How many times have you heard that if Democrats want to win back the White House, they need to put up a centrist, moderate candidate who can appeal to the majority? “Own the center left, own the mainstream,” we hear from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
For Pelosi, it is essential that Democrats focus on a centrist agenda and centrist candidates. Yet as we know, this stance has threatened to divide the Democratic Party. The conflict between establishment liberals or “moderates” and progressives has been at the forefront of Democratic Party politics ever since Sen. Bernie Sanders —no, not technically a Democrat — announced his plans to run for the party nomination in the 2016 election. Those tensions have only gotten worse in the wake of the election of a number of progressive candidates in the 2018 midterms.
Four of these new members have gotten an impressive amount of public attention. Referred to as “the Squad,” Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts have become the most visible face of the new progressive energy within the Democratic Party. They have consistently clashed with establishment Democrats like Pelosi, who has dismissed them as inexperienced, unprofessional and inconsequential. For establishment figures like Pelosi, the new progressive members of the House are a dangerous, fringe wing of the party who may ruin the party’s chance to win back the White House.
But what if that line of thinking is totally wrong? What if there really isn’t a “center” to win over after all? And, what if the way we define the center is skewed?
Re: Here's Why the 'Political Center' is a Dangerous Myth - And How It Could Cost Democrat
Good article. I fussed for a while that I might have to vote for Papa Joe (nice man but...) and I feel so much more hopeful now that I've decided on Warren. It came together for me when I remembered her standing up to the Senate and refusing to sit down and be quiet. I think she’s the only one with the fire, strength, intelligence, quick-wit, and passion to hold her own in a debate with him. And her experience & humanity is a big plus.
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Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
Here's Why the 'Political Center' is a Dangerous Myth - And How It Could Cost Democrats the 2020 ElectionHow many times have you heard that if Democrats want to win back the White House, they need to put up a centrist, moderate candidate who can appeal to the majority? “Own the center left, own the mainstream,” we hear from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
