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Zohran Mamdani won three US House of Representatives seats last week. Claire Valdez in NY-7, Brad Lander in NY-10, and Darializa Avila Chevalier in NY-13 each won the Democratic primary after being endorsed by Mamdani, knocking-off two incumbants in the process. These are all 80-20 Democratic districts, so there is no realistic chance of any of them losing in the November.
Darializa Avila Chevalier is the one still making headlines a week later. She is, as far as anyone can tell, an actual communist. Rumors are that she personally founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest when she was a student there in 2016. Her stance on policing? She's against it.
Center-left politicos are currently melting down that someone like this won and is being accepted by the party apparatus. Credit to them for denouncing socialism I guess, but did they not know who their base is? Did they completely forget all of those "defund the police" chants from 2020? Did they not know that those people vote Democrat?
Some people want to kick Chevalier out of the party, bless their hearts. This wouldn't work even if it were feasable. Democrats need votes from leftists to be competative nationally. A party at war with its own base cannot stand.
I don't think she can be kicked out, seeing as how she's DSA not Democrat. But I also think she's not going to do much more than make a few fiery speeches, possibly try a few stunts and get slapped down for them (like early career AOC did) and settle down to cultivate a political career (like AOC did). She was selected by the same king-makers (the Justice Democrats) who got AOC and a slate of others elected, so my take on all this is: (a) it's New York, this sort of stuff will run locally but not nationally and (b) she will not, in fact, rock any boats; she'll work on keeping her seat by keeping on the right side of the college-educated white liberals who elected her.
If I'm being cynical (no, me?) expect an appearance in a couple of years time at the next Met Gala with her own designer togs emblazoned with the right-on messaging just like Sandy from the block 😁
The DSA win has already flipped Newsom on the wealth tax (he opposed it before, he supports it now); Hakeem Jeffries has already feted them. The Democrats know this is the future of their party.
Possibly. Getting seats in Congress, yeah, but are there any DSA senators and not just House of Representatives? As for Newsom, I think he realises California is where his bread is buttered, even if he runs for president it'll be a Kamala-style result, so keeping on the good side of the edge cases until he can wangle some kind of move away from California into the higher echelons of the party (if there is such a thing). I wonder if he'd be interested in running for the Senate? But given the backlash against Scott Wiener, this is risky and demonstrates why he'd have to stay on the good side of the crazies.
DSA winning seats in select local districts is entirely possible. DSA as new third national party and being relevant on a national scale? I don't see it, and if any DSA affiliate did manage a run for national office (like AOC and the presidency, something often wistfully mentioned) I think the person would have to considerably soften their policy positions. Go all-in on "new, high-paying, union jobs" (which we all know are now a dying if not dead breed) and economic populism, cool it on "Stalin was the greatest person who ever lived, I find it really hard to pick my favourite between him and Mao".
By my count so far there's Platner in Maine plus AES in Michigan, though the latter still has to win the primaries. Am I missing anyone else?
The guy everybody was losing their life over? I think it'll be very damn interesting to see what he does once he sits his backside into the seat, and if he just votes with the mainstream Dems or decides to get up on his trotters and call for the People's Socialist Revolutionary Republican Democracy Democratic Republic right this second 😁
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