18 Comments
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SethTriggs's avatar

It's good in American politics for conservatives to rail against anything "liberal." And Third Way likes to look at the ascendancy of rampant conservatism as a kind of permission structure; very liberal places are rare in the United States after all.

And of course part of the whole reason for the conservatism is that typically liberal Democrats have advanced multicultural interests in the United States, and particularly have worked to enfranchise the minorities that the unreconstructed hate.

In essence, "racism is the reason for the season." Millions of Americans hate the idea of government spending (which is necessary for liberalism) because they believe the Feds to be taking their "hard-earned money" and giving it to Black people to drive around in nice cars and eat great food.

That said I want to see AOC try to go statewide. I want to see how this goes. If she can go statewide, that will show me a lot because there are few places like her district in the Bronx. I want all the cards on the table. If Americans want AOC's vision, they have to show me, not tell me.

Linda1961 is proudly woke's avatar

"If Ocasio-Cortez can consolidate the left-wing — who are as notoriously hard to satisfy as Prince’s mother — and no centrist-approved Democrat can consolidate their own viable coalition, then maybe Ocasio-Cortez is the better candidate. We should go with nominating good candidates. It sounds crazy but it might just work."

There you go, making too much sense again!

Linda1961 is proudly woke's avatar

Third Way doesn't seem to be concerned with saving democracy and the republic by stopping the fascists. But they want to stop AOC, who DOES want to save democracy and the republic, and knows that we need to stop the fascists to do so. She also is bold enough to want all Americans to have access to health care and living wage.

Third Way may call itself centrist, but it sounds more like a right wing outfit, just a little to the left of the fascists.

belfryo's avatar
2hEdited

Exactly. And the most important feature is that if she became dem POTUS candidate, she would have done so by winning a robust primary. Whoever wins the primary is, BY DEFINITION the strongest candidate to run against the republican candidate

Michael Baker's avatar

Like the reference to The Master of Disguise. I'm an AOC fan. Voted for Bernie. Willing to back a centrist candidate - though I don't think we'll have (real) elections - that supports and pushes for fair taxation, gun laws, makes pro-choice the law, redefines SCOTUS and actually fights authoritarianism (unlike the current centrists).

belfryo's avatar

“We laid out a vision for a combative centrism,"

Centrist 'vision'...It IS to laugh!

Pope Buck I's avatar

"Combative centrism." It's like being a militant agnostic: "I don't know and *you don't EITHER!*"

Cateck's avatar

What, was James Carville not available for a quote? How these people make a living spouting absolute nonsense will always baffle me. It's not a fucking mystery that far left candidates are gaining in popularity. They are the ones advocating for things like universal healthcare, childcare and education, you know, shit people actually want. But no, let's nominate someone who won't rock the boat (for the wealthy), who won't try for any accountability for everything going on right now, who thinks we can just "get back to normal". Normal is gone forever, now is the time to make changes. I'm 100% behind President AOC.

belfryo's avatar

I'm not entirely certain that "third Way' isn't a far right spoiler organization in sheep's clothing.

Tell ya one thing though. 2028 is going to be a populist election and the only 'populist' I see that I like is AOC...Mamdani is a total jerk because he had to go and get born in Uganda so he's not eligible to run...If he REALLY cared about America he would have been born here in the US

(:

Linda1961 is proudly woke's avatar

I've felt that way about Third Way - being more RW and a spoiler. They call themselves centrist, which fools too many people. Using the word "centrist" is their sheep's clothing.

Michael Baker's avatar

Love the Carville line. And I forget health and child care in my list. Hit enter too quickly.

Suzie Greenburg's avatar

Well now I'll be listening to Prince on my commute today.

I know I'm all done with the center. If they bubble their way to the ballot, sure, I'll vote for them, but my motivation lies in the work of feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, dignity for the ill and the incarcerated and all that jazz.

It makes me wonder, as someone raised in a christian house, who is now an athiest, did I Ieave christianity, or did christianity leave me?

Late Blooming's avatar

First, a disclaimer: anything Third Way is against I am nearly automatically for even though, like Stephen, I don't think they're always wrong. But they are running an old playbook that voters have clearly already rejected, business as usual that Joe Biden tried and failed to resurrect and was a big reason Harris failed IMO-it certainly wasn't because her positions were "radically leftist". I personally think an AOC candidate could wipe the floor in 2028-young, charismatic, big ideas that don't involve wars of choice-especially if that candidate vows that justice will be metered out unmercifully to the band of thugs we have in there now.

Cateck's avatar

The idea that Harris is radical is just such utter nonsense. Is she radical because of her skin color? If she were a white man, would anything she has ever done be considered radical?

belfryo's avatar
2hEdited

That the 'Third Way' thinks Harris is radical shows how far right Third Way actually IS. Its simply a pre-Trump republican caucus, It has nothing to do with democrats...That they are 'sailing' under our flag should concern EVERYBODY...they LITERALLY exist to undermine democrats in 2028

Prove me wrong

Late Blooming's avatar

I'm not one of those who lays her loss at the feet of race and gender, but there really is an argument that her race especially made her far more vulnerable to the “radical” charges than a white guy touting the same policies and worldview (ie, Joe Biden). Not fair but something that has to be taken into consideration when planning a campaign.

Cateck's avatar

I voted for her but I would have been much more enthusiastic about it if she had done anything radical.

Late Blooming's avatar

Indeed. She would not have been my first choice but then I really had no choice, lol