Who should run for the Dems?

[dann]

You could drop the word "child" and simply use "a three-year-old" as a noun.

Well, kind of. That would then be a substantive adjective. You nominalize the adjective three-year-old.
Anyway, I no longer teach grammar, so I also no longer really give a ◊◊◊◊, but thanks to y'all for the suggestions.
Besides, it's also off topic, so let's return to the theme of the thread.

 

[dann]

Democratic socialism is not social democracy. Which word is the noun and which is the adjective matters.

No, in this case, it doesn't matter at all.

 

[dann]

Moderate Democrats Prepare for 'War' Against an Ascendant Left (NYT, Aug 6, 2026)
One moderate group says the progressive wins are "deeply troubling" and is planning a $15 million effort against democratic socialism.

Is this because Trump and MAGA are not the enemy that needs to be defeated, so in addition to the AIPAC money and donations from oligarchs, democratic socialists and progressives will now also be up against 'moderate' Democrats? However, it is also possible that this it the NYT trying to create the impression that there is a rift in the Democratic Party when in reality there's no real there there. See the Michael Hobbes posts below and Haley Stevens' endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed.

naomiaklein on Instagram, Aug 6, 2026
Big wins for the left in the U.S. primaries so far reveal critical truths about how far the Democratic base has moved on key issues, from Israel to Big Tech. But make no mistake: a major faction of the Party will fight these truths every step of the way, no matter the electoral costs. The fight is only beginning.

Naomi Klein on X, Aug 6, 2026
So NYT reports that Third Way is spending $15-million to discredit democratic socialism ahead of the presidential elections. “Their fear: Dr. El-Sayed was paving a path for a progressive to seize the party’s presidential nomination in 2028 — and then go on to lose the general election.”
Except that is not their real fear. Their real fear is that the left will go on to *win* the general election, and, like Mamdani in NYC, prove that the left can govern. They are willing to throw the general election to Republicans by smearing the left and dividing and demoralizing the Dem base to avoid that outcome.
How do we know they are willing gamble in this way? Because that's how Trump won the first time.

Michael Hobbes on bsky, Aug 6, 2026
This is a glorified single-source interview with the head of Third Way. It quotes far more moderates saying they support the progressive candidates in the general election. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...

Michael Hobbes on bsky, Aug 6, 2026
The majority of people responding to this post appear not to have read it.
Moderate Dems *are* supporting Al-Sayed. The NYT is platforming a single dead-ender in an effort to obscure this reality. Don’t do their work for them.

Haley Stevens on X, Aug 5, 2026
I love Michigan and am so proud to have put up my hand to serve. I spoke with Abdul a few moments ago to offer him my full support as we work to defeat Mike Rogers this November.
Thank you, Michigan.

 

[Donal]

The Times, like most of the media, makes money off drama and intrigue. Also, the lords are mad. They need a nice, corporate friendly Democrat to maintain the "loyal opposition" farce.

 

[dann]

Extremely dishonest AIPAC tactics!
There are a lot of lies out there about progressive Democrats. I just saw this:

‘Spits in the face of voters’: Hayes on the 'insidious' ads flooding primaries (MS NOW on YouTube, Aug 8, 2026 – 8:26min.)
“It is disingenuous, insidious, and fundamentally insults voters who actually care about the democratic process in voters choosing their candidates,” says Chris Hayes on dark money funding deceptive ads in key primaries.

Chris Hayes mentions several of his sorces. See some of them below:

Super PAC Attacks Progressive Will Lawrence Over His $11,000 401(k) (The American Prospect, July 11, 2026)
The ad buy costs 48 times more than the T. Rowe Price target fund owned by Lawrence, who leads in a swing-seat House race in Michigan.
The absurdity of attack advertising was taken to new heights on Friday when Crush MAGA PAC began a $532,000 ad campaign against Will Lawrence, an organizer running for Congress in Michigan’s Seventh Congressional District, calling him a Wall Street investor for owning a retirement account worth approximately $11,000.

MS NOW shows the ad at 1:02–>
Despicable!!!

At 2:42–> there's a similar ad against another progressive candidate, Alex Bores.
And Tom Malinowski was exposed to a similar smear campaign. The ad against him is shown at 4:26–>

AIPAC, One of the Biggest Spenders on U.S. Elections, Faces Its Biggest Test (NYT, Aug 4, 2026)
... the amount of money AIPAC-affiliated political action committees have spent on campaign advertising and outreach to voters has more than doubled, from $29.3 million to $67.2 million, with much of it spent in Democratic primaries... while rarely mentioning Israel.

From the MS NOW video:

5:25–> They're spending all this money, in some cases record-setting amounts in individual races, tens of millions, because they don't like Democratic candidates' stances on Israel.
That's the issue they care about. But they're not talking about that.
They never tried to argue that the candidates' views on Israel are bad.
Instead, they tried to trick voters by waving around some other issue and saying they're pro-ICE.

After Michigan Loss, AIPAC Weighs a Second Effort to Defeat El-Sayed (NYT, Aug 5, 2026)
The pro-Israel organization spent $32 milllion in an unsuccessful effort to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in Israel's Democratic Senate primary. It might try again in the general election.

G.O.P. Appears to Boost Socialist's Primary Campaign for Wisconsin Governor (NYT, July 15, 2026)
A super PAC tied to Republicans is spending $2.2 million on television advertisements that appear to be aimed at boosting the chances of Francesca Hong, a Democratic candidate for governor in Wisconsin.

 

[ZiprHead]

^^^
I watched that last night. The dishonesty was shocking.

 

[Random]

^^^
I watched that last night. The dishonesty was shocking.

Its been that way for a while. If a politician says that they think we should raise taxes on the rich, the rich don't respond with an ad campaign saying rich people should pay less in taxes because they know they will lose that argument. Instead they hit back with a multi-million dollar ad campaign saying that that politician eats puppies or something.

The goal is to create a situation where all politicians on both sides of the aisle agree with your positions on things you care about, and only have disagreements about things you don't care about. So if you are a banker who wants lower banking regulations, but don't care about abortion or gay rights, your sweet spot is picking off all the anti-bank politicians in the primaries, and a general election with a pro-bank, pro-life, "traditional values" candidate facing off against a pro-bank, pro-choice, pro-gay-rights candidate. Lots of ads, lots of marches and protests, lots of arguments in the media, and the illusion of democracy. Meanwhile all of your politically unpopular goals were accomplished months ago.

 

[dann]

Kamala Harris Drops MASSIVE Surprise Plan On How To Beat Republicans (The Damage Report on YouTube, Aug 10, 2026 – 4:23 min.)
Kamala Harris announces her master plan for how Democrats can beat Republicans in the 2028 election with a controversial move for the Electoral College. John Iadarola and Trae Crowder break it down on The Damage Report. Leave a comment with your thoughts below!

I guess it will be easy for her, when the time comes, to make up new excuses for why she can't do what she promised to do. It was for her and Biden from 2021 to 2025.
If you think The Damage Report's short soundbite was too little and cherry-picked, it gets even worse when you listen to twenty minutes of it:

2028 Shock? Kamala Harris Finally Addresses Presidential Run Rumors (The Financial Express on YouTube, Aug 5 – 20 min.)
FORMER Vice President Kamala Harris has addressed growing speculation about a potential 2028 White House campaign, offering her clearest public comments yet on her political future.

It's all empty phrases to make her sound statesmanlike, much like meaningsless Obama slogan, Yes, we can.
People can read into it whatever the hell they want, not unlike Trump's Make America Great Again.
And that's deliberate. She doesn't actually want to do anything for and with the people. She wants them to vote for her and leave things to her if elected, like her kind always does.
She won't get anywhere with those empty phrases on the campaign trail if there are just a couple of progressives and/or socialist democrats in the audience.
A proper interviewer could also reveal her showmanshiip for what it is: empty of actual context, of actual promises to raise the standards of living (and not least health care) for ordinary people. This one does the opposite. He's as bad as Hannity or Watters 'interviewing' Trump!

 

[Donal]

I think having already lost will be too much of a albatross around her neck

 

[dann]

I think a whole lot of people in the USA at this point are able to listen to politicians and notice if they are actually talking about what concerns people and not just what seems to sound good, like the old-fashioned kind of politicians.
They saw Biden/Harris accomplish nothing for ordinary people, be it the economy, health care, education or the climate. And then many of went and voted for a guy who was even worse.

Abdul El-Sayed Signals a Political Shift in Michigan ( on YouTube, 1:09 min.)

Brother, if you don't think America's changing, I don't know what to tell you.
I just watched, for the second time in one year, a brown Muslim dude flanked by a socialist get elected in spite of the entirety of the ruling class being levied against them. All of their media control, all of their capital, all of their institutional political control. In spite of all of that, they still couldn't stop the American people from electing this dude.
That's revolutionary. That's not a material condition that's existed in the last 80 years.
You mean to tell me you get all the money, you get all the media control, you get all of the political people on your side, and you still lose?
That's not something you've ever been able to count on here in America.

 

[dudalb]

The Times, like most of the media, makes money off drama and intrigue. Also, the lords are mad. They need a nice, corporate friendly Democrat to maintain the "loyal opposition" farce.

That's right, let's drive all but the Progressives out of the party. That will win in November.
Your hatred of anybody not as far tothe left as you is clear.
There is no hidden tribe of left wing voters .

 

[dudalb]

I think a whole lot of people in the USA at this point are able to listen to politicians and notice if they are actually talking about what concerns people and not just what seems to sound good, like the old-fashioned kind of politicians.
They saw Biden/Harris accomplish nothing for ordinary people, be it the economy, health care, education or the climate. And then many of went and voted for a guy who was even worse.

Abdul El-Sayed Signals a Political Shift in Michigan ( on YouTube, 1:09 min.)

Let's see how he does in the General Election.
BTW, he just stated he is not a Socialist.
How long until he is going to be accused of selling out.

 

[Donal]

That's right, let's drive all but the Progressives out of the party.

That's right, come running to defend our corporate overlords. any criticism of our economic system is advocating for a full Bolshevik take over.

That will win in November.

That's what you're afraid of

Your hatred of anybody not as far tothe left as you is clear.

No, i just don't like a bunch of billionaires rewriting history like a Temu Stalin to fit their needs

There is no hidden tribe of left wing voters .

its bigger than the hidden tribe reasonable Republicans looking to vote for a Democrat.

 

[dann]

Let's see how he does in the General Election.
BTW, he just stated he is not a Socialist.
How long until he is going to be accused of selling out.

Thank you for finally noticing!
That's what I keep telling you guys: That's what's wrong with representative democracy!

A drawback to this type of government is that elected officials are not required to fulfill promises made before their election and are able to promote their own self-interests once elected, providing an incohesive system of governance.[48]

How come you only notice this when the elected representatives are left-leaning?

 

[dann]

See posts 706 and 745 about Hong:

BREAKING: Progressives Win TWO Landslides Despite Francesca Hong’s Narrow Loss (The Humanist Report on YouTube, Aug 12, 2026 – 19 min.)
In this video Mike reacts to tonight’s election results and offers some preliminary takeaways about the left’s momentum and Francesca Hong’s unexpectedly close race.

At 7:00–>
David Crowley: Votes 300,714; Pct. 39.93
Francesca Hong: Votes 297,923; Pct. 39.56

So James Carville may be happy now, other Democrats not so much, if it's true that socialists and progressives are harder to beat for Republicans than moderate Democrats are (see post 706 again).

 

[dann]

This is a surprise!
Hannity promoting DSA candidate Oliver Larkin on Fox News!

Fox News Makes Stunning Confession About Socialists in Rare Moment of Honesty (The Humanist Report on YouTube, Aug 12, 2026b – 20 min.)
In a recent episode of Fox News’ ‘Outnumbered’ the panelists made a stunning confession: socialists may actually have a winning message after all. Despite nonstop McCarthyist fearmongering on their network, the panelists explained that candidates like Abdul El-Sayed have been able to sell his policies as “moderate” even though they’re more radical. They also admit that Republicans could lose if they don’t stand for anything and are only running in opposition to socialism. In this video we’ll talk about how socialists are forcing the paradigm to shift in America.

1:48–> Hannity: If Oliver Larkin had his way, well, there would be Medicare for all, no more electoral college, automatic same day voter registration, an immediate shift away from fossil fuels, public ownership of the fossil fuel infrastructure.
He supports abolishing and prosecuting ICE, free public college and universities, an end to the Iranian sanctions, an end to the embargo with Cuba, and federal rent caps.
In other words, just like every other DSA candidate, he would radically transform our country until I would argue it's not recognizable.

Mike Figueredo: My brother in Christ, that is what people want!

It's also fun to listen to Newsom going full DSA – or at least pretending. Whatever he actually thinks (other than: I want to be president!) is hard to tell.

 

[ahhell]

Trump had a winning message.

 

[dann]

Trump had a winning message.

What exactly was Trump's winning message? Tell us more!!!
Was it ...
... ending inflation?
... immediately bringing down prices, starting on day one?
... capping credit card interest rates?
... ending the war in Ukraine, also on day one?
... being the president of peace?

The promises he kept were mainly the promises he had made to fascists, to Evangelical fundamentalists, and to his donors and bribers:
Pardoning Jan 6 rioters
Ending DEI
Ban on trans athletes
Tax cuts – but mainly for the rich
Drill, baby, drill
Supporting crypto investors

 

[dirtywick]

i wouldn't put supporting crypto investors in promises kept

 

[dann]

Scott Bessent tries to dismiss DSA's success and people's dissatisfaction with GOP policies

Trump gets RUDE AWAKENING as FAVORITE NETWORK DUMPS HIM!! (MeidasTouch on YouTube, Aug 17, 2026 – 8:33 min.)
Even Newsmax is dumping Trump as his presidency goes up in flames

4:18–>
Bessent (on Newsmax): It's unfortunate to see this DSA movement getting this kind of traction.
MeidasTouch: Trump's Treasury Secretary, Scott Besson, cannot come up with a good answer to why Trump is creating a liability for the American people because he doesn't want to get fired. So instead, he blames Biden despite the fact that it has been a long time since Biden is president. And also a lot of the things that Biden did do like the chips act, which created more manufacturing jobs in the US, are probably actually preventing Trump's economic actions from having even more devastating consequences.
He also points to countries like Cuba. You know, of course, he doesn't point to Scandinavian countries who have much more social support systems than we have and are functioning, clearly.

Pointing to a country you are actively trying to destroy and planning to invade is particularly brazen. I'm surprised he doesn't also conditions in Greenland ...

6:13–>
MeidasTouch: Now, the fact is Republicans just always seem to have money or tax breaks or subsidies for the ultra rich or for corporations that they care about, but never have enough money to actually fund public schools or help reduce the costs of health care or fund and allow rural hospitals to keep going.