Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) panned Democrats who are upping their criticisms of President Biden ahead of the November election, saying they might as well don a “MAGA hat.” Fetterman not…
What is a party if not just a group of people with similar values? Change the values of the Democratic party from within (which I believe is already happening, especially with all the ancients dying off) to the type of party that realizes when they need to start grooming new candidates sooner.
The party is very separate from the people who vote for it. I don’t have a vote for who becomes Speaker, only a vote for my individual representative, who himself is chosen by both Democrats and Republicans (our primary is open and everyone knows the Democrat is going to win the general election so the real election is in the primary). He’s in something like a D+30 district and still threatens to oppose Democratic legislation unless it’s more fiscally conservative.
The ancients are dying off, but this isn’t resulting in an open race for replacement, they’re using their influence to pass it on to chosen successors that share their values. Theoretically there could be a revolution, but politics isn’t really just a battle of ideas, but a complex web of relationships and fundraising. One of Hakeem Jeffries primary qualifications for succeeding Pelosi is simply that he can raise a lot of money.
But I agree that’s not fixed, and a good chair could really lean into candidates who excite voters rather than are approved by donors. The Obama’s of the party win while the machine politicians generally just maintain power in safe districts. You need someone who excites people to flip districts and states.
It’s unfortunate that Katie Porter might be eliminated in the initial round in California. We need progressive successors to our own ancients in the senate. Massachusetts has a pretty good bench getting built. Hopefully when Warren steps down Ayanna Pressley will succeed her. I’m not sure if Bernie has anyone in Vermont lined up.
The party is very separate from the people who vote for it. I don’t have a vote for who becomes Speaker, only a vote for my individual representative, who himself is chosen by both Democrats and Republicans (our primary is open and everyone knows the Democrat is going to win the general election so the real election is in the primary). He’s in something like a D+30 district and still threatens to oppose Democratic legislation unless it’s more fiscally conservative.
The ancients are dying off, but this isn’t resulting in an open race for replacement, they’re using their influence to pass it on to chosen successors that share their values. Theoretically there could be a revolution, but politics isn’t really just a battle of ideas, but a complex web of relationships and fundraising. One of Hakeem Jeffries primary qualifications for succeeding Pelosi is simply that he can raise a lot of money.
But I agree that’s not fixed, and a good chair could really lean into candidates who excite voters rather than are approved by donors. The Obama’s of the party win while the machine politicians generally just maintain power in safe districts. You need someone who excites people to flip districts and states.
It’s unfortunate that Katie Porter might be eliminated in the initial round in California. We need progressive successors to our own ancients in the senate. Massachusetts has a pretty good bench getting built. Hopefully when Warren steps down Ayanna Pressley will succeed her. I’m not sure if Bernie has anyone in Vermont lined up.