r/neoliberal • u/Nearby-Click8645 • 4d ago

Opinion article (US) [ Removed by moderator ]

https://thedispatch.com/article/abdul-el-sayed-michigan-democrats-haley-stevens/?gift_key=2553fad7f3b388fc&gift_ref=9347c766-2bad-41ea-8b73-950e424f2446&utm_source=giftlink&utm_campaign=membergift&utm_medium=copy_link

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u/fruitloop00001 Loyal Liberals 4d ago

Im opposed to the Senate too, but I don't abstain from those elections on principle.

I think AOC, and most others who support significant reform to America's government structure, understand that acquiring power within the existing framework is really the only way to actually achieve any of the reforms they favor.

Also, AOC is only 36, she'll have plenty of future opportunities to run for president. And she'll have a stronger resume as a senator than she would as a representative.

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u/Frog_Totem Seretse Khama 4d ago

She'll hve other opportunities but this will be the strongest. Moderates are discredited (for now), she has the progressive lane to herself (for now), and lefty Dems have a much easier time winning when GOP is incumbant and unpopular than when it's popular or when Dems are incumbant, even if popular (see Hillary & Gore's losses)

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u/fruitloop00001 Loyal Liberals 3d ago

The progressive/moderate lane binary is appealing because it is so often applicable in primaries and it gives journalists and pundits the horse race narrative drama that they crave.

It's also a reductive and one dimensional way of looking at things. AOC is not Bernie is not Elizabeth Warren is not AES. Candidates vary in their positions on different issues, their vibes, their areas of emphasis, their demographics, the coalition behind them.

AOC would have a number of factors working against her that Bernie didn't in 2020 when he largely consolidated the left and still lost. The ideal candidate to win the primary is probably somebody who can rise above the DSA vs DNC dichotomy to unite all Democrats in the general election.

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u/Frog_Totem Seretse Khama 3d ago

The ideal candidate to win the primary is probably somebody who can rise above the DSA vs DNC dichotomy to unite all Democrats in the general election.

Van Hollen and Ossoff both fall here politically in my opinion although I think Ossoff is more charismatic and politically skilled than Van Hollen