Yes. Stop looking back. All that does is keep reminding folks all the things we hate about this regime. Start looking forward, start thinking about what a/the solution could be! Get a better attitude both for yourself and to project to others. We already know how awful it is. Time to figure out what’s better for our country.
Zohran Mamdani, himself, won't scale, but what he did certainly could. He spoke from the heart about issues he knows and cares about, that affect average people's lives. In an era when fake populism got dropped by a fake populist five minutes after the election was called last year, people are tired of being used and then lied to. That's what Zohran understood. In an age of cynicism, his authenticity shined like a beacon. He refused to play into the caricature being drawn about him, and he withstood attacks about his race and religion no candidate has faced since Barack Obama. He won because he knows what he stands for and that resonated with people. He made ordinary New Yorkers feel seen. That was powerful.
In their own ways, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey did the same. You shouldn't need a focus group to teach you that most Americans are middle and working class and they matter. If you're that out of touch that you need someone to teach you how to talk to ordinary people, you're too out of touch to represent them.
Well done but....Most politicians R or D running for office or are in office do not ask people questions and wait for the answer to continue the conversation, It's our "gift" to the r's that we use these words to describe our politicians "left leaning" "liberal" "socialist". Let's start with the first "dirty word" the Republicans like to latch on to : "socialist" and if they can make it dirty enough they move on. So checkmate. We are a Democracy embrassing Capitalism with socialist/ left/ liberal undertones, Medicaid, Medicare & SOCIAL Security, SNAP etc... we must ask people what they think Socialist means if we are going to use it and not leave it to the r's. Listen and stay with that person or group until everyone is reasonably comfortable with the answers. And ask what the VA means? We made a promise and the Republicans want to break it and not care for our soldiers with housing medical care etc. They swore to die for our country to keep us safe and we throw them on the streets ..FYI there are only 2 descriptive words for republicans right now RINO or MAGA & neither have anything to do with helping to save our democracy. We have to STOP and LISTEN.. Mamdani showed us how. This isn't Hollywood with 5 minutes stops at each town this is real life.
Excellent kind and clear understanding of what folks are asking for from all political spectrums. Thank you for taking time to write to the people who have been asking for authentic candidates. This is what the people want. The slogans and focus groups and blase” soulless politics are just too painful to hear any more. We need optimism. Folks who focus on values. Thankyou again and my heart feels understood.
As a Midwesterner, and someone who really has no idea of what NYC politics are all about, I appreciate this analysis. Watching from afar, I'm glad Mamdani won, if for no other reason than it was an example of voters ignoring what party leaders and pundits said couldn't or shouldn't happen. I do think, however, that emphasizing the threat of fascism is still something that Democratic candidates need to highlight in their campaigns. The fact that we've come to the point we're at now after just ten months of Trump/MAGA 2.0 demonstrates that it's more than just a threat. Also, I believe that the huge number of participants in the "No Kings" events shows that people are genuinely concerned about the state of American democracy.
CJ you have clearly stated what the democrats need to hear. From what I can perceive, the dems, in part due to their leadership, has a little bit lost its true identity. Their current leadership isn't working and it's time that they get back to their roots, give the people a reason to vote for them, as you said, vote for the person. While the issues that dems represent are strong and appeal to most, their message regarding those issues aren't seeming to resonate. They need to go back to the drawing board, again, this time with fresh eyes and younger leadership to show them how it's done.
The week since the big election wins on Tuesday the 5th has encapsulated what's wrong with the current democratic party and its leadership. What we saw a week ago Tuesday was a massive voter shift away from republicans who've abandoned them and towards democrats who promised to work for them. And it resonated from CA, to MS, to GA, to PA, to VA, to NJ, to NYC. But what did the democratic establishment do in response [many of whom STILL refuse to endorse Mamdani]? They caved in to a party of hostage takers who refused to negotiate and who gave them nothing in return. Those are people who don't even know what's going on in their own electorate. [FWIW, both Spanberger and Sherrill even pulled 7% of 2024 MAGA voters, each]. The 'leadership' in both houses needs to go if the democrats have any hope of winning next year.
A story of a campaign in action that crosses the bridge. Lots to learn from this campaign, and the biggest lesson is to recognize authenticity and leadership when it presents itself. It was more than a campaign, it was neighbor to neighbor working for change to make a big city livable for all. Your words tell the story so well. Sort of door to door. Heart to heart. To hand in hand. Thanks CJ for all you do and say. Take care.
Yes. Stop looking back. All that does is keep reminding folks all the things we hate about this regime. Start looking forward, start thinking about what a/the solution could be! Get a better attitude both for yourself and to project to others. We already know how awful it is. Time to figure out what’s better for our country.
Zohran Mamdani, himself, won't scale, but what he did certainly could. He spoke from the heart about issues he knows and cares about, that affect average people's lives. In an era when fake populism got dropped by a fake populist five minutes after the election was called last year, people are tired of being used and then lied to. That's what Zohran understood. In an age of cynicism, his authenticity shined like a beacon. He refused to play into the caricature being drawn about him, and he withstood attacks about his race and religion no candidate has faced since Barack Obama. He won because he knows what he stands for and that resonated with people. He made ordinary New Yorkers feel seen. That was powerful.
In their own ways, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey did the same. You shouldn't need a focus group to teach you that most Americans are middle and working class and they matter. If you're that out of touch that you need someone to teach you how to talk to ordinary people, you're too out of touch to represent them.
Well done but....Most politicians R or D running for office or are in office do not ask people questions and wait for the answer to continue the conversation, It's our "gift" to the r's that we use these words to describe our politicians "left leaning" "liberal" "socialist". Let's start with the first "dirty word" the Republicans like to latch on to : "socialist" and if they can make it dirty enough they move on. So checkmate. We are a Democracy embrassing Capitalism with socialist/ left/ liberal undertones, Medicaid, Medicare & SOCIAL Security, SNAP etc... we must ask people what they think Socialist means if we are going to use it and not leave it to the r's. Listen and stay with that person or group until everyone is reasonably comfortable with the answers. And ask what the VA means? We made a promise and the Republicans want to break it and not care for our soldiers with housing medical care etc. They swore to die for our country to keep us safe and we throw them on the streets ..FYI there are only 2 descriptive words for republicans right now RINO or MAGA & neither have anything to do with helping to save our democracy. We have to STOP and LISTEN.. Mamdani showed us how. This isn't Hollywood with 5 minutes stops at each town this is real life.
Excellent kind and clear understanding of what folks are asking for from all political spectrums. Thank you for taking time to write to the people who have been asking for authentic candidates. This is what the people want. The slogans and focus groups and blase” soulless politics are just too painful to hear any more. We need optimism. Folks who focus on values. Thankyou again and my heart feels understood.
As a Midwesterner, and someone who really has no idea of what NYC politics are all about, I appreciate this analysis. Watching from afar, I'm glad Mamdani won, if for no other reason than it was an example of voters ignoring what party leaders and pundits said couldn't or shouldn't happen. I do think, however, that emphasizing the threat of fascism is still something that Democratic candidates need to highlight in their campaigns. The fact that we've come to the point we're at now after just ten months of Trump/MAGA 2.0 demonstrates that it's more than just a threat. Also, I believe that the huge number of participants in the "No Kings" events shows that people are genuinely concerned about the state of American democracy.
CJ you have clearly stated what the democrats need to hear. From what I can perceive, the dems, in part due to their leadership, has a little bit lost its true identity. Their current leadership isn't working and it's time that they get back to their roots, give the people a reason to vote for them, as you said, vote for the person. While the issues that dems represent are strong and appeal to most, their message regarding those issues aren't seeming to resonate. They need to go back to the drawing board, again, this time with fresh eyes and younger leadership to show them how it's done.
The week since the big election wins on Tuesday the 5th has encapsulated what's wrong with the current democratic party and its leadership. What we saw a week ago Tuesday was a massive voter shift away from republicans who've abandoned them and towards democrats who promised to work for them. And it resonated from CA, to MS, to GA, to PA, to VA, to NJ, to NYC. But what did the democratic establishment do in response [many of whom STILL refuse to endorse Mamdani]? They caved in to a party of hostage takers who refused to negotiate and who gave them nothing in return. Those are people who don't even know what's going on in their own electorate. [FWIW, both Spanberger and Sherrill even pulled 7% of 2024 MAGA voters, each]. The 'leadership' in both houses needs to go if the democrats have any hope of winning next year.
A story of a campaign in action that crosses the bridge. Lots to learn from this campaign, and the biggest lesson is to recognize authenticity and leadership when it presents itself. It was more than a campaign, it was neighbor to neighbor working for change to make a big city livable for all. Your words tell the story so well. Sort of door to door. Heart to heart. To hand in hand. Thanks CJ for all you do and say. Take care.