The recipe and message to defeat the oligarchy and regain the majority have been revealed by Zohran Mamdani and AOC, but is the Democratic establishment listening and willing to adapt?
I am a 74 year old lifelong Dem who says go for it Democrats! Even though I am somewhat a moderate, I feel this country needs aggressive leadership and policy changes to tamp down corruption, push forward on healthcare for all (Medicare for all, single payer, a hybrid system, whatever policy makes sense ), full bore support for unions, student debt relief, tax the prosperity gospel churches! Go bold, leave the corporate appeasement behind.
I am a registered independent, have no children, am semi-retired, and have ancestry in this country going back to the 1700's and no new immigrant relatives, but I give money to the Working Families Party every month because they seem to be doing the best job of advocating and coming up with ideas that can work for everyone. They also actually care about human rights. Thanks so much for the interview!
I love this idea. It sounds great. I do think the Dems missed the boat not embracing Mondami and my understanding is many Jews voted for him as well because they hate what’s happening in Gaza. We all can see it’s genocide by Netanyahu! It’s horrific to support him in any way
Have you seen the merch ad by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice? I'm getting a bagel bag and I don't even live in New York City. His campaign is genius level (although I'm not one to judge). The Dems could certainly learn a thing or two from him and his campaign.
Before I watched this video, I did not know who Maurice Mitchell was. He is wonderful.
I can't begin to count the number of messages and phone calls I have made to Schumer, Gillabrand, Durbin, and others demanding, pleading, begging them to wake up or retire. (In Durbin's case, waking up wouldn't do any good and he is not going to run again.) I live in Washington State and Patty Murray is the senior senator here and I've written more messages and made more calls to her to get her to wake up. I wrote to her in 2024 and asked her to retire. She's in her seventies and, while she is a nice woman, she lacks the energy and charisma that we need at a time like this. I'll define 2025 charisma as the ability to energize others due to one's own commitment and energy. I recently watched a Senate hearing with Murray as the ranking member and although she basically said the right things to and about Russell Vought (author of Project Fourth Reich, um, I meant Project 2025), she did so in a way that utterly failed to communicate the seriousness of the threat. She seems like a good person, but I might have a heart attack if I ever heard her raise her voice in outrage, but if I needed to fall asleep, I might choose to listen to her.
Schumer is horrible. He has much the same problem that Murray has, though I'm much less sure about him being a "good" person. I can't imagine him criticizing Israel for anything, no matter how appalling it is. He's another sleep inducing speaker. I listened to him describe the threat that Trump poses and he may as well have been talking about what he had for lunch.
Gillibrand is a master of thoughtless, instant outrage. We saw that with Al Franken and again with Mamdani. She may as well begin her diatribes with "I'm about to pander shamelessly, so bear with me." What Franken did was, in light of what are fairly recent shifts in what is an appropriate way to treat and interact with women, wrong. And those ideas should have changed a long time ago, but they didn't. It was very much an old boys club and women were seen as sexual objects. That was never right, but it was, if we are honest, accepted and no one lost a job over "playfully" pretending they were going to fondle the breasts of a sleeping woman. That was seen as all just good fun. The same thing goes for dressing up in blackface. It was always offensive, but it wasn't viewed that way in a culture that was founded as a racist, misogynistic country. So, yeah, Democratic politicians or more generally those on the left, since Justin Trudeau in Canada had to apologize for having dressed up in blackface once, did it, but at the time they did, it wasn't viewed honestly. That isn't surprising. Apologies were appropriate, but losing one's job because one did something that was acceptable in the past and no longer is, will, in many cases, also be wrong.
Megyn Kelly, someone I loathe, left Fox and was hired by NBC. (I wanted to vomit.) During one on air discussion she commented something to the effect of when she was young, lots of people dressed up in blackface. That was an accurate statement. She was fired for it, which I thought was wrong. They never should have hired her in the first place, but firing her for making an accurate observation was not a reasonable response. Maybe they fired her because they realized what a horrible mistake it had been to hire her in the first place, but that isn't right either. Don't renew her contract. Ask to buy her out -- she's already wealthy, so it's not as though they'd be setting her up for life.
The Left today has some serious problems. I saw a video today with Bradley Tusk, a reasonably wealthy man who has ideas about how to improve government. However, his entire spiel was predicated on the idea that there are two parties that could stop fighting and just compromise for the good of the country. My objection is that even if the Democratic Party was perfect, there is no second party with which to compromise for a "centrist" solution. My second objection is that neither of the two parties represents ideas that will solve the worsening problems we face today. Climate change will not be addressed adequately by a compromise between the positions of Dems and the GOP. On the one side, you'd have moderate policies suggested that won't offend big donors and on the other you have a party that doesn't even acknowledge climate change as real. The same thing goes for health care. AOC and Sanders are basically right about the need for a universal program, but there simply is no guarantee that the Democrats in the House and Senate would approve of that. And we just saw what Republicans think of universal care -- they can't even stand the mess we have now. They think millions of Americans are undeserving of having medical care. I think it is an incorrect generalization to say that health care is a basic human right. It is when a country can afford it, and we can. But poor countries aren't denying their people a basic right if they don't have the wherewithal to provide it. When a country reaches a certain level of development and wealth the right to health care will grow with that level of wealth and development. For poor countries that may be very limited. For the United States it is immoral not to ensure that everyone is covered and no one can face financial hardship because of the cost. We've been wealthy enough for many decades to offer comprehensive universal coverage where no one could ever face bankruptcy because of unpaid medical bills.
Again, Maurice is splendid and we need many more just like him. Waj, who is always pointing out his gray hairs, is obviously too old to have anything worthwhile to offer, other than a platform to showcase people like Mr. Mitchell. Thank you for that, Waj. (I'm a few decades older than you are, so your "I'm old" spiel rings hollow to me. (Or course, you have children, so maybe I'm wrong!)
If Mamdani somehow doesn't win the election, I will not be surprised if Donald Trump sends in the military to put down the protests and justifiable outrage that should ensue. Will Mamdani succeed? I don't know, since he may face overwhelming opposition to his ideas. That isn't new in this country. I hope he wins and that he is successful. That could have a revolutionary effect on the Left in this country. Right now, it is impossible to read a comment section in the NY Times for an article that mentions AOC without more that a few Democratic commenters railing about how radical she is and everything bad that is happening today is the fault of progressives and DEI. it is sickening. I've watched hearings with AOC questioning witnesses and she is sharp and disciplined. Hearing a complete idiot -- Trump -- say that AOC is very "low IQ" is both laughable and utterly disgusting.
Yes, sometimes I write long comments. Fortunately, no one has to read them. My feelings won't be hurt.
I'm amazed that the 1% doesn't think it's a good idea to make transportation affordable for their employees. You've gotta be really dense and small-minded not to grasp the simple economic concept that to have a healthy working and middle class is also good for the 1%. We need better, smarter rich people.
No they are not !we need a new party. Rank voting with an end to gerrymandering vis-à-vis a new party bypassing the two traditional parties !once upon a time America had several parties. We need to return to many parties with rank voting!
There are so many of us out there that want what the working family party is fighting for. I am a 60 year old white woman in northern Michigan and there are lots of us that will support the bold!
Thank you both for this straightforward, intelligent, insightful, necessary discussion. I'm spreading it to EVERYONE, to hear - think about - act on. You both are BRILLIANT & INSPIRING. What we all need to KNOW.
I am a 74 year old lifelong Dem who says go for it Democrats! Even though I am somewhat a moderate, I feel this country needs aggressive leadership and policy changes to tamp down corruption, push forward on healthcare for all (Medicare for all, single payer, a hybrid system, whatever policy makes sense ), full bore support for unions, student debt relief, tax the prosperity gospel churches! Go bold, leave the corporate appeasement behind.
im a big fan of Working Families Party! Thanks for this interview.
I am a registered independent, have no children, am semi-retired, and have ancestry in this country going back to the 1700's and no new immigrant relatives, but I give money to the Working Families Party every month because they seem to be doing the best job of advocating and coming up with ideas that can work for everyone. They also actually care about human rights. Thanks so much for the interview!
One person one vote . Rank Voting , eliminating two party primaries and diminishing dark money influence.
I love this idea. It sounds great. I do think the Dems missed the boat not embracing Mondami and my understanding is many Jews voted for him as well because they hate what’s happening in Gaza. We all can see it’s genocide by Netanyahu! It’s horrific to support him in any way
Have you seen the merch ad by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice? I'm getting a bagel bag and I don't even live in New York City. His campaign is genius level (although I'm not one to judge). The Dems could certainly learn a thing or two from him and his campaign.
This gives me such hope for the future.....more than I've had in a long time. Thank you both! Great presentation!
Yaaaaas Working Families Party ✊
How do we protect the right to vote
Before I watched this video, I did not know who Maurice Mitchell was. He is wonderful.
I can't begin to count the number of messages and phone calls I have made to Schumer, Gillabrand, Durbin, and others demanding, pleading, begging them to wake up or retire. (In Durbin's case, waking up wouldn't do any good and he is not going to run again.) I live in Washington State and Patty Murray is the senior senator here and I've written more messages and made more calls to her to get her to wake up. I wrote to her in 2024 and asked her to retire. She's in her seventies and, while she is a nice woman, she lacks the energy and charisma that we need at a time like this. I'll define 2025 charisma as the ability to energize others due to one's own commitment and energy. I recently watched a Senate hearing with Murray as the ranking member and although she basically said the right things to and about Russell Vought (author of Project Fourth Reich, um, I meant Project 2025), she did so in a way that utterly failed to communicate the seriousness of the threat. She seems like a good person, but I might have a heart attack if I ever heard her raise her voice in outrage, but if I needed to fall asleep, I might choose to listen to her.
Schumer is horrible. He has much the same problem that Murray has, though I'm much less sure about him being a "good" person. I can't imagine him criticizing Israel for anything, no matter how appalling it is. He's another sleep inducing speaker. I listened to him describe the threat that Trump poses and he may as well have been talking about what he had for lunch.
Gillibrand is a master of thoughtless, instant outrage. We saw that with Al Franken and again with Mamdani. She may as well begin her diatribes with "I'm about to pander shamelessly, so bear with me." What Franken did was, in light of what are fairly recent shifts in what is an appropriate way to treat and interact with women, wrong. And those ideas should have changed a long time ago, but they didn't. It was very much an old boys club and women were seen as sexual objects. That was never right, but it was, if we are honest, accepted and no one lost a job over "playfully" pretending they were going to fondle the breasts of a sleeping woman. That was seen as all just good fun. The same thing goes for dressing up in blackface. It was always offensive, but it wasn't viewed that way in a culture that was founded as a racist, misogynistic country. So, yeah, Democratic politicians or more generally those on the left, since Justin Trudeau in Canada had to apologize for having dressed up in blackface once, did it, but at the time they did, it wasn't viewed honestly. That isn't surprising. Apologies were appropriate, but losing one's job because one did something that was acceptable in the past and no longer is, will, in many cases, also be wrong.
Megyn Kelly, someone I loathe, left Fox and was hired by NBC. (I wanted to vomit.) During one on air discussion she commented something to the effect of when she was young, lots of people dressed up in blackface. That was an accurate statement. She was fired for it, which I thought was wrong. They never should have hired her in the first place, but firing her for making an accurate observation was not a reasonable response. Maybe they fired her because they realized what a horrible mistake it had been to hire her in the first place, but that isn't right either. Don't renew her contract. Ask to buy her out -- she's already wealthy, so it's not as though they'd be setting her up for life.
The Left today has some serious problems. I saw a video today with Bradley Tusk, a reasonably wealthy man who has ideas about how to improve government. However, his entire spiel was predicated on the idea that there are two parties that could stop fighting and just compromise for the good of the country. My objection is that even if the Democratic Party was perfect, there is no second party with which to compromise for a "centrist" solution. My second objection is that neither of the two parties represents ideas that will solve the worsening problems we face today. Climate change will not be addressed adequately by a compromise between the positions of Dems and the GOP. On the one side, you'd have moderate policies suggested that won't offend big donors and on the other you have a party that doesn't even acknowledge climate change as real. The same thing goes for health care. AOC and Sanders are basically right about the need for a universal program, but there simply is no guarantee that the Democrats in the House and Senate would approve of that. And we just saw what Republicans think of universal care -- they can't even stand the mess we have now. They think millions of Americans are undeserving of having medical care. I think it is an incorrect generalization to say that health care is a basic human right. It is when a country can afford it, and we can. But poor countries aren't denying their people a basic right if they don't have the wherewithal to provide it. When a country reaches a certain level of development and wealth the right to health care will grow with that level of wealth and development. For poor countries that may be very limited. For the United States it is immoral not to ensure that everyone is covered and no one can face financial hardship because of the cost. We've been wealthy enough for many decades to offer comprehensive universal coverage where no one could ever face bankruptcy because of unpaid medical bills.
Again, Maurice is splendid and we need many more just like him. Waj, who is always pointing out his gray hairs, is obviously too old to have anything worthwhile to offer, other than a platform to showcase people like Mr. Mitchell. Thank you for that, Waj. (I'm a few decades older than you are, so your "I'm old" spiel rings hollow to me. (Or course, you have children, so maybe I'm wrong!)
If Mamdani somehow doesn't win the election, I will not be surprised if Donald Trump sends in the military to put down the protests and justifiable outrage that should ensue. Will Mamdani succeed? I don't know, since he may face overwhelming opposition to his ideas. That isn't new in this country. I hope he wins and that he is successful. That could have a revolutionary effect on the Left in this country. Right now, it is impossible to read a comment section in the NY Times for an article that mentions AOC without more that a few Democratic commenters railing about how radical she is and everything bad that is happening today is the fault of progressives and DEI. it is sickening. I've watched hearings with AOC questioning witnesses and she is sharp and disciplined. Hearing a complete idiot -- Trump -- say that AOC is very "low IQ" is both laughable and utterly disgusting.
Yes, sometimes I write long comments. Fortunately, no one has to read them. My feelings won't be hurt.
I'm amazed that the 1% doesn't think it's a good idea to make transportation affordable for their employees. You've gotta be really dense and small-minded not to grasp the simple economic concept that to have a healthy working and middle class is also good for the 1%. We need better, smarter rich people.
AWESOME!⚡️⚡️⚡️🇺🇸⚡️
Thank You both!
This STRATEGY Could Help
Turn Voting > Toward #DEMS ⚡️
#VotingSolidarity 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
#TheVotingWorkingClass 💙
#RiggedStructures =
⚡️WINS in #NY and #AZ
#Zohran
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
No they are not !we need a new party. Rank voting with an end to gerrymandering vis-à-vis a new party bypassing the two traditional parties !once upon a time America had several parties. We need to return to many parties with rank voting!
There are so many of us out there that want what the working family party is fighting for. I am a 60 year old white woman in northern Michigan and there are lots of us that will support the bold!
Thank you both for this straightforward, intelligent, insightful, necessary discussion. I'm spreading it to EVERYONE, to hear - think about - act on. You both are BRILLIANT & INSPIRING. What we all need to KNOW.
You're so right! So many of us are much more qualified than the dunce show currently in the WH.
Gooey on those guys!!!! Let’s have The Woking Families Party!!!!
I’m for it!!!!!
This is so funny! Full of typos and I like it better!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂