"We are all outlaws in the eyes of America. . .We are obscene, lawless, hideous, dangerous, dirty, violent
And young"Jefferson Airplane, "We can be together," 1969
Democratic pundits are wetting their pants. I'm not.
I'm not a Democratic Socialist. But I feel pretty serene about what happened in New York's primary on Tuesday. Three Democratic Socialist candidates won Democratic nominations for Congress — two of them defeating incumbents. Democrats need a shakeup, and they're getting one.
The candidate drawing the most attention is Darializa Avila Chevalier, who wrote things on social media between a half dozen years ago that will sound extreme to a lot of voters, including me: Abolish all policing, abolish prisons, abolish all national borders, nationalize utilities and hospitals, seize property from landlords. Fox News will repeat this on a loop and call it Democratic Party policy.
She tried to delete those posts. The internet never forgets.
But I discount to approximately zero the things political activists write in graduate school. Universities are hothouses — incubators for brainstorms, new paradigms, ideas tried out free of the constraints of inertia, opposition, and how the ideas get paid for. That's their purpose. I take these candidates seriously, but not literally.
What we saw in New York wasn't a policy agenda. It was youth, impatience, and energy. Voters wanted the Pepsi Generation vibe — politics for "those who think young." The incumbent Chevalier defeated is 69. She is 32.
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| Mamdani |
Zohran Mamdani is, whatever else, charismatic and good-looking. He smiles. He's bright, articulate, and energetic. Do I agree with everything he says? No. But his most ambitious proposals won't happen — the weight of opposition and inertia will see to that. What I'm ready for is politics that feels cool again. The establishment face of the Democratic Party is not cool.
Democratic voters want someone who makes politics feel like it can change the world. They want candidates who address unaffordable housing, the widening gap between new billionaires and shrinking middle-class incomes, naked corporate pay-to-play, and the feeling among young people that the generation in power has left them holding the bag.
I understand that impatience. Fifty-four years ago, I dropped out of graduate school because I decided historians wouldn't change the world — but good politicians might.
Sixty years ago, young people looked and sounded weird and offensive to those in power, as we pushed for disruptive change on race and the role of women. We frightened Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan. Jefferson Airplane sang about being transgressive, upsetting to the Establishment, and then the final insult: "young."
The Beatles asked for a nonviolent revolution. "We all want to save the world," they sang. It was inspiring. I wanted to be inspired. JFK had inspired me. America could be a force for good. It is exciting to think that some great, good change is possible.
I see the New York results as a crack in the wall. Will this destroy the Democratic brand? Not if Democrats absorb and co-opt the best of these ideas — diluted, moderated, made workable. Democratic Socialists will see them as watered down and moderated, and they will complain. This is a feature, not a bug, for Democrats. A Jon Ossoff, Pete Buttigieg, Josh Shapiro, Gavin Newsom, or someone not yet on our radar will be a stronger candidate in the battleground states if voters see this criticism from his left flank.
Edgy, cool candidates from bright-blue districts are how positive change starts. Change is hard. Change is slow. But it starts somewhere.
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