It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a 2024 Democratic Primary Debate series. There are good reasons to be in favor of this, but can they hold up to scrutiny? Or, does sending a message matter?
Simon Rosenberg is a political analyst who has worked in Washington D.C. going back to Clinton's time in office. He put together the NDN (New Democrat Network) think tank in 1966. He is a television news producer and highly regarded political strategist. Simon has spent three decades in national media and politics. He is a veteran of two Presidential campaigns, including a senior role in the famous 1992 Clinton War Room. He predicted the 2022 election turn, when all the rest of the pendants were fearing a red wave. He has begun setting up an organization on Substack. He closed the NDN down and is spear heading a new a vibrant group. He has a YouTube channel as well. He writes The Hopium Chronicles on Substack.
I appreciate the lead, as well as the conversation. :)
I'll start with something positive. I poked through Simon's Substack, which if I'm reading this right is quite new. I liked his article on obeying-in-advance (https://simonwdc.substack.com/p/not-obeying-in-advance), since that's an important way Fascists gain power. So that's good. But so far I've found it a little hard to pin down articles where he talks about what he believes, versus what he does vis-a-vis news reporting? Also, Wikipedia didn't have its usual list of positions taken by him.
That kind of just leaves me looking through his prior affiliations, and that's what lets me down. I hope this doesn't disappoint you too much, but I'm pretty far to the left of the "New Democrats" or "Third Way Democrats" or whatever specific affiliation you want to assign to the centrism/conservative branches of the Democratic party tree. The Wikipedia page I found for them (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats) is a litany of bad stuff, a lot of it proposed by the GOP. Speaking as a Queer person, the New Democrat promotion of Don't Ask Don't Tell & Defense Of Marriage Act positively *doom* any positive thoughts I'd have about them. Being sold out at-best, or hated at-worst, really doesn't give good vibes.
It's also hard for me to know how involved he really was with all of that. Either way, It seems like he's trying to turn over a new leaf, and I have to believe that people can redeem themselves. I hope he's learned that if you want to defeat Fascism, to paraphrase Ian Danskin (Innuendo Studios), you move left. We'll need all the help we can get.
After watching Biden twist Repubs around on themselves over Medicare and Social Security, during his State of The Union speech, the two less than astute candidates trying to run against him would be a waist of his time.
I'll give him credit for that, he basically got them to humiliate themselves. But let's be honest, this isn't about humiliating Republicans in debate. It's about getting disengaged voters who might not even know what Biden has accomplished to get a few sound-bytes of him doing the same thing over and over and over again to his challengers...
...Assuming he can, that is.
It's outreach, and turning down outreach in politics is a bad idea.
I agree with you. That is why I am working with several groups to write to voters and tell them what he has done. Writing with Democrat's values mentioned, naming what the Republicans are doing, particularly in states under their control as well as in congress, and ending with telling them to exercise their power of their vote to make save our freedoms.
We must remember that not everyone is into politics but everyone will be subjected to the laws the Republicans are putting in place. We must be gentle and listen to people and remember that not every conversation is a win or lose situation. It will take a grassroots effort across the nation, working and helping Democrats win as well as Biden/Harris. Have you listened to anything that Simon Rosenberg has put out? He has a YouTube site and publishes on Substack as well.
I especially think your point about "not everyone is into politics, but everyone will be subjected to the laws" is important. I don't like to buy into the trope of "the politically-inactive person who goes through life with their heads down," but I do think there are some people who don't really understand the grasp of the laws that they live under, and/or do not understand the power they actually would wield if they voted collectively.
I'm afraid I don't think I've ever heard of Simon Rosenberg before? What kind of stuff does he work on?
Simon Rosenberg is a political analyst who has worked in Washington D.C. going back to Clinton's time in office. He put together the NDN (New Democrat Network) think tank in 1966. He is a television news producer and highly regarded political strategist. Simon has spent three decades in national media and politics. He is a veteran of two Presidential campaigns, including a senior role in the famous 1992 Clinton War Room. He predicted the 2022 election turn, when all the rest of the pendants were fearing a red wave. He has begun setting up an organization on Substack. He closed the NDN down and is spear heading a new a vibrant group. He has a YouTube channel as well. He writes The Hopium Chronicles on Substack.
This is his YouTube station: https://www.youtube.com/@simonWDC
I appreciate the lead, as well as the conversation. :)
I'll start with something positive. I poked through Simon's Substack, which if I'm reading this right is quite new. I liked his article on obeying-in-advance (https://simonwdc.substack.com/p/not-obeying-in-advance), since that's an important way Fascists gain power. So that's good. But so far I've found it a little hard to pin down articles where he talks about what he believes, versus what he does vis-a-vis news reporting? Also, Wikipedia didn't have its usual list of positions taken by him.
That kind of just leaves me looking through his prior affiliations, and that's what lets me down. I hope this doesn't disappoint you too much, but I'm pretty far to the left of the "New Democrats" or "Third Way Democrats" or whatever specific affiliation you want to assign to the centrism/conservative branches of the Democratic party tree. The Wikipedia page I found for them (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats) is a litany of bad stuff, a lot of it proposed by the GOP. Speaking as a Queer person, the New Democrat promotion of Don't Ask Don't Tell & Defense Of Marriage Act positively *doom* any positive thoughts I'd have about them. Being sold out at-best, or hated at-worst, really doesn't give good vibes.
It's also hard for me to know how involved he really was with all of that. Either way, It seems like he's trying to turn over a new leaf, and I have to believe that people can redeem themselves. I hope he's learned that if you want to defeat Fascism, to paraphrase Ian Danskin (Innuendo Studios), you move left. We'll need all the help we can get.
After watching Biden twist Repubs around on themselves over Medicare and Social Security, during his State of The Union speech, the two less than astute candidates trying to run against him would be a waist of his time.
I'll give him credit for that, he basically got them to humiliate themselves. But let's be honest, this isn't about humiliating Republicans in debate. It's about getting disengaged voters who might not even know what Biden has accomplished to get a few sound-bytes of him doing the same thing over and over and over again to his challengers...
...Assuming he can, that is.
It's outreach, and turning down outreach in politics is a bad idea.
I agree with you. That is why I am working with several groups to write to voters and tell them what he has done. Writing with Democrat's values mentioned, naming what the Republicans are doing, particularly in states under their control as well as in congress, and ending with telling them to exercise their power of their vote to make save our freedoms.
We must remember that not everyone is into politics but everyone will be subjected to the laws the Republicans are putting in place. We must be gentle and listen to people and remember that not every conversation is a win or lose situation. It will take a grassroots effort across the nation, working and helping Democrats win as well as Biden/Harris. Have you listened to anything that Simon Rosenberg has put out? He has a YouTube site and publishes on Substack as well.
It's good that you're active.
I especially think your point about "not everyone is into politics, but everyone will be subjected to the laws" is important. I don't like to buy into the trope of "the politically-inactive person who goes through life with their heads down," but I do think there are some people who don't really understand the grasp of the laws that they live under, and/or do not understand the power they actually would wield if they voted collectively.
I'm afraid I don't think I've ever heard of Simon Rosenberg before? What kind of stuff does he work on?