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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Democrats Are Still Not the Party of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
In contests for party control between progressives and moderates, electoral and governing results speak for themselves.Ms. Steinhauer is the author of the forthcoming The Firsts: The Inside Story of the Women Reshaping Congress.
March 5, 2020, 10:24 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON Congressional Democrats are very familiar with the political dramaturgy now playing out in their partys White House primary and know of its lessons and consequences.
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On Super Tuesday, this was playing out at the presidential level across the country between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. But it played out at the congressional level as well. On Tuesday, Jessica Cisneros in Texas, the highest profile primary challenger of the Justice Democrats, a very progressive group, lost to the moderate Democratic incumbent, Henry Cuellar. Left-wing-activist-backed Senate candidates in Texas and North Carolina were crushed by more moderate candidates.
The first dress rehearsal for this battle was the 2018 midterm elections, when the Justice Democrats put its muscle behind nearly 80 Sanders-like insurgent candidates to target House seats, many of them held by less liberal Democratic incumbents. That year, scores of Democrats ranging from left of center (like Katie Porter of California) to fairly conservative (Anthony Brindisi of New York) took advantage of waning support for Mr. Trump in Americas suburbs to make a run for House seats held by Republican incumbents.
The results were pretty unequivocal. Justice Democrats lost virtually every primary race in 2018 when they fielded a homegrown liberal candidate, but they won one very important race: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez upset Representative Joe Crowley in a New York seat he had held for years.
At the same time, scores of middle-of-the-road Democrats were able to get through crowded primaries and win over Republican and independent voters in the general election, giving their party a net gain of 40 seats and flipping the House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/sunday-review/democratic-party-ocasio-cortez.html
beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)the totality of Americas
of course they mostly think we all need to bow down to their superior ideas
same with ideologues every where
empedocles
(15,751 posts)Lulu KC
(2,575 posts)Climate change! I'm there!
But then she went to Kansas to knock down Sharice Davids. With Bernie. During the primary. Supporting a man who had just moved to the district.
Last nail in both their coffins for moi.
dalton99a
(81,649 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)They also campaigned in Michigan for Gretchen Whitmer's primary opponent. She won the primary AND the election and today endorsed Joe Biden.
They also campaigned against incumbent Lacy Clay in Missouri's 1st District primary. He won and was re-elected in the general election.
Someone needs to teach her about location, location, location. But she's young. Still lots of time for learning.
dalton99a
(81,649 posts)Desert grandma
(804 posts)I remember hearing somewhere that the main reason for her victory was the changing demographics in her district. There were now an increasing number of minority citizens in that district. They were overwhelmingly Democratic, so the seat itself was safe. However, when she challenged the long term Democratic incumbent for that seat she defeated him because this district changed to a heavily minority one, and she was a better representation of that district than the incumbent, Rep. Joe Crowley, who was an older white gentleman. So it seams to me that candidates win when they are more representative of the people they will serve. I do not think there are too many districts where the majority of the constituents are as far left as AOC and the far left wing of our party. This is why, IMO, candidates supported by her and Bernie were defeated by more center/moderate candidates in 2018.
leftstreet
(36,117 posts)Half the eligible voters in the US don't vote
stopdiggin
(11,391 posts)on some issues (LGBTQ rights, gay marriage, income inequality, climate change) .. sometimes substantially, and sometimes quite quickly. As an example, young service members by-and-large have no real issue with serving with gay (or even trans) troops. The objections come mostly from older (and even non-military) factions. Gay marriage has quickly seen broad acceptance and support in the general public. Both are surprising, and very recent, changes to the body politic.
But that is only part of the overall picture. There is also strong reservation and substantial resistance to some of the more progressive agenda (2nd amendment, abortion, free ed, M4A, immigration). An argument for tighter gun control still loses elections in 3/4 of this country. Plain fact.
No .. AOC is not where a lot of the electorate is now .. but it might well be where the voters are in 20-25 years? -- (after all .. "income inequality" was not even part of the discussion 15 years ago.)
I personally like her. I think she's brilliant, and very charismatic. She's a welcome voice in the party (when not attacking it). But I don't think she (or any other progressive) can be allowed to dictate where the party goes from here. At least .. not just now.