It is sad to watch the meltdown by the entire mainstream political establishment in both parties (and mainstream talking heads) concerning the election of Zohran Mamdani as the Democratic candidate and likely the next mayor of NYC.
The paranoid reaction of the establishment (both parties) to the idea of democratic socialism, along with their failure to hold the Israeli government accountable for its actions, is being resoundingly rejected by voters, especially the younger ones.
The establishment oligarchs are wringing their hands because they are in such deep denial that the lights have changed (thanks John Lennon). The Democrats rigged the system against Bernie Sanders, and against a number of progressive candidates, refusing to realize that progressive policies are the future of the party if the party is to have a future.
The Democratic Party and mainstream candidates have been thwarting the will of the voters for years. In 2006, Joe Lieberman refused to accept his defeat in the CT senate primary and so ran as an independent. In 2021, India Walton won the nomination for mayor of Buffalo, but her opponent and the party again refused to accept the voters decision. Democratic voters are screaming that theyre not going to take it anymore, but the Democratic Party refuses to hear them. As a result, many voters stayed home and gave the world Trump.
The Democratic Party establishments attempt to corral voters and candidates to move to the center is no longer working. There are not enough voters left at what they claim is the center. Voters across the political spectrum know the system is not working, so why would they listen to anybody who says lets have more of the same? People are voting for change even if its destructive and lawless as we have seen with the re-election of Trump. I know a person who voted for Trump in 2016 who actually said to me that he was voting to burn the place down, and thats whats happening.
As long as the Democratic Party establishment refuses to understand that they facilitated the re-election of Trump (twice!), the Party will continue to disintegrate. Its well past time for them to realize they are not the future of the party. They should hand the reigns over to people in a younger generation like David Hogg who recently was exited from the Democratic Party leadership.
We need leadership that understands that we need bold change, not strongly worded letters and roll over and play dead, which is allowing the Republicans to gut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
