I hate to advocate for the Republicans to keep screwing things up the way they have for the past 9-10 months, but I hope they keep this same level of incompetence for another year. In order for Democrats to sweep the mid-terms, people still have to have to be angry and have zero confidence in Republicans—unfortunately, most people have the attention span of a gnat thanks to the barrage of shit coming from the Right for 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠. All it would take is for Republicans to suddenly make a left turn and make everything a bit easier for everyone right before the mid-terms and "all will be forgiven" because people simply can't remember how bad things were when they suddenly get better (much like how the memory of a painful childbirth fades afterward for many women who, mid-contraction, swore up and down to their partners that they're never touching them again). Then, once they keep their position of power, it'll be right back to the same old shit. Possibly for the rest of our lifetimes for many of us.
People need to be angry like this—maybe angrier—while heading into an election. Yes, those of us who follow the liberal bloggers are more in-the-know as to WHY we should be angry, but the general population (including garden-variety Democrats) relies on mainstream news and we all know which side THAT'S on. It's unfortunate, but in a way I hope Republicans DON'T learn a lesson from this and continue thinking the way to win the hearts and minds of the people is by letting the air out of our tires and inviting us into their car.
But Democrats DO need to learn a lesson from this. They need solidarity, coherence, and unity, and they need to understand that leadership needs to be a lot younger, progressive, energetic, and smarter. Modern-day problems require an understanding of those problems and, unfortunately, people like Schumer and those who have held their positions since the previous century have become too out-of-touch with real people.
"Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor, suggested that Mamdani wasn’t a real Democrat "
And I still voted for her despite that. THAT'S how much of a team player and Mensch I am! Vote blue no matter who! (you listening Chuck?)
Spanberger has never inspired which just shows you HOW much people want to keep republicans out of office...SO much so that she won by 15 points. It wasn't because people were excited about her...Which is FINE
Elections like the one in NYC is much more fun because its a twofer. you get to both vote FOR one candidate and AGAINST the other
Spanberger is a serious person who will do the job competently and lawfully. She has taken courageous stands on some points. I don't have to agree with her everywhere to welcome and admire all that.
>> because Jones had his own ridiculous scandal that I won’t even bother repeating
Word.
As I said on the Sky: "This will sound crazy, and intellectually of course it's not true, but I think the one that gave me the most emotional satisfaction was Jay Jones convincingly winning the VA AG race, after all those ICE-worshiping MAGAts were on the fainting couch about his vIoLeNt!!!1! private texts."
Oh please baby Jeebus let the Dems get their collective shit together. Listen to us when we say we want younger and more diverse candidates in office. By now it has to be crystal clear that by doing so we represent all the different faces in this country.
It’s nice to go to bed knowing that democracy isn’t completely slipping away.
This I think will help at least for campaign strategy in a bunch of places, at least showing a winning path in New York. But I suspect there's going to have to be an "all of the above" campaign approach regionally. We will see.
I will repeat my caution from before; Mamdani is going to have to knock it out of the park on his response to the structural issues in New York City and actually getting the job done, because of Murc's Law.
Despite the wins, Schumer and Spanberger's atttitudes towards Mamdani show a blinkered mindset towards any change in the Democratic party... gonna have to deal with it now.
It seems to have finally dawned on trump that voters blame the repubs for the shutdown, but, as noted, he won't negotiate to end it. Even with last night's shellacking, he thinks that it's still a winning issue for him.
As for not being on the ballot, he wan't officially, but he endorsed a lot of candidates, most of whom, if not all, lost, and is constantly in the news, and makes everything about himself, including elections that he's not running in. So he was on the ballot, unofficially, that is.
The midterms are always a referendum on the sitting president, so he will definitely be unofficially on the ballot next year. Unless he gets his shit together to end the shutdown, restore SNAP benefits, restore the Obamacare subsidies, stop his tariff nonsense, and stop waging war on American cities, his second term will be over. He's incapable of getting his shit together, and no one around him is capable of making him do so, even if they wanted to.
Finally, what the ever loving fuck is wrong with mainstream Dems?
Well Rump certainly can’t do that. They will never let go of that power easily. However I do think that they will open the government but only under duress.
Change is hard, and what they see happening is an enormous change. But you need to adapt or die, and right now the Schumers and Jeffries of the world are agonal breathing.
Seems an all around rejection of Trump and his miserable party. Dems won every race, and in “safe” blue areas like NYC overperformed. Voters are sending a message, and Republicans should consider the wisdom of sticking by their demented creep monster—if we have free elections after this. Remember, their gerrymandering schemes only work if they can hold relatively tight red districts—if Dems overperform again, they’d end up flipping even more seats than the pre-gerrymandered map.
And shame on Schumer et al for not endorsing Mamdani the moment he won the nomination. He’s your damn nominee! If you seriously believe he’s antisemitic, show your receipts. If being critical of Israel is now disqualifying for even a local office, then our party is screwed. Israel gets no vote here.
“Maybe the Machiavellian punditry will realize that Democrats’ road to political Oz isn’t paved on the backs of trans kids.” Helluva sentence! 👏🏼
I hate to advocate for the Republicans to keep screwing things up the way they have for the past 9-10 months, but I hope they keep this same level of incompetence for another year. In order for Democrats to sweep the mid-terms, people still have to have to be angry and have zero confidence in Republicans—unfortunately, most people have the attention span of a gnat thanks to the barrage of shit coming from the Right for 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠. All it would take is for Republicans to suddenly make a left turn and make everything a bit easier for everyone right before the mid-terms and "all will be forgiven" because people simply can't remember how bad things were when they suddenly get better (much like how the memory of a painful childbirth fades afterward for many women who, mid-contraction, swore up and down to their partners that they're never touching them again). Then, once they keep their position of power, it'll be right back to the same old shit. Possibly for the rest of our lifetimes for many of us.
People need to be angry like this—maybe angrier—while heading into an election. Yes, those of us who follow the liberal bloggers are more in-the-know as to WHY we should be angry, but the general population (including garden-variety Democrats) relies on mainstream news and we all know which side THAT'S on. It's unfortunate, but in a way I hope Republicans DON'T learn a lesson from this and continue thinking the way to win the hearts and minds of the people is by letting the air out of our tires and inviting us into their car.
But Democrats DO need to learn a lesson from this. They need solidarity, coherence, and unity, and they need to understand that leadership needs to be a lot younger, progressive, energetic, and smarter. Modern-day problems require an understanding of those problems and, unfortunately, people like Schumer and those who have held their positions since the previous century have become too out-of-touch with real people.
" Maybe the Machiavellian punditry will realize that Democrats’ road to political Oz isn’t paved on the backs of trans kids." Let's f**king hope so.
"Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor, suggested that Mamdani wasn’t a real Democrat "
And I still voted for her despite that. THAT'S how much of a team player and Mensch I am! Vote blue no matter who! (you listening Chuck?)
Spanberger has never inspired which just shows you HOW much people want to keep republicans out of office...SO much so that she won by 15 points. It wasn't because people were excited about her...Which is FINE
Elections like the one in NYC is much more fun because its a twofer. you get to both vote FOR one candidate and AGAINST the other
Spanberger is a serious person who will do the job competently and lawfully. She has taken courageous stands on some points. I don't have to agree with her everywhere to welcome and admire all that.
Exactly right. I HAPPILY voted for her because I know what's goin' on!
And fucking Chuck Schumer voted for sex pest Cuomo...
"Desperate billionaires showered him with more money than Mamdani would ever take from them in taxes or potential lost revenue"
I hope ZM can get an accurate receipt on those numbers because it would be mega-sweet to constantly bring this up
'How Mamdani's win is bad for democrats'
how long before that one shows up at the NYT or WaPo?
>> because Jones had his own ridiculous scandal that I won’t even bother repeating
Word.
As I said on the Sky: "This will sound crazy, and intellectually of course it's not true, but I think the one that gave me the most emotional satisfaction was Jay Jones convincingly winning the VA AG race, after all those ICE-worshiping MAGAts were on the fainting couch about his vIoLeNt!!!1! private texts."
https://bsky.app/profile/bjkeefe.bsky.social/post/3m4vjhlcxdk2a
Ditto. This Virginian concurs
Apparently Virginia Democrats at least are sick of the fucking double standard that the MSM loves to run with
Cuomo to Trump: Please stop helping me, Bro’.
Oh please baby Jeebus let the Dems get their collective shit together. Listen to us when we say we want younger and more diverse candidates in office. By now it has to be crystal clear that by doing so we represent all the different faces in this country.
It’s nice to go to bed knowing that democracy isn’t completely slipping away.
Any idiot can see that all the energy and forward momentum is coming from the young, women, and POC. Don't fight it, lean into it!
I second that emotion! The path forward is clear, as is the message, “Lead, follow, or get the fuck out of the way!”
I'm very happy. Dems did a great job all around.
This I think will help at least for campaign strategy in a bunch of places, at least showing a winning path in New York. But I suspect there's going to have to be an "all of the above" campaign approach regionally. We will see.
I will repeat my caution from before; Mamdani is going to have to knock it out of the park on his response to the structural issues in New York City and actually getting the job done, because of Murc's Law.
And he’s going to come up against a lot of roadblocks like Obama did. Mayor of NYC is not a job I would want. Bless Mamdani for being the winner.
The groypers wanted personalist power now let them enjoy it.
Despite the wins, Schumer and Spanberger's atttitudes towards Mamdani show a blinkered mindset towards any change in the Democratic party... gonna have to deal with it now.
They should have dealt with it in 2016, but hindsight is 20/20
"Democrats Very Much In Array"
Despite the best efforts of the Dem Old-Guard.
It seems to have finally dawned on trump that voters blame the repubs for the shutdown, but, as noted, he won't negotiate to end it. Even with last night's shellacking, he thinks that it's still a winning issue for him.
As for not being on the ballot, he wan't officially, but he endorsed a lot of candidates, most of whom, if not all, lost, and is constantly in the news, and makes everything about himself, including elections that he's not running in. So he was on the ballot, unofficially, that is.
The midterms are always a referendum on the sitting president, so he will definitely be unofficially on the ballot next year. Unless he gets his shit together to end the shutdown, restore SNAP benefits, restore the Obamacare subsidies, stop his tariff nonsense, and stop waging war on American cities, his second term will be over. He's incapable of getting his shit together, and no one around him is capable of making him do so, even if they wanted to.
Finally, what the ever loving fuck is wrong with mainstream Dems?
Well Rump certainly can’t do that. They will never let go of that power easily. However I do think that they will open the government but only under duress.
Change is hard, and what they see happening is an enormous change. But you need to adapt or die, and right now the Schumers and Jeffries of the world are agonal breathing.
The Democratic establishment is where the "Rockefeller Republicans" found themselves after the Reaganoids took over. To wit: out in the cold.
I'd say that's a fair assessment. It's become a “lead, follow or get out of the way” moment for them.
𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗜𝗩 – 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲
Seems an all around rejection of Trump and his miserable party. Dems won every race, and in “safe” blue areas like NYC overperformed. Voters are sending a message, and Republicans should consider the wisdom of sticking by their demented creep monster—if we have free elections after this. Remember, their gerrymandering schemes only work if they can hold relatively tight red districts—if Dems overperform again, they’d end up flipping even more seats than the pre-gerrymandered map.
And shame on Schumer et al for not endorsing Mamdani the moment he won the nomination. He’s your damn nominee! If you seriously believe he’s antisemitic, show your receipts. If being critical of Israel is now disqualifying for even a local office, then our party is screwed. Israel gets no vote here.
When he endorsed Cuomo and then Muskrat did as well it was the kiss of death. You do not want the high school bully endorsing you for class president.