Top-rated comment over there: "Third Way and some other centrist groups seem far more interested in defeating progressives than defeating MAGA and far more interested in telling Democratic voters they’re wrong than earning their votes. If moderates are losing, then the problem is with those candidates, not the progressives who beat them."
August 6, 2026
"It is deeply troubling to see radical, far-left candidates winning in places that are potentially presidential swing states."
Said Jonathan Cowan, president of Third Way, a centrist Democratic group, quoted in "Moderate Democrats Prepare for ‘War’ Against an Ascendant Left/One moderate group says the progressive wins are 'deeply troubling' and is planning a $15 million effort against democratic socialism" (NYT gift link.)
The article notes that "the next big test is only a week away": "In Wisconsin, Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist and state assemblywoman representing the progressive hotbed of Madison, has emerged as the party’s front-runner for governor in another key battleground race." There's not one word about the candidate/candidates the moderates are pushing.
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26 comments:
$15 million? Wow. Stand back, folks.
Self-important technocrats aren't popular?
Centrist Democrats say their purpose is to make progressives understand the risks of some of the more radical planks of the official D.S.A. platform: defunding the Department of War, taking “steps toward fully abolishing the police and prison system,” enacting “reparations” and establishing a 32-hour workweek.
How clueless can a reporter be?
The DSA charter calls for abolishing the Senate
and the President
and the Supreme Court
literally tossing out our Constitution (after swearing an oath to uphold it!)
Here's their platform. I'm not exaggerating. Your "journalism" is an embarrassment, NYT.
I consider this mildly amusing. Both sides are fighting over an economic system that is about to be completely transformed by the AI/robotics revolution. The conservative Calvinist argument I (you must earn your living) is going to be wiped out by the already in progress Age of Abundance. The liberal redistributionist argument (there is only one pie!) is going to be wiped out by the exponential proliferation of pies.
The DSA candidates are winning with just a plurality, not a majority. One way to prevent that is to have run off elections if no one gets a majority in the first election. The states with jungle primaries and many candidates like California also make it easier for radical candidates to win the top two spots and make the run-off.
Wisconsin.
Be happy in your work,
escape is impossible.
Progressive ≠ DSA
As dangerous and wrong headed as progressives are, the DSA are not progressive. It is anti-semitic and communist to the core. They are not about medicare for all, lowering cost of living, etc., they are about destroying America and our system of government. Any Democrat pretending otherwise and spouting the Big Tent nonsense are fools and should be ashamed of themselves.
"far more interested in telling Democratic voters they’re wrong than earning their votes."
Democratic voters should feel flattered. Instead of just crowning who they intend them to vote for the party has upgraded to just telling them they're wrong.
Progress!
"Deeply" is not as profound as "profoundly."
The DSA promises...
all your debts will be wiped away
free housing
free food
free healthcare
free electricity
free transportation
abolish the police
open the borders to all people
end economic warfare against Cuba, Venezuela and Iran
seize the largest corporations (Nvidia, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Broadcom, Facebook, SpaceX, Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway)
The NYT literally cherry-picks the least radical parts of the DSA platform. So dishonest! It's a Communist free for all over there.
The fucking NYT fails to see the horrors of Communism, again.
Excellent observation, Thomas. You not only hit the nail on the head you succinctly and accurately described the opposing viewpoints.
I cannot believe our journalist class is simply ignoring this. Astounding. Reporters should ask anybody running under the DSA banner if they believe these things, one by one.
You want to seize Apple and Amazon and Microsoft and Google?
Too late, Mensheviks.
As moderate and older progressive Dems stick to their 20th century models of "liberalism," they will drift toward the conservative methods of restraint and withdrawal. So, I don't look for fireworks from Bill Maher and similar. Just fewer donations, then no donations, less effort to vote, then no voting.
Those voting for their self interests with take action, and can either join the Republicans or a breakaway faction. Compare them to Anderson's Independent campaign of 1980 and Ross Perot in 1994: Quixotic and either irrelevant or helping a major party win.
"The liberal redistributionist argument (there is only one pie!) is going to be wiped out by the exponential proliferation of pies."
If, as you say, pies will proliferate in the future Mamdani's city-owned grocery stores will somehow be out-of-stock. From Soviet bread lines to DSA pie lines.
Perot was 1992...oops...
Wow, maybe the Republicans have a chance even if Trump unconditionally surrenders to Iran. Whomsoever can win the limbo dance will triumph in November.
It's times like this that I truly miss Drago.
Scratch a Democrat and a communist bleeds.
Who knew that the Socialists would bail out the Republicans in the 2026 elections? Wasn't on my bingo card.
That "top rated comment" is off base. The idea that the problem is MAGA is ludicrous, first of all. MAGA has not gone into the streets to fight cops and vandalize ordinary citizens. But more importantly, the problem is clearly NOT the quality of the moderate candidates, however flawed and mealy-mouthed some of them are. The left's hatreds are not bound by any such rational criteria. They hate Schumer; they hate Fetterman, they hate Josh Shapiro, they even hate poor Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, as un-moderate a leftie as you could ask for, now that she sent the police to clear out their homeless encampment and its mess.
I listened to NPR yesterday. The story was people complaining about prices; especially food prices. Six dollars for a dozen eggs. Is that the price at Whole Foods.
The unbelievable thing is that these people are all clueless as to how this happened. It was an increase in the money supply to get us through the covid lockdown and then the wild spending by Biden via the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
The Dems caused the inflation that is now baked into the economy. Don't people realize that?
And electing Dems will not fix the problem.
You’d think even the sort of people who get their political information from The New York Times would realize that the Democrats cannot defeat MAGA UNTIL they’ve first defeated DSA.
It’s an interesting version of “socialism”: impose tariffs that hurt farmers, then send roughly $40 billion in taxpayer-funded aid to offset the damage. If a policy repeatedly requires massive government subsidies to keep an industry afloat, it’s fair to ask whether the policy is working as advertised.
Hong - In your guts you know she's nuts.
Eggs are between $1.50 and $2.50 at Walmart. I imagine the people complaining on NPR would never in a million years go near the place.
Speaking of money ill spent, how little could you actually buy, politically speaking, with $15 million? Consultant fees come first of course. Then designing and printing glossy brochures. Manning, and womaning, and etc, phone banks.
Brochures go right into the trash. Calls are ID'd as Spam and not answered. Ooooh, ooooh, lets post things on Facebook, yes, that will surely tip the balance!
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