I absolutely hate this increasing focus on the term “Democratic Socialism.” Y’all, focus on the fucking issues. James Talarico, who is doing really well in Texas, has never mentioned or associated with the term, but for example the headline on his last newsletter was “Trickle-Down Economics is Theft.” Please, please, please focus on the actual issues like he is, that’s how we win.
Nah, I disagree. People who focus on the issues get called socialists, and ten years ago, that would have been a big blow against your campaign. It’s good that people like socialism now, because it means people like Mamdani and El-Sayed don’t have to work as hard to be perceived as legitimate politicians. They can be out and proud about it and still win elections. This could be the seed of a leftward shift in society.
I’m an old guy, and after a lifetime of getting buried by all the bullshit that both parties have shoveled, I’m embracing it. It’s even worse for young people today. I didn’t come out of college with a lifetime of student debt as big as a mortgage, with earning potential barely above a living wage, IF you’re lucky.
Our current system is unsustainable, but societal collapse is part of the business model for trillionaires, who can then take over, and reconfigure the world to suit them.
El-Sayed is pro Palestine but is explicitly not a socialist no? He is a progressive but he is a capitalist.
I get your point though. We need to work to keep shifting the culture back our way so we keep gaining more room to make more aggressive and expansive arguments people will listen to.
We need to do both I think. Being scared of the term is how the right has been able to hold so much power. We need to take back control and make it not a boogyman.
However, also, most people support leftist policy. Many don’t support leftists. Many leftist policies are actually popular among Republican voters if they’re only given a description and not told it’s leftist or socialist.
Basically, we need to use both strategically. People pushing the DSA, and other leftists groups, can normalize it, and politicians needing to win in contested elections can use the policy, without the label, to move policy forward.
I absolutely hate this increasing focus on the term “Democratic Socialism.” Y’all, focus on the fucking issues. James Talarico, who is doing really well in Texas, has never mentioned or associated with the term, but for example the headline on his last newsletter was “Trickle-Down Economics is Theft.” Please, please, please focus on the actual issues like he is, that’s how we win.
Nah, I disagree. People who focus on the issues get called socialists, and ten years ago, that would have been a big blow against your campaign. It’s good that people like socialism now, because it means people like Mamdani and El-Sayed don’t have to work as hard to be perceived as legitimate politicians. They can be out and proud about it and still win elections. This could be the seed of a leftward shift in society.
I’m an old guy, and after a lifetime of getting buried by all the bullshit that both parties have shoveled, I’m embracing it. It’s even worse for young people today. I didn’t come out of college with a lifetime of student debt as big as a mortgage, with earning potential barely above a living wage, IF you’re lucky.
Our current system is unsustainable, but societal collapse is part of the business model for trillionaires, who can then take over, and reconfigure the world to suit them.
El-Sayed is pro Palestine but is explicitly not a socialist no? He is a progressive but he is a capitalist.
I get your point though. We need to work to keep shifting the culture back our way so we keep gaining more room to make more aggressive and expansive arguments people will listen to.
We need to do both I think. Being scared of the term is how the right has been able to hold so much power. We need to take back control and make it not a boogyman.
However, also, most people support leftist policy. Many don’t support leftists. Many leftist policies are actually popular among Republican voters if they’re only given a description and not told it’s leftist or socialist.
Basically, we need to use both strategically. People pushing the DSA, and other leftists groups, can normalize it, and politicians needing to win in contested elections can use the policy, without the label, to move policy forward.
DSA needs to become popular enough to flip the Overton window from far right garbage.
Great response right here. Thank you for this
We really need to win back the word from the bigots. I think we can’t proceed without doing that.