David Nir @davidnir.com · 22d If incumbents want to sneer at primary voters, they'll probably keep losing. Serious "No, it's the children who are wrong" energy here. www.axios.com/2026/07/01/m...
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The people representing safe blue districts should be in the left half of the party. Save the centrists for the purple districts
If they don’t understand why a progressive district is suited to targeting from the left then they are too obtuse to be in politics.
wake up call is right wake up and start packing you're time is up
Loser, 29 year incumbent, Rep. Diana DeGette, D-CO, told a constituent "if you don't like it, don't vote for me." Winner, Melat Kiros, Dem Socialist www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
THIS is your wakeup call huh. even though we've been screaming it for years now. ok whatever, geezers
Part of the problem IMHO is how the term “populist” has been hijacked by academics and pundits seeking a more polite word to describe MAGA fascists. So progressives looking to actually challenge oligarchs in the name of economic justice get conveniently thrown in the same bucket, oh well.
lol this is my district and DeGette was not progressive remotely. She never did a debate, hid for most of the campaign, and takes tons of donation money from super PACs. These people think progressive just means like…not overtly racist and kinda liberal.
We are pissed, and we want to know that our candidates are too.
"urban" DRINK!
Calling the result a “wake up call” at this point is telling and highlights that too many Dem ‘leaders’ have not listened to their voters for way too long…
"speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid also getting primaried into oblivion"
Only that last quote is worth a damn.
Denver has some of the highest cost of living in the country. Anyone dense enough to be surprised that Democratic Socialism resonates here should not be allowed to operate heavy machinery.
This is the strategy that let maga voters get everything they wanted
The “performative” politics of a lawyer fired for standing on her principles, of community organizers, of the extremely effective NYC mayor…
They can’t dismiss as “New Yorkers” anymore so they’ve expanded to “urban left”… They’ve so internalized the R’s framing that they deploy it themselves in defense of their own position.
It’s adapt or die babes. It is true in biology, business, war, and sometimes even in politics. Republicans know this. They bitched and moaned when their incumbents got smoked by the Tea Party almost 20 years ago (wtf man 2007=20 years). And they’re kinda going through it now with MAGA.
Well it's Axios so these quotes are from some chud like Gottheimer
Honestly, Axios and Politico are the primary source of amplification here. Yes there are some Dems saying these things, but Axios makes money through manufactured conflict. I hate these "centrist" rags even more than MAGA true believer news sites because of their reach.
Would it not in that case be simpler for the government to dissolve the people and elect another?
Keep saying “seniority” & see what happens, entitled fucks
"With seniority" No one owes you a position. You're going to have to fight for it, and that's good. The incumbent lost because she was unable to articulate her policies in a way that made her a more attractive choice. If you aren't capable of convincing voters, you lose. That's how elections work.
Who is sneering and fuming? Are we making up enemies that aren't the right again?
She's also a staunch supporter of Israel. I suspect that played a huge part in why she lost the primary?
Was she a staunch progressive? I don't know who she is.
If this is a wake-up call for any democrat they deserve to lose their seat. The reason we have elections at all is for voters to exercise the power to choose their representation. Maybe try convincing voters you are a better choice instead of complaining?
Why the fuck is "seniority" a good thing? Blow them all up.
I wish that we could have an actually nuanced conversation about what value there is in longevity. What institutional knowledge is lost when a young lawmaker ousts someone who was in congress 30 years. And how can the DNC (or better yet, the former member!) mentor that young person
“With seniority” Yeah those days are over Boomer
Speaking as a middle-aged, normally institutionalist dem & DeGette constituent/supporter for all of her 29 years, my Kiros vote was much less about "socialism" than dismay/disgust at the complacency I see in the Dem establishment about (1) DJT/GOP constitutional & ethical degradations and (2)
The more apropos quote is from Brecht: "Would it not be simpler if the government dissolved the people and elected another?"
The whole "performative politics" label is so completely tone deaf. The Dinner Party Dems have ran on fixing issues that they have made worse by giving Republicans leverage, and they have the fucking gall to claim that people who provide big promises and ACTUAL plans to get them are performative?
I don’t get this party tbh. It’s obsessed with technocracy and electing the Most Qualified Person, but the party just seems to operate on seniority.
Performative Politics? As an accusation? From them?
How dare the voters judge us on performance.
That "urban" wasn't random either.
My general impression of DeGette was that she was fine. But she's been in that seat for 30 years! If the voters of her district decide they want to get some new blood in there, that's their right & there's nothing wrong with that. No politician is owed their seat.
“motivated urban left voters” apparently dictate elections all by themselves now! Good news, honestly.
Lol "Urban left voters"
They have this seemingly calcified idea that there is some vast sea of “moderates” they must win over to win elections. So they water down everything, terrified of “turning off” these supposed moderates.
"urban left voters"
Yeah there’s a reason they’re saying things “under the condition of anonymity.” They’re scared as hell and should be.
As someone who used to live in DeGette District, she was a good rep early on, but became ever more increasingly out of touch with people in the district, she played the game of keeping quiet and doing what Pelosi wanted to gain standing in the Dem Party. The fact she wouldn't even
The earth is dying and trillionaire nazis are exploring new ways to genocide. The youth are allowed to be outspoken
OH I'M SORRY I THOUGHT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO POKÉMON GO TO THE POLLS, DID YOU NOT WANT THAT??
This person has allegedly been in Congress for 30 years (!) and I had never heard of her until last night. I imagine that has something to do with something.
Anyone who still thinks that the Democratic Party is interested in listening to their voters is ignoring the evidence. Better to leave the party, any party, and be unaffiliated. Then you are not taken for granted.
"she had seniority" So fucking what? Democracy doesn't function on tenure.
I mean, the children ARE wrong when they downplay the murders of Jews. DeGette deserved to lose but Kiros is just as much of a mess as candidates like Chevalier and Platner. Why can't the DSA kick out old Dems without nominating total psychos? bsky.app/profile/jewi...
Congressional Dems are obsessed with the organizational hierarchy. DeGette has “seniority” so she should stay? This is part of the problem.
I'm waiting for these kids to start voting for America. They're all protest voting because GAZA! PALESTINE! AIPAC! They're merely being antisemitic morons at this point. But hey, good luck EARNING THE VOTES of your opponent's supporters. You're not ENTITLED to them.
Another anonymously sourced Axios article, woooo.
... have they thought about asking anyone who ran against her why they did it, or why people voted for her opponent(s)? No, of course not. How silly.
DeGette also took plenty of money from corporate interests, so I'm guessing her "progressive" creds are along the lines of "be nice to minorities, but let the capitalists do what they want"
Cowards hide behind anonymity and journalists should not quote them unless it’s on the record. Anonymous sourcing should be a rarity used only for whistle blowers and/or people whose exposure carries significant risk.
Tapping the sign so much I'm going to wear a hole in it: Ignore. Axios. Their whole shtick is they're a glorified gossip site that likes to stir shit up among Dems for clicks and LOLs. They know who the handful of malcontents are on the center and left they can count on for salty quotes. /1
"on the condition of anonymity to share candid analysis" is not something that should be given to an elected representative. they're just hiding their views from their constituents. what's the journalistic principle that says that's ok?
The dynamics among our elected representatives should be studied, the congressional gym needs a hunting blind in a corner with a couple anthropologists monitoring behavior. Democrats still seem to believe Bush's Republicans are still in charge even though Republican voters only vote for crazy.
It's a wake up call! @democrats.org All must fight hard, no more status quo or we have to look forward. Once the Dems take over the House and hopefully the Senate, it's time to bury the corruption and all involved. TIME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY. If you're not gonna fight, get the hell outta the way!
The only thing I know about DeGette is she yelled at a constituent who disagrees with her about her support of Israel's genocide of Palestinians. That video alone may have been enough to cost her the primary.
-Speaking on the condition of anonymity Lol
Sounds like we need to fuck shit up for a bunch more boomers in office!
Also fuck seniority
Also, "cohort of motivated urban left voters" does not seem like it was used as a term of endearment.
68 years old. 15 terms. Certainly not an establishment person. These fucking guys.
Real "the customer just doesn't understand what we're doing here" energy
The reason I am in favor of term limits is that this is a direct result of folks thinking they are just a shoe-in because they are "progressive". They should have to earn every vote, every election. So sick of this.
TIL “staunch progressive” means “slightly to the left of the median Democrat”
“With seniority” gives the game away in that quote. “Why don’t you have deference for your betters even when they’re failing you!!?!”
This is what you consider sneering? I mean, 1. it's Axios, 2. maybe it's the gay Gen X in me, but this is pretty weak to be called sneering.
Their definition of “staunch progressive” is regular people’s definition of moderate centrist. Their definition of “moderate centrist” is “Reagan Republican.” Really, we should primary every Dem from the left. Leave no incumbent in office at all.
I see so many of these long-time reps trying to defend themselves by highlighting their seniority and the power it brings. They really are clueless.
With seniority. The entire crux of the problematic worldview of the democratic establishment.
“With seniority” Really the only two words that matter in that. That is all the democratic establishment cares about. Whose turn it is. Who gets deferential treatment and who gets sidelined and made to wait.
It's a wake up call now? Not the first wave of these like last year? And the last 7 months? Jeez these guys are braindead.
"urban left," huh? Yeah, it's a wake up call. Wake up and fight!
They just don’t seem to get it at axios. They live in some kind of bubble . Upper middle class gated community everyone is so nice and decent kind of communities? Idk but it is not the world most of us are living in.
‘Urban’
Exhibit A as to why these people need to go. Immediately