https://twitter.com/comradesnorlax/status/1011794823920177152?s=21
https://twitter.com/comradesnorlax/status/1011795373814411266?s=21
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As exciting as her election is, this is the important bit.
Doesn’t matter how will they energize the base, what kind of socialist promises they make, how charismatic or articulate or inspiring they are.
If they don’t walk what they’ve talked, it’s all for nothing.
Thanks Obama!
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Thread.
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In a functional democracy, no representative should ever feel that their re-election is “safe.”
A better representative comes along, they get elected. That’s how it should work. It should require constant effort from each representative to be the best choice on offer (and not just the least-worst one).
The very idea that an elected official thinks that they can coast to re-election is abhorrent to me.
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I disagree, politicians should be working for their constituents and not be safe - but they should feel the support of the people behind them still. Crowley felt safe because of the methods he used to gain and maintain his position, not because he ever talked to the people he represented. It’s not like Bernie Sanders is in danger of losing his position, and he knows that because he knows the people behind him.
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I don’t think we’re disagreeing. Certainly, incumbent candidates who keep their promises and work in the best interests of their constituents should be difficult to unseat. If you have the people’s back, the people should have your back; it’s only fair.
I’m just saying that Bernie gets that support because he earns it. Sure, Bernie’s not going to be primaried (successfully), but that’s because people who do the kind of outreach that Ocasio-Cortez did aren’t going to find the same kind of powerless feeling; the constituents feel represented, and Bernie works hard to make sure that that remains the case.
I’m talking about the kind of people who think they’re entitled to an electoral victory, based on the fact that they’ve won in the past, when they haven’t worked to continue to earn that victory.
If the only things that get you elected are the incumbent’s asterisk and the party letter beside your name, you’re not doing your job right, and you shouldn’t be safe. Inability to elect a representative who provides, y’know, representation (of the community’s views, interests, needs, etc.), should not occur in a properly-functioning electoral democracy.
That’s what I mean by “no one should feel their re-election is safe.” Not that good representatives should be looking out for a knife in the back, but that even the best should feel that their constituents are constantly watching over their shoulder with a judgemental eye, a ballot, and a sharpened pencil, so they’d better do their job and represent those constituents.
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Kennedy is stepping down, meaning the 5-4 majority got significantly more extreme and loyalist.
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Yes.
Every day of delay cements the Trumpists more firmly into place.
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