Chasing Obama

Some thoughts about the Texas Senate primary

When Rep. Jasmine Crockett lost the Texas Democratic Senate Primary, some of her supporters online claimed she’d bumped into a pernicious glass ceiling. Podcaster Deante Kyle argued that “everybody suddenly flipped” on Crockett once she announced her Senate run and this was “orchestrated.” Darryn M. Briggs promoted a similar conspiracy theory:

Every Dem LOVED Jasmine Crockett when she was verbally jousting with MTG..

...much like they all loved Kamala Harris when she was cross-examining William Barr.

The moment EITHER tried to advance past their "station" was when they became "identity politics."

Kamala Harris won her first Senate election in 2016, was selected as Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020, and served as vice president before receiving the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024. That is Benson-level promotion speed. Kamala Harris has achieved more than most white men in Congress have and in far shorter time. We should celebrate her accomplishments, not cite her as some hard-luck case. She’s not Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

Kamala Harris Breaks Barriers, Plus Some Dummies' Heads

Briggs describes Crockett’s encounters with Marjorie Taylor Greene as “verbal jousting,” which is overly genius. Sure, it was always good for a laugh to see Crockett read Greene or Republicans in general for filth, but it was hardly the Lincoln/Douglas debates.

Both Crockett and her supporters suggested during the campaign that questioning her “electability” was a racist dog whistle. However, Republicans thought her “jousting” partner Greene was “unelectable” in a Georgia Senate race, and Georgia is a state that Republicans frequently carry. (Donald Trump reportedly advised Greene not to run — like Adrian shouting at Rocky, “You can’t win!”)

Crockett built a reputation as a partisan firebrand, but that was never a foundation for a serious political career. She could sell Marjorie Taylor Greene diss track merch but she ultimately couldn’t sell herself to a broader audience beyond her heavily Democratic district.

Katie Porter represented a swing district but her career nonetheless has stalled, despite her erase board prop performances. Making a scene in a congressional hearing can help you go viral but often at the cost of any gravitas you might’ve earned without all the spectacle.

My mother often cautioned me against acting the class clown. You might receive some immediate attention, she warned, but you shouldn’t confuse that attention for respect.

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The Dream Of The Blue Texas

An expected response is to claim that only women — especially Black women like Crockett — aren’t allowed to thrive as political class clowns. However, there are few examples of male political class clowns who’ve succeeded any better. It’s actually quite the reverse.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is a great example. He succeeded in winning over voters who’d supported Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on the same ballot. Although his record is reliably liberal, he has studiously avoided partisan squabbles. That’s not a sign of moral cowardice. The speeches he’s delivered on the Senate floor are impassioned, but they aren’t filled with zingers intended to go viral on social media. (Watch his remarks about the famine in Gaza below.)

Like a Kevin Smith character, Democrats have spent the past 20 years Chasing Obama, but he didn’t gain national attention as a partisan spitfire. He wasn’t known for his epic burns against Republicans. He didn’t regularly play the dozens at George W. Bush’s expense. His applause lines at the 2004 Democratic National Convention didn’t include “Bush’s momma so old, she went to prom with Noah!” He delivered an uplifting message of unity, one that presented an idealized 21st Century version of the American dream:

My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or “blessed,” believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential.

They are both passed away now. And yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with great pride.

They stand here, and I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

(If you can avoid weeping, watch the full speech below.)

There’s a reason that James Talarico, Pete Buttigieg, and Josh Shapiro so often sound as if they’re performing Pat Boone covers of Obama’s greatest hits. However, Obama offered more than just pleasant words. He openly broke with his party on a key policy position — specifically, the Iraq War, which too many of his Democratic Senate colleagues had gullibly supported. Like Bill Clinton before him, he presented himself as “new” type of Democrat, a break from the past. He didn’t just talk about how much he disliked George W. Bush.

Why Trumpism Isn't Transferrable

Chasing Obama is one thing; catching him — or at least emulating his success — requires both superstar charisma and a willingness to take a principled stand against the party establishment. Obama was the insurgent candidate who defeated the Clinton machine, and he did so while simultaneously seizing the JFK mantle. That’s not easy, and too many Democrats, regardless of personal background, focus on the celebrity part. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was a social media sensation but he excited voters with policies that would dramatically improve their material conditions. He wasn’t elected because of any demonstrated ability to trash-talk Trump.

Democrats — and swing voters in particular — want lovers not fighters. Crockett’s “Trump or Trans” routine was potent but it’s fair to wonder if she was fighting for trans people or just fighting Trump. He loves when he’s the center of the universe.

Yes, I’m aware that Donald Trump won twice with an “I alone can fix it” message that presented himself as the personal “retribution” for all the “carnage” he insisted that the “radical left” had inflicted on the nation. That trick might only work for the ultimate MAGA class clown, and it didn’t work for long.