Working Class Politics 'Not Just for the Bronx': Ocasio-Cortez Debunks 'Too Far Left'

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

Working Class Politics 'Not Just for the Bronx': Ocasio-Cortez Debunks 'Too Far Left' Warning From Midwest Democrat.
Echoing what has become a go-to talking point among prominent Democrats in the aftermath of democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's landslide victory over New York Rep. Joe Crowley in last week's primary election, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) asserted without evidence on Sunday that candidates can't "go too far to the left and still win the Midwest."

To read more:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/02/working-class-politics-not-just-bronx-ocasio-cortez-debunks-too-far-left-warning?utm_term=

[northremembers]

1. Why don't you try it first, Tammy?

Considering how red the Midwest is it's hard to imagine doing worse. Chicago is blue. North Dakota is red. Fight for what you believe in. You'll feel better, have a stronger mandate, and you might win some more voters over.

[Squinch]

4. Are you fucking kidding me? You're telling Tammy Duckworth to "fight for what you believe in"???

As if she doesn't already? Do you know ANYTHING about her?

That's just an ignorant post.

[northremembers]

117. I'm not kidding

You're right. She is a very outspoken leader who has been out in front for what she believes in. I cheered when she took her baby out on the Senate floor to vote. When she says don't go too far left to someone else I don't see her standing up for what she believes in.

For decades I've been watching Democrats "not go too far left". After 9/11 Democrats decided not to obstruct a president who had no regard for the best interests of our country. They lost twice. In the aftermath of the 2008 recession the Democrats tirelessly tried to work with Republicans and put forward purple policy. We got the Tea Party Rebellion. In 2016 Democrats campaigned as "the responsible ones". We got Trump instead. Blue Conservatism doesn't work. I am NOT saying Sen. Duckworth is a blue conservative. I think her statement was inconsistent with who she has been.

We are all seeing a lot of nervous looks from the Democratic establishment at the young Democrats. The establishment way failed. In the last 22 years the Democrats have controlled Congress 4 of those years. All we have to show for all that compromise is a lot of policy most Democrats wish they hadn't voted for.

I can see what's going on. The Democratic leadership is seeing we have a shot to win and they look at younger Democrats and say "don't blow it". What that says to me is they are afraid to be liberal. It's a problem our party has had since Reagan was president. We forget how liberalism cured the Great Depression, won WWII, built suburban America, won the Space Race, won the Cold War, and guided the world to a peaceful end to the 20th Century. Whenever we run from who we are the conservatives chase us down and claim victory.

While Democrats compromised, Republicans have shamelessly run further to the right. They continuously shut down the government, use public resources to witch hunt Democrats, and partner with our enemies against the American people. What has that gotten them? Everything.

We do have a shot this election. If a blue victory is going to mean anything, though, we have to win as liberals. We have to rally people to vote for what we believe in. In order to do that we need to be CONFIDENTLY united on the left. This election we need to set aside caution and embrace inspiration.

[Squinch]

124. So you're not kidding, you're just baselessly trashing a

great Democrat because she's being pragmatic and stating a self evident truth at the moment when our country is in its greatest danger.

This insistence that everyone veer left and slavishly push policies THAT LOST IN THE LAST PRIMARY, rather than each candidate gearing their approach to their constituency, which is what sane people know we need to do, has no other purpose than to divide.

And in case you haven't noticed, Democrats have been overwhelmingly winning elections since 2016

[northremembers]

141. Let me put it a different way

I admire Sen. Duckworth. I think she is courageous and was caught off guard by her remark. The statement she made to other candidates struck a nerve with me that has much more to do with many failures over decades by people other than Sen. Duckworth. The cautious approach has not paid off for us and it's time for a different plan.

I'm not saying we should veer left. If we're liberals then I assume we are already on the left. I'm saying we shouldn't run from who we are. Sen. Duckworth doesn't run from who she is and neither should any of the rest of us. Ocasio-Cortez has sparked excitement and gotten us talking about how we want to lead instead of what we are against. It's a healthy dialogue and long overdue. As a diverse group we will all have different ideas about our collective identity. That's healthy, too. We don't all have to be on the same place on the left. We just need to be confident and unafraid about being on the left. That's all I'm trying to say.

[BeyondGeography]

127. Excellent

The only reward we have gotten from Republicans and voters over the years for playing nice is time off for good behavior.

[disillusioned73]

143. Preach!!

[sheshe2]

108. What!?

Fight for what you believe in. You'll feel better, have a stronger mandate, and you might win some more voters over.

You may find some of the following details distressing

Duckworth was a captain with the Illinois National Guard when she was called up to serve in Iraq. It was a war she disagreed with, but she fully accepted the responsibility to go there and fight.



snip

She leaned forward to get the GPS co-ordinates to report where the helicopter had been shot.

"Right then, bam, the fireball happened in my lap with an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] going off," she told The Axe Files.

"It took off most of the back of my right arm because I had that forward. It blew off my right leg, it basically evaporated.

"My left leg was kicked up into an instrument. The force of that sheared it almost off, it was hanging on a little bit."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42803733

How dare you question her fight for what she believes in.

[Cha]

121. Thank You, she! That first post is Ridiculous

beyond the pale.

Thank you for providing some Common Sense. Looks like they'll go to all kinds of extremes to DISS Senator Tammy Duckworth.. and for why.. because she spoke the truth and they can't handle it.

[RandySF]

2. Speaking of Tammy Duckworth

I remember when Duckworth was savaged, by similar groups (encourage by primary opponent Christine Cegalis) during the 2006 congressional primaries, possibly costing her the general election. Thank God Tammy was able to pick herself up and eventually reach the U.S. Senate. Cegalis is now an Illinois footnote.

[guillaumeb]

3. Duckworth ran against Mark Kirk,

who ran against his own increasingly incoherent record.

[RandySF]

6. After getting elected to the House

[former9thward]

38. Kirk had a severe stroke.

And never really recovered from it.

[guillaumeb]

46. I agree.

But rather than resign, he stayed in the Senate.

[Cha]

67. So? What are you saying?

[guillaumeb]

73. Kirk was a GOP Senator in a fairly blue state.

THAT is what I was saying.

[Cha]

80. Yeah, who was elected in that blue state.. and the Great Senator, Tammy Duckworth,

beat him.

I stand with Senator Duckworth, who knows what she's talking about.

[guillaumeb]

138. Duckworth has her own opinion. eom

[Squinch]

5. Duckworth is absolutely right. Five miles from Ocasio-Cortez's win, old guard Dem Engel

won his primary in a landslide.

People on either side of this debate who are insisting that "Every Democrat has to run the same way and it has to be MY way" are friggin' morons.

[guillaumeb]

7. Duckworth seems to have forgotten the many progressive Democrats

from the Midwest. Paul Wellstone springs to mind, as does Lane Evans, a progressive from western Illinois.

Marie Newman, a progressive newcomer, nearly beat Dan Lipinski in a District hand tailored for the Lipinski family. His father, William Lipinski, was the previous Congressman until he retired to become a railroad lobbyist.

Luis Gutierrez is also fairly progressive.



I think that many of us believe that the electorate is far more progressive than the media would have us believe.

[RandySF]

9. Wellstone was in danger of losing before he passed.

[guillaumeb]

10. Due in part to the huge influx of out of state money.

But speculation of the possible outcome is useless now.

[sharedvalues]

116. Feingold might well have won without the Russians

And of course without billionaire money into WI he almost certainly would have won.

Feingold should be in the Senate.

This whole GOP Senate majority is illegitimate.

[Squinch]

13. I repeat: anyone who demands that all Democrats run the same way and who insists that it be THEIR

way is a friggin' moron.

[guillaumeb]

15. So that would also apply to Duckworth?

When should Democrats debate what the terms of the debate should be?

Are we to allow a corporate media and a fascist GOP to define what is possible?

[Squinch]

16. Did she say that everyone needs to run on her agenda? Are you saying she's letting

a corporate media and fascist GOP define her candidacy?

[guillaumeb]

18. Ocasio-Cortez did not say that her agenda must be the only one.

But the questions are my own. Are we as Democrats to allow the GOP and a corporate media to define what is possible?

It seems to me that the terms of what is possible have been moving steadily rightward, even as the electorate supports things like single payer (whatever the name) and unionization, and a living wage, and state subsidized tuition.

[Squinch]

22. And your question is a straw man. Who in this conversation is allowing the GOP and corporate

media to define what is possible? No one. So what is your point?

Here's one: are we as Democrats going to insist that everyone move as far left as you or I might want them to, thereby losing some redder districts? Because, once again, that's moronic.

And by the way, it seems to me like you STILL haven't read the platform.

[guillaumeb]

24. Obviously Joe Manchin will never be as progressive as some Senators that we could name.

But if a Democratic Senator votes for GOP SCOTUS nominees, and votes with the GOP on other issues, what is the value on that initial after the name?

[Squinch]

26. LOL! You don't see the value of the D? What are you going to say next, that both sides are the

same?

This is bullshit. I'm not having this idiotic argument.

If you can't see the value of having as many Democrats as possible, if TODAY, in the state we are in TODAY, you still can't see it, if you are STILL going to insist that everyone must be as pure as you or they are worthless, and that everyone has to run just as YOU want them to, then I have nothing to say to you.

What the everloving fuck.

[guillaumeb]

36. No, I asked a specific question.

And yes, it does relate to the local politics of each specific state.

[Squinch]

45. Down thread you defended a De Vos financed effort to challenge a strong Democrat. Your position is

painfully clear for all to see.

[guillaumeb]

51. I did nothing of the sort.

I did ask if primary challenges are to be discouraged.

[Squinch]

59. As a way of defending a De Vos financed primary to challenge a strong Democrat.

And are De Vos financed primaries to challenge a strong Democrat to be discouraged? Are you really asking that question?

Yes. De Vos financed primaries to challenge a strong Democrat are to be discouraged. Unless you are someone who likes what is happening in our country today and wants to see more of it.

[Blue_true]

33. You truly don't get it. A person that votes with us on critical issues 80% of the time beats

one that vote against us 100% of the time. People can toss out unicorn and fairy dust scenarios, but facts are facts, Joe can win in his state and he is with us most of the time.

[mcar]

84. A number in the D column, for one

That would make a Democrat Senate Majority leader. Who controls the Senate and what bills get put before it. Who controls investigations, etc.

But surely you know that.

[Cha]

68. I second that true statement.. Just ask Conor Lamb

who Won on Health Issues and ACA.

[GulfCoast66]

101. And owns an AR 15

[SidDithers]

128. +1...nt

Sid

[Demsrule86]

41. The special elections paint a different picture...the idea we run in red or

even purple districts as social Democrats is madness...with all due respect Ms cortez is in a deep blue district. And I would counsel her to get elected before taking on established Democrats especially someone like Tammy Duckworth.

[guillaumeb]

49. Every candidate must determine the type of campaign he/she will run.

We all know that.

[Demsrule86]

63. That is true.

[sheshe2]

110. Well actually...

guillaumeb

49. Every candidate must determine the type of campaign he/she will run.

We all know that.

Not everyone here knows that!

[Cha]

122. I don't think Senator Tammy Duckworth has

"forgotten" any of that.. nice of you to question her memory, though.

[mcar]

83. All politics is local

Funny how people forget that on a regular basis.

[RandySF]

8. I love Ocasio-Cortez

But she seems more interested in waging an intra-party food fight than the talk of winning the House. But I guess it'seasy to do when you the luxury of a guaranteed win in November.

[guillaumeb]

12. It is interesting that you say that,

because I come to the opposite conclusion from reading her interviews.

[sheshe2]

113. Please explain.

I must see something different.

[guillaumeb]

140. Ocasio-Cortez is a Democrat,

and a socialist. She never made the argument that many here, including Senator Duckworth, are fighting against. This is a manufactured controversy unsupported by Ocasio-Cortez's own statements.

[Blue_true]

40. I don't think that she is picking a fight.

But she is quick to respond to anyone that try to define her. My guess, in the House, she becomes a classic late 60s liberal.

[Voltaire2]

81. Lulzd.

[mcar]

85. It's disappointing

So many things to attack Rs on.

[theaocp]

11. No problem, Duckworth.

Define it. Then we can discuss. Until then, it’s 5 lbs of shit in a 4 lb bag.

[Squinch]

14. Define what?

[theaocp]

25. What is "too far to the left". n/t

[Squinch]

28. Asinine. So you are going to demand a definition of "pure enough" that every Democratic candidate

has to adhere to? One size fits all, eh?

Some people really never learn.

[theaocp]

69. She said it.

I assume she can illustrate what that means. You disagree?

[Squinch]

72. I am sure she can say what that means for her constituents. It would be imbecilic for her to

try to define it for other constituencies.

Do you not get that?

[theaocp]

92. She's welcome to clarify her statement any time she likes.

You like to argue what she means like you're a politician-whisperer. She can clarify it or let everything remain muddy. It's really up to her. Do you not get that?

[Squinch]

93. Perfectly asinine.

[theaocp]

94. Yea, we hate to have clarity. So ...

... where IS my thesaurus? What's another word for stoopid? Maybe Squinch can help out somehow.

[Squinch]

125. No. We don't hate to have clarity. We just hate to have trolls.

[theaocp]

137. Feel free to drop some names.

Coyness is so unbecoming. Maybe if you Squinch a little, you can make em out.

[RandySF]

17. In the meantime in Michigan

Our Revolution has entered a joint effort with the Devos Family to take down Gretchen Whitmer in the Michigan Democratic primary to the benefit of the Ocasio-Cortez endorsed candidate, Abdul El Sayed.

[guillaumeb]

19. What are Whitmer's positions on the issues?

And apart from that, are all primary challenges to be discouraged?

[RandySF]

20. So you don't deny that Republicans are meddling?

[guillaumeb]

21. Are primary challenges to be discouraged?

And if so, what does this say?

[RandySF]

23. I rest my case.

There are progressives who are more than happy to let the Republicans do their dirty work if it furthers their cause.

[Chickensoup]

104. Why do you attack views that are

different than yours on personal basis.
What kind of revolution ur planning???

[RandySF]

106. What kind of revolution

needs a Republican dark money group to attack a Democrat during a primary?

[kcr]

30. Holy crap

Your posts certainly say a lot. The DeVos are pure evil. There is absolutely nothing progressive about them.

[Squinch]

32. The posts really do reveal all.

[Blue_true]

50. I hope that real democrats in Michigan see the ruse and don't get fooled.

Whitmer should tie her opponent to the DeVos family, that is enough to sicken any real democrat.

[Squinch]

62. I hope so too. But it's like whack-a-mole. How many troll candidates will surface that we

DON'T tie back to their financiers?

[R B Garr]

91. They sure do reveal all. This whole thing didn't take

long. Just what I thought, but not hard to figure out.

[Maven]

105. Quite transparent, this one.

Look at when it joined, too. Timing!

[GulfCoast66]

109. Holy shit!!

How can someone get 24k post in 3 years?? I would have to do this for a job to have that many.

[Maven]

111. Interesting, isn't it?

I’ve been here for going on 15 years, and have less than half that many. And while not the most prolific poster, I post regularly.

[GulfCoast66]

114. Like I said...

I would have to post on the internet for a living to have that many.

[guillaumeb]

37. I asked a question.

Feel free to answer it.

[RandySF]

48. There's nothing wrong with running for office

But letting Republicans tear down a candidate so they can help your primary candidate is something else. Are you fine with that?

[guillaumeb]

53. So, if someone decides to challenge an incumbent,

and the GOP decides to weigh in on the challenge, what should the challenger do?

[RandySF]

56. Whitmer is not an incumbent

Why would you not know that?

[guillaumeb]

71. My question was a general one.

[R B Garr]

90. Do you think De Vos supports socialism? nt

[GulfCoast66]

102. If a person is supporting a candidate in the Democratic Primary that is supported by the GOP

Then that person, by definition is supporting the GOP.

Spin it anyway you want. Those are the facts.

And that person has no place on DU. They have gone so far around the horseshoe they are actually what they claim to oppose.

[kcr]

52. The old Just Asking Questions

Well, I answered it, didn't I? The DeVos family are evil and that clearly reveals an agenda. There's your answer. If you still support anyone teaming up with them, I have no problem pointing out the errors in that seriously flawed judgment.

[Demsrule86]

58. Yes this year...such challenges should be discouraged...we need to spend the money on taking

Republican held seats. Use the money to try as hard as we can for the Senate...primaries are basically meaningless if you have no power...we have the best damn platform in my lifetime...and it amounts to exactly nothing in terms of policy.

[Squinch]

66. This. The rules are different now.

[Demsrule86]

79. Yes, the house is on fire...we have to win. That is the most important thing...and

wasting time and money on safe Democratic seats is madness.

[uponit7771]

118. It says you didn't answer the valid question

[Demsrule86]

44. who will never win in Michigan...this is what I feared from OR ...we could lose the chance to win

the house with these tactics.

[kcr]

82. OR has lost any semblance of being a movement about policy

It's lost its credibility and is now openly about punishing the Democratic party. Any warm body will do, and anyone that will help them in that aim is welcome. I think most of the candidates are sincere in the policies they support, like Occasio, even though some of her friends are sketchy, like Glen Greenwald. But that's the thing. They almost all have ties to anti-Democratic loudmouths.

[Demsrule86]

96. I agree...they are actively attempting to harm our chance to take back the House and Senate.

[mcar]

86. What?

Our Revolution is colluding with DeVos?

[Blue_true]

27. I wish Tammy hadn't said that.

So far recently, two of our best have shot themselves in the foot and will need to recover. So far Kamala Harris, Joe Kennedy III, Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden have avoided that mistake.

[Squinch]

29. I guess, on the basis of that one line in one article, the bashing of Duckworth on DU has begun.

Speaking of shooting ones selves in the foot.

[RandySF]

31. Beware the trolls

It’s that time of year.

[Squinch]

35. Yep. And they're certainly gearing up.

On the bright side, if they're gunning for Tammy, it means they think she's as strong a candidate as I do.

[RandySF]

43. Primary season started in March. Most states already voted

And we’re just now hearing all this? Why so late?

[Squinch]

57. To sow division. Like those wonderful folks who are pushing the clunky "walk away" nonsense.

[elleng]

34. Yes indeed.

Never takes too long around here.

[Blue_true]

60. I don't disagree with Tammy, just wish she hadn't said it publicly.

I think I understand what she meant to say. But still, it was better unsaid.

[Squinch]

64. But it's just common sense. She's obviously right. I can't believe there are still people

who would argue against the meaning of her statement. We need every win we can get. Purity tests are for idiots.

I know YOU know this, but the need to be saying it to others is making me nuts.

[mcar]

87. I take Common Dreams with a big grain of salt these days

Just saying.

[guillaumeb]

39. Except it has not.

But if Duckworth make a statement, she should expect some questioning about what exactly she means.

[Demsrule86]

47. She was asked a question...she answered. And she is correct...in a red state someone like Ms.

Cortez is unlikely to win. We tailor the candidate to the district...50 state strategy which is the only way we have obtained power in the modern Party.

[Jim Lane]

88. That she was asked the question did not obligate her to answer it.

She's an experienced politician. She should have immediately said to herself, "This reporter doesn't actually care about single-payer health care or environmental protection or any other policy issue. Those don't make exciting stories. This reporter is in 'Let's you and her fight' mode, because writing about an intra-party disagreement beats the hell of trying to understand economic inequality or the like. Well, I'm not going to fall for it and I'm not going to give them what they want."

The correct response was some anodyne blather about congratulating Ocasio-Cortez, endorsing her for November, and looking forward to her becoming part of the national conversation about how to make government work better for all of us. That way, Duckworth wouldn't have played into the "Democrats in disarray" theme and wouldn't have helped to provide a distraction from children in cages or tariffs destroying businesses or any of the other things we want in the news.

[Squinch]

89. She answered the question with a self-evident statement. The only reason it's a problem

is because trolls are making it a problem, and dopes are falling for the trollery.

[Jim Lane]

115. The problem was entirely foreseeable.

I'm not saying she should lie to the media. I'm just saying she should avoid answering a question when her honest answer will have harmful consequences.

If the answer is indeed self-evident, then there's all the less reason to give the answer. It's not as if she has access to some information that no one else has but that the public has a right to know.

You put the blame on trolls and dopes. If you know that there are trolls and dopes, and I know that there are trolls and dopes, then Tammy Duckworth knows it, too, probably better than either of us.

[Squinch]

120. The problem is not a problem. The fact that a handful

of trolls are deciding to come after Duckworth and the usual suspects are joining in, whether in error or in gleeful assistant trollery, doesn't mean Duckworth should not have stated a self-evident truth.

And real people don't let trolls script their positions.

[Demsrule86]

131. I am sure Ms. Cortez is a fine person and all, but Tammy Duckworth is right

the ideology that got Ms Cortez elected won't work in other areas... do you think she could be elected statewide in even New York or Massachusetts? I don't. If she was the Democratic nominee I would vote for her, of course but I think she would lose. And Tammy has a right to voice her opinion. Why is Ms. ..Cortez so important to some...don't get it. She has not even been elected. Given this district is blue, I am sure she will be. But Ms. Cortez might want to consider she has to run again in two years...and candidates will come out of the woodwork to primary her which they shouldn't as it will be a safe Democratic seat, but they will.

[R B Garr]

142. +1, and it is not credible to imply that Democrats don't

support labor when it’s obvious Duckworth was talking about the overall socialism theme that is a tough sell. The GOP loves these diversions, though.

[Demsrule86]

95. She was asked a question...why not answer it?

There was no reason not to...it is true that someone with Ms. Cortez ideology will not be elected in a red state or district. I fail to see the problem.

[GulfCoast66]

107. Or perhaps she knows her voters.

And knows that most Midwest voters think the candidate from NY is a self identified socialist who she does not want to be associated with. I may not agree, but I am not running for office in the Midwest.

This is not complicated. Politics are local.

For the life of me I cannot understand why Democrats outside her state feel the need to criticize her.

[Squinch]

55. She probably means that if you campaign too far left, for example identifying as a Democratic

Socialist, that is great in Brooklyn but it will lose you votes in the Midwest.

She means what she says, which for any sane person is a self-evident fact.

Perhaps, though, it is not self evident to those who demand purity while at the same time defending De Vos financed challenges to strong Democratic candidates.

[Blue_true]

61. I know what Tammy meant and agree with you 100%. nt

[guillaumeb]

70. I agree with that.

But Ocasio Cortez never suggested a one size strategy.

[Squinch]

74. The article nastily trashed Duckworth for saying that if you go too far left you'll lose votes

in the Midwest.

It trashed her for stating that self-evident fact.

Then you posted it.

Then a handful of posters jumped in to trash her again.

[guillaumeb]

75. But there are Midwest progressive Democrats

to disprove Duckworth's analysis. So there is also that.

[Squinch]

77. There are southern progressive Democrats. There are progressive Democrats in West Virginia.

Their existence doesn't mean we should run a Democratic Socialist against Manchin. Their existence doesn't even mean we should run a centrist Democrat against Manchin. They wouldn't win.

Viability matters.

The existence of progressive Democrats in the midwest does not disprove Duckworth's analysis in any way.

[Demsrule86]

98. There are not enough.

If you look at the voting patterns...including that ass whose name escapes me that holds the seat his Dad had in Illinois...running against a Nazi, a Democratic socialist won't get elected except in very specific districts not statewide either...Tammy runs statewide. I would also say Ms. Cortez would be unlikely to win a statewide election even in New York. I think our job is to win hearts and minds and move the party to the left gently. Tammy Duckworth is a great Senator...and she is correct in her assessment...hey I want to move left but I want to win this year and next and the year after that...and you can't move left when you elect Republicans...the electorate first swings back to the center sadly.

[GulfCoast66]

112. Not a shit load of socialist in the Midwest.

Or anywhere else in America for that matter.

Democratic Socialist. Works well in a few places. But very few.

Good for Duckworth. I am happy that Brooklyn has a candidate who reflects their values. But I understand there are not very many districts she would carry.

[Blue_true]

54. I am a real big fan of Tammy. Even with this, I think that she tops the 2020 field with Harris. nt

[Squinch]

65. A Duckworth/Harris or Harris/Duckworth ticket would probably make me die of happiness.

[Blue_true]

78. Yeah, with that ticket, my shorts would be messed up front and back from happiness.

Two plain speaking, hardnosed, hardworking people, just what Trump dreads.

[guillaumeb]

42. Agreed.

[Garrett78]

76. As I recall, Ocasio-Cortez said shortly after her victory, "There are many ways to be a Democrat."

So, it would seem she agrees with Duckworth.

[RandySF]

99. That changed

[Garrett78]

100. Why do you say that?

I don't really see Ocasio-Cortez saying anything that contradicts what she said about there being many ways to be a Democrat.

[Cha]

119. Yes, and that's what Senator Duckworth was

saying when asked by Jake Tapper.. and AOC came back at Tammy Duckworth with refighting the primaries.

There are all kinds of Dems across the Country Fighting to TAKE the HOUSE with what works in their District.. think Conor Lamb and incumbent Eliot Engel in NY District 16..

For Democrats Challenging Party Incumbents, Insurgency Has Its Limits

snip//

Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, recently made an appearance with Mr. Engel in his district and praised him profusely. “We couldn’t be better served than by Eliot Engel,” she said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/nyregion/congress-primaries-democrats-midterm-ny.html

"it’s the establishment wing of the Democratic Party that is having a good 2018. And, more important, it’s having a good year in the places that matter most this November."



"What about those other 19 primaries, where the establishment Democrat won? There are a lot more congressional battlegrounds in that group, 11 in total, including 5 true tossups."

snip// from your link..

But the stories this week about the surprising power of the left side of the party may have overstated the case a bit.

Going by the numbers, it’s the establishment wing of the Democratic Party that is having a good 2018. And, more important, it’s having a good year in the places that matter most this November.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/bernie-sanders-backed-nominees-score-wins-longshot-races-n888071

RSF https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100210822252#post3

[Garrett78]

135. Her tweet about those half dozen states was quite misguided.

She's ignoring the fact that undemocratic caucuses and certain demographics favored Sanders in the primary but wouldn't have done him any good come November.

That's a pretty big error on her part. One we saw many on DU make repeatedly.

[Cha]

136. Yes, she had no business

spouting that at Senator Duckworth.. I'm sure Tammy Duckworth knows exactly how you explained it, Garrett..

Thank You!

[Squinch]

123. Read the whole article. Duckworth has the right approach

for her constituency. The quotes of OC really do come off as her insisting that Duckworth take OCs approach. We both know that's just stupid. So either the article is masterful trolley or OC needs to back off.

I like OC, and I really distrust these media-mediated spats between Democrats, but the article makes it look like she's gratuitously trashing Duckworth. This is exactly what We DON'T need right now.

[Garrett78]

129. There's only one quote from OC. Plus that misguided tweet about the 2016 primary.

The only OC quote: "With respect to the senator, strong, clear advocacy for working class Americans isn't just for the Bronx." 

[Squinch]

130. Other quote from OC:

"Tammy Duckworth should hold town halls on Medicare for All, universal free college, wages, racism, housing as a right, respect for immigrants, LGBTQIA+ rights, and climate change. It's easy to discount an agenda on Sunday TV. It's harder to say it to thousands of faces."

That is in quotes, immediately following another quote from OC and not attributed, so the reasonable assumption is that it was OC's words.

As I say, this is a nasty hit piece gunning for Duckworth, so it is possible that quote is a piece of masterful trollery, but it looks like it is OCs words.

If it IS OC's words, I would love to ask her to describe a time when Duckworth DIDN'T stand up for the things she's listing there.

And Common Dreams has just made my side-eye list

[Garrett78]

132. "Read the whole article." That quote is attributed later in the article.

It didn't come from OC.

[Squinch]

133. So do you see how that article was a manipulative hit piece and designed to divide?

[Garrett78]

134. Of course. That was my point. And people fell for it.

By, for instance, not "reading the whole article." 😉

[H2O Man]

97. They are both right

for the people they represent. There's no conflict here, unless one is scraping from the underside of the bottom of the barrel. Both are good Democrats, and exactly the types of leaders we desperately need in this country.

[Maven]

103. Wow, another post by you attacking Dems from the left

Courtesy of everyone’s favorite far-left ratf*cking clearing-house Common Dreams.

You’re really on a roll today. And right on time for the midterms, too. Tell us, will you be posting one of their many articles about how Trump/Russia collusion is “Russophobia” and a “failing narrative” next?

[Squinch]

126. I feel stupid. I was fooled. But not any more.

[guillaumeb]

139. Building with straw, are we?

If it makes it easier for you, please proceed.