Originally published at: A 29-Year-Old Democratic Socialist Takes on Colorado’s Most Senior Member of Congress - TPM – Talking Points Memo
This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. Melat Kiros was born in 1997, the year her representative in the U.S. House, Democrat Diana DeGette, took office. On Tuesday, Kiros hopes to unseat her. The next frontier of the…
John Hickenlooper is facing a primary challenge from state Sen. Julie Gonzales.
-
DeGette can go - that’s a decision for her voters.
-
Bennett should stay in the Senate where he can keep getting re-elected. He has a capable and centric opponent in Phil Weiser.
-
Replacing Hickenlooper would be problematic, in my estimation, and I hope is opponent is unsuccessful. Hick is a relative centrist and would probably be re-elected. Colorado is not a blue state and a more liberal candidate stands a chance of losing that seat.
I don’t believe that Hickenlooper wanted to be a Senator. He is more of a loner than a team player so he liked being Mayor and Governor. He is also allergic to controversy and has earned his nickname “Chickenlooper”.
1 Like
I like Diana DeGette - she and I went to the same college (at different times), I was living in Denver when she was first elected, and she has been a good Congress person - but it’s time for her to go. It’s time for ALL of the Democratic old guard to go. The House and Senate are not a retirement home for aging Clinton-ites.
2 Likes
What the Democratic Socialists are doing is demonstrating over and over again that being a neoliberal without simultaneously being in favor of expanding rights and the benefits of our society to regular people is no longer viable. They are basically saying that the politicians who exclusively attend to billionaires and oligarchscan go fuck themselves. Sorry Democratic leadership, your time has passed.
Dan Goldman’s loss in New York 10 ought to be scaring the hell out of AIPAC. Hopefully forcing them to rethink their slavish devotion to Benjamin Netanyahu and the hardliners in Israel.
1 Like
There is zero chance that Hickenlooper will support expansion of the Supreme Court or anything else that will actually roll back the rise of the fascist right. He is completely inadequate to the moment, and always has been. During his short-lived presidential campaign, he devoted all his time to attacking Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
I don’t think “rich old white guy from the corporatist wing of the Democratic Party” is what Democratic voters are looking for right now. As a governor Hickenlooper was a mediocrity and as a senator he’s a nonentity.
1 Like
Yeah - I don’t disagree. And I think your description of Hick applies just as accurately to Bennett.
But CO is not a young person’s state yet and a candidate who is too far to the left would fall to a pseudo centrist (think Jeff Hurd) who would do more damage.
And … CO is not really a blue state. There are a lot of purple voters - conservatives who recoil at the quality of the GOP candidates and vote for the centrist Democrats.
If the young people don’t demand better from the party they will never get better from the party.. There is a reaon the Democratic Socialists are doing better than the old worn out Democratic leadership wants to believe. Rank and file Democrats are fed up with being ignored. The only chance Trump has is to quietly support the duck and cover Democratic leadership. That might drive down turnout sufficiently to give him a chance to hold on to one house or the other. If he loses both the world will change overnight.
Notice that TPM hasn’t talked much about the beating AIPAC took in New York the other day. Wonder why?
2 Likes