Paul Wellstone ran an improbable campaign for US Senate from Minnesota in 1990. He won with a green bus, opposed Operation Desert Storm, made some wild statements, and then grew into easily the best senator that Minnesota has had for many decades. People learn, build coalitions and govern through relationships over time. I think Democrats need that now with Mamdani, AOC, Bernie, Jasmine Crockett, Chris Murphy, et al. I think our country needs that. So I appreciated reading your NY perspective, but I respectfully do not agree.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Hans. I agree that people need to build coalitions and govern through relationships - and I hope Democrats can chart that course with bold ideas and a vision for the future that inspires people to leave the MAGA world behind.
But I don't think those ideas and that vision should be the populism that Mamdani promotes. In many ways it's just as dangerous as the populism on the right. Many of the policy ideas, as detailed in the essay, have failed in almost every place they've been attempted.
So while I think you and I are aligned on the end goal, how we try to get there is important. And for the reasons I described above, I don't think Mamdani's the guy to do it with his current platform.
But I really appreciate your thoughtful response - we all need to be able to disagree with each other better.
Paul Wellstone ran an improbable campaign for US Senate from Minnesota in 1990. He won with a green bus, opposed Operation Desert Storm, made some wild statements, and then grew into easily the best senator that Minnesota has had for many decades. People learn, build coalitions and govern through relationships over time. I think Democrats need that now with Mamdani, AOC, Bernie, Jasmine Crockett, Chris Murphy, et al. I think our country needs that. So I appreciated reading your NY perspective, but I respectfully do not agree.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Hans. I agree that people need to build coalitions and govern through relationships - and I hope Democrats can chart that course with bold ideas and a vision for the future that inspires people to leave the MAGA world behind.
But I don't think those ideas and that vision should be the populism that Mamdani promotes. In many ways it's just as dangerous as the populism on the right. Many of the policy ideas, as detailed in the essay, have failed in almost every place they've been attempted.
So while I think you and I are aligned on the end goal, how we try to get there is important. And for the reasons I described above, I don't think Mamdani's the guy to do it with his current platform.
But I really appreciate your thoughtful response - we all need to be able to disagree with each other better.