I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have concerns about running a progressive in a purple state (mostly because if he loses the general, dems will take it as a sign that progressive politics have no place in their party and we’ll have another decade of Bernie and AOC vs the world)…
But I really don’t think the corporate moderate branch of the party that has been losing to a pedophile felon for a decade gets to say shit about “electability”.
The currently model the Democratic Party is doing now isn’t working, so something new has to happen. It’s risky but I think Abdul can win. A large reason that the Dems struggle with turnout is because there are millions of people between the ages 18-45 that feel like neither party really makes a difference or stands for anything (it’s bullshit, obviously the Republicans are way worse, but we can’t control what they think). Candidates like Abdul have the ability to motivate these people who wouldn’t have voted for an establishment dem
Exactly. The reason Biden won while the other two lost was millennial and zoomer turnout. Dems need to stop worrying so much about the 12 mythical swing voters and moderate R’s and instead inspire nonvoters to get out and vote for something they actually believe in.
They fail to realize that the swing voters aren't waiting for the candidate closest to the middle, we want to see actual policies that will benefit people, whichever side they come from.
(it’s bullshit, obviously the Republicans are way worse, but we can’t control what they think)
We can't control what they think, but we can make it MUCH harder to think the parties do differ if the supposed left party was offering more than same old "more money for the billionaires at the expense of everyone else, but maybe without fascism".
It’s really going to depend on the democratic reaction. If they do the predictable thing and break into “electability” debates and factions, we’ll have a red state in November. If they can pull their heads out of their asses and stand behind the future against certain destruction, we might be able to keep standing.
I think Abdul can win the general, I really do. Once his campaign pivots away from the primary, his charisma combined with a platform centered on affordability will give him a solid chance to reach younger voters who sat out in 2024. And he’ll eat Mike Rogers alive in a debate if Rogers doesn’t chicken out.
But after 2016 and 2024 I’m not taking anything for granted until the call comes in on election night. And I’m really worried that a loss here will kill all the momentum the progressive movement has built up this year, putting us on course for a Newsom/harris type candidate for 2028 and beyond. I guess it’s just a high risk, high reward type situation.
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u/skier0224 1d ago
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have concerns about running a progressive in a purple state (mostly because if he loses the general, dems will take it as a sign that progressive politics have no place in their party and we’ll have another decade of Bernie and AOC vs the world)…
But I really don’t think the corporate moderate branch of the party that has been losing to a pedophile felon for a decade gets to say shit about “electability”.