issue with centrist throwing them under the bus so soon after the election, yet pretty much does the same thing through-out this interview
Like she says the Democrats need to not avoid the issue of racial resentment in America (Which is every true, and a very important point), then herself avoids the issue completely by claiming the Tea Party causing the red wave in 2010 was because Obama wasn't progressive enough or wasn't campaigning enough online. Which is pure ********, it is pure delusion, it is pure nonsense. The Obama Era political losses were because of white resentment, gerrymandering. 2014 is the best example of voter apathy, but even then it is not that simple.
The thing is that I also feel her and others that think like her strawman what centrist and liberals want from them. She switches the framing of the discussion back and forth between "I'm just talking about campaign tactics" to "I'm talking about the core policy agenda of the party". Sure there are ****** centrist that want the Dems to abandon any progressive policy, and **** them. But listening to Jim Clayburn seems like he is saying that the Dems need a national messaging strategy that all Dems could run under. And progressive can be allowed to run on a more progressive platform, and centrist can just run on the generic one.
Now, this is hard for two reasons. People are right when they say that the GOP will vilify the Dems no matter what they do. Second, the Dems is a big tent party, so people within the coalition will take objection to this strategy (which they have every right to). However, I think the point of the Dems needing to control the conversation politically is important. And that is hard to do, especially when the team is divided. Centrist benefit from activist energy in their district, Progressive benefits from voter loyal to the Dem ticket even though they don't agree with the full agenda. Thing is that one side has a much smaller margin of error.
Again, like I have mentioned numerous times, AOC has no evidence that the Democratic Party becoming a leftist party will be the cure-all she claims, like none. There are no leftist winning in the red states and House races the Dems need to win and maintain power. Bernie is not an example of that, she isn't, the rest of the Squad isn't, etc. She keeps preaching point to examples that don't back up her central claim. The fact is, if her district had a +2 to +6 R rating she would get probably get murked. The examples of Dems in red areas running ahead of the Party, but most of these examples are not progressives, but folk like John Tester, and Manchin. Sherrod Brown might be the best example of her theory actually, yet is a different politician than here. (scary thing is that all these people are getting old).
When it comes to electoral strategy, Centrist and Leftist both make good points, both make ******** points, but overall centrist might be more right all things considered. And because they are key to holding political power, the liberal leadership of the Party of course are inclined to want to protect them.
I feel their best way forward is if they could pass their policy agenda. The hundreds of bills Mitch stopped, and then run on that record. Republicans make people scared of the Dems agenda in theory, in practice, a lot of people like them. In the absence of that, I think they need to get lucky, like very lucky. And I can no idea how they can pull that off.
To be honest, I think the Democratic Party is in serious trouble. They can argue among themselves but the fact remains a lot of their issues are because they are playing a game rigged against them. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, political propaganda, Senate lean, all work against them. They don't have to just be better to win, they have to blow out the other side. This is the thing that just warps any and all arguments about political strategy.
This either become one thing or the other. They don't serve two masters. America will either become a democracy or sink further into becoming an anti-democratic conservative state. The best shot at democracy was Dems dominating in 2020. That didn't happen so no one knows what to do now. Not Biden, not AOC, not centrist, not Pelosi, not me, no one.
So for right now, I will just donate to the Georgia Senate candidates. Trust they know what they are doing in their own races. Hope for the best. And maybe in a few months, things are clearer about the best way forward.
Because again, right now, I don't think anyone knows what to do.