I agree with 95%. I agree with your campaign issues, but potential voters may still have a checklist. For instance, the issue of our tax monies paying for genocide in Gaza isn't a winning issue to run on, but it's a stance worth having. It's not worth a tv ad. It may not even be worth including in a speech, but I still want to know what they think about it.
Thomas, let's get beyond the labels of "far left" or "centrists." Journalists searching for one-word descriptions are discouraging dialogue. Who cares what people call you, just keep up the good work!
It may be that an exhausted America is yearning for “stability”, but Thomas’s uninspired centrism as an alternative to democratic socialism seems insufficient for this moment. I am hoping for a new generation of Democratic leadership in the mold of Jon Ossoff, Chris Murphy, Jackie Sherrill, Elissa Slotkin, Cory Booker, J B Pritzker, Jeff Jackson, Pete Buttigieg, Raphael Warnock, Amy Klobuchar, James Talarico that can move us forward and construct a new model of responsive and effective government after the wreckage of the Trump years. I disagree with Thomas about the importance of our policy toward Israel and Palestine. While not a litmus test for the presidency, candidates must be able to articulate a new relationship with Israel and the Middle East. Support for Ukraine and a renewed partnership with Europe seem equally central.
Thank you so much for your column. I think you are absolutely dead on. Will you be writing about the proposed North Carolina constitutional amendments? I have seen some references and some short articles, but nothing that really gets into explaining why somebody should be either for or against them. I do not trust the Republicans at all, and I would like better explanations of these proposals, to be able to discuss them with other people. Thanks for what you are doing.
Progressives couldn’t even get a public option pushed through, much less single-payer.
//
TBF, that wasn't so much because the public was uninterested in it than the fact that a lot of legislators were determined to see to it that their favorite insurance lobbyists stayed happy.
ETA: Also, actual capitalism sucks for everyone but the capitalist. That's why we have regulations and social programs, to offset what pure capitalism does.
Taking centrism for granted, like it’s the only way to win. But swing‑state voters don’t stay put. They move. They change. Georgia chose Warnock. Michigan chose Whitmer. Both ran on more than the safe middle. Treating centrism as a sure thing is a mistake. The ground shifts. The people shift with it.
We agree on a lot. This is one of those other times.
The problem with “pragmatism” or “incrementalism” is that the window where that night have worked has closed. Not “is rapidly closing” — is closed. Present tense. Cerrado. That’s what happens when the bad guys don’t bother incrementally fucking things up, but the good guys keep incrementally trying to fix them. We’re getting hit with a fire hose and returning fire with a water pistol. And it keeps not working because… physics.
So now we’re left with two choices. Go big, or go extinct. As a species. Those are the options. That’s where “keeping the powder dry” has brought us.
But take heart! No less of a conservative luminary than Mary Julia Koch — of The Kochs® (yes, *those* Kochs) — has explained that the “Nordic Model” embraced by Democratic Socialists is actually (wait for it) *Capitalism*!
“She explains, with the the kind of smug look you only get from never having not been a billionaire:
“America's Democratic Socialists are obsessed with the Nordic model. Universal healthcare, big welfare states, all sold with Instagram-worthy aesthetics. The only problem: These countries aren't socialist.
“Their economies are highly competitive free markets built on private ownership and global trade. Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden consistently rank among the top 15 countries with the most economic and personal freedom. Scandinavian countries do offer more public services in the US, but they're paid for by broad and steep taxation, and it's not like the citizens are just sitting around collecting benefits.”
As for Wisconsin? Francesca Hong would like a word.
I agree Thomas. Let's elect enough democrats to impeach Trump again and hopefully have enough US Senators to convict him. Then let's carefully undo the damage Trump and his followers in government have done and start working on repairing programs and policies that bring benefits to people. No defund the police and the armed forces.
I’m not clear what your definition of a leftist is?
Google says it’s this: “A leftist is a person who supports social equality, workers' rights, and progressive change. They generally want government help to fix unfairness in money and power.”
A centrist is basically a republican who might lean left on social issues but doesn’t want the government involved in healthcare or private enterprise.
You are saying because we have unemployment in the 4-5% range that the country will not vote for policies like universal healthcare. Add to that the taboo of the word “ socialism “.
The fact is we have socialism today with healthcare, it’s called Medicare and Medicaid. It works very well. People pay for it and will those who work pay more? yes, but they pay for healthcare today typically supplemented by employers. You can argue that Tricare is as well.
Secondly , we have the government purchasing a % of companies now like Intel and forcing other companies to purchase Intel chips. Intel was a failing company, lost billions in 2024. What do you call this? It’s not capitalism.
You stated that because we have 4-5% unemployment the country New Deal socialism is not going to fly. The bottom 50% of the country have household wealth at $60k and most is in generational home ownership. We may not have 25% unemployment but we have vast differences in wealth and the cost of living is unaffordable. This was not true 40-50 years ago.
Boomers are on Medicare, Gen x will be trying to hold on for ten+ as corporate America tells they are being replaced by younger workers and AI. Millennials, especially younger ones and Gen Z can’t afford to buy a home. If you lose your job or have to take a services job you have no healthcare.
American taxpayers have paid billions to Nvidia, IBM, Google, Microsoft, and I can go on. Every single one of them lays off American workers and hires in India and China. This is just top tech but many other industries as well. This is highway robbery. It’s okay to allow these corporations to steal trillions, but this isn’t as bad as “socialism”?
I pay Aetna $1K per month for health insurance. Do you know what they have actually paid for all of my healthcare costs? Under $500. They refused a $300 CT scan. You can pay $12k per year but no “socialism” by god?
You may not think elections are winnable because a politician runs under the Democratic Socialist label, but isn’t it your job as a political journalist and the job of the DNC to explain what this really means unless you really have gone to the other side? I guarantee you that this position will not get any younger voters to vote democrat.
Honestly, this is your opinion but it appears you have gone to the other side which is disappointing for democrats.
Currently, you can sign up for a volunteer information session, a Know Your Rights training about voting in NC, or for a volunteer recruitment phonebank. Next month there will be training for the NC Voter protection hotline and in September there will be Poll Observer training.
Find out about some more volunteer roles like being an ambassador for Voter Protection, being a Board of Elections liaison, or helping out behind the scenes. You can learn about these opportunities by attending a volunteer information session:
Your assessment right on and frustrating as hell. All told though, I’ll sign on to your notion of centrism, if for no other reason than to see more people like Roy Cooper, Josh Stein, and Jeff Jackson in public office. Let’s elect some decent thinkers who care about people; then we can argue about what the American Left has to offer.
I live in deep Red Union County, NC. I would love to describe myself as a Democratic Socialist, that is where the heart of my values define me.
But, if I am to ever get my neighbors to consider voting for Democrats I have to keep my more radical ideas in check.
Even then, it’s a steep climb. These folks in rural Union County are so thoroughly brainwashed in MAGA politics that they won’t even consider anything but straight Republican.
Good luck if the Democratic Party gets much more Left of Roy Cooper.
As always, Thomas, I read your thoughts with respect and agreement. I have a dilemma you may be able to offer some insight into, and I suspect some other readers might also share my question: As we close in on the midterms, I am being bombarded with funding requests from various organizations: young voters/voters of tomorrow, leaving MAGAs, Former Republicans (Lincoln Project), and former congressmen (Adam Kinzinger) are just a few that come to mind. For a MODERATE income centrist Democrat like me, where would you recommend I invest my relatively limited funds?
Believe and unite.
I agree with 95%. I agree with your campaign issues, but potential voters may still have a checklist. For instance, the issue of our tax monies paying for genocide in Gaza isn't a winning issue to run on, but it's a stance worth having. It's not worth a tv ad. It may not even be worth including in a speech, but I still want to know what they think about it.
Thomas, let's get beyond the labels of "far left" or "centrists." Journalists searching for one-word descriptions are discouraging dialogue. Who cares what people call you, just keep up the good work!
It may be that an exhausted America is yearning for “stability”, but Thomas’s uninspired centrism as an alternative to democratic socialism seems insufficient for this moment. I am hoping for a new generation of Democratic leadership in the mold of Jon Ossoff, Chris Murphy, Jackie Sherrill, Elissa Slotkin, Cory Booker, J B Pritzker, Jeff Jackson, Pete Buttigieg, Raphael Warnock, Amy Klobuchar, James Talarico that can move us forward and construct a new model of responsive and effective government after the wreckage of the Trump years. I disagree with Thomas about the importance of our policy toward Israel and Palestine. While not a litmus test for the presidency, candidates must be able to articulate a new relationship with Israel and the Middle East. Support for Ukraine and a renewed partnership with Europe seem equally central.
Thank you so much for your column. I think you are absolutely dead on. Will you be writing about the proposed North Carolina constitutional amendments? I have seen some references and some short articles, but nothing that really gets into explaining why somebody should be either for or against them. I do not trust the Republicans at all, and I would like better explanations of these proposals, to be able to discuss them with other people. Thanks for what you are doing.
//
Progressives couldn’t even get a public option pushed through, much less single-payer.
//
TBF, that wasn't so much because the public was uninterested in it than the fact that a lot of legislators were determined to see to it that their favorite insurance lobbyists stayed happy.
ETA: Also, actual capitalism sucks for everyone but the capitalist. That's why we have regulations and social programs, to offset what pure capitalism does.
Taking centrism for granted, like it’s the only way to win. But swing‑state voters don’t stay put. They move. They change. Georgia chose Warnock. Michigan chose Whitmer. Both ran on more than the safe middle. Treating centrism as a sure thing is a mistake. The ground shifts. The people shift with it.
We agree on a lot. This is one of those other times.
The problem with “pragmatism” or “incrementalism” is that the window where that night have worked has closed. Not “is rapidly closing” — is closed. Present tense. Cerrado. That’s what happens when the bad guys don’t bother incrementally fucking things up, but the good guys keep incrementally trying to fix them. We’re getting hit with a fire hose and returning fire with a water pistol. And it keeps not working because… physics.
So now we’re left with two choices. Go big, or go extinct. As a species. Those are the options. That’s where “keeping the powder dry” has brought us.
But take heart! No less of a conservative luminary than Mary Julia Koch — of The Kochs® (yes, *those* Kochs) — has explained that the “Nordic Model” embraced by Democratic Socialists is actually (wait for it) *Capitalism*!
https://www.wonkette.com/p/new-koch-daughter-just-dropped-to
The money shot being:
“She explains, with the the kind of smug look you only get from never having not been a billionaire:
“America's Democratic Socialists are obsessed with the Nordic model. Universal healthcare, big welfare states, all sold with Instagram-worthy aesthetics. The only problem: These countries aren't socialist.
“Their economies are highly competitive free markets built on private ownership and global trade. Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden consistently rank among the top 15 countries with the most economic and personal freedom. Scandinavian countries do offer more public services in the US, but they're paid for by broad and steep taxation, and it's not like the citizens are just sitting around collecting benefits.”
As for Wisconsin? Francesca Hong would like a word.
https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/establishment-extinction-event-reaches
I agree Thomas. Let's elect enough democrats to impeach Trump again and hopefully have enough US Senators to convict him. Then let's carefully undo the damage Trump and his followers in government have done and start working on repairing programs and policies that bring benefits to people. No defund the police and the armed forces.
I’m not clear what your definition of a leftist is?
Google says it’s this: “A leftist is a person who supports social equality, workers' rights, and progressive change. They generally want government help to fix unfairness in money and power.”
A centrist is basically a republican who might lean left on social issues but doesn’t want the government involved in healthcare or private enterprise.
You are saying because we have unemployment in the 4-5% range that the country will not vote for policies like universal healthcare. Add to that the taboo of the word “ socialism “.
The fact is we have socialism today with healthcare, it’s called Medicare and Medicaid. It works very well. People pay for it and will those who work pay more? yes, but they pay for healthcare today typically supplemented by employers. You can argue that Tricare is as well.
Secondly , we have the government purchasing a % of companies now like Intel and forcing other companies to purchase Intel chips. Intel was a failing company, lost billions in 2024. What do you call this? It’s not capitalism.
You stated that because we have 4-5% unemployment the country New Deal socialism is not going to fly. The bottom 50% of the country have household wealth at $60k and most is in generational home ownership. We may not have 25% unemployment but we have vast differences in wealth and the cost of living is unaffordable. This was not true 40-50 years ago.
Boomers are on Medicare, Gen x will be trying to hold on for ten+ as corporate America tells they are being replaced by younger workers and AI. Millennials, especially younger ones and Gen Z can’t afford to buy a home. If you lose your job or have to take a services job you have no healthcare.
American taxpayers have paid billions to Nvidia, IBM, Google, Microsoft, and I can go on. Every single one of them lays off American workers and hires in India and China. This is just top tech but many other industries as well. This is highway robbery. It’s okay to allow these corporations to steal trillions, but this isn’t as bad as “socialism”?
I pay Aetna $1K per month for health insurance. Do you know what they have actually paid for all of my healthcare costs? Under $500. They refused a $300 CT scan. You can pay $12k per year but no “socialism” by god?
You may not think elections are winnable because a politician runs under the Democratic Socialist label, but isn’t it your job as a political journalist and the job of the DNC to explain what this really means unless you really have gone to the other side? I guarantee you that this position will not get any younger voters to vote democrat.
Honestly, this is your opinion but it appears you have gone to the other side which is disappointing for democrats.
Thanks for stating so well what the majority of Democrats believe.
A bit off topic, but I wanted to remind readers about volunteer opportunities to help protect the vote in NC.
https://tinyurl.com/NC26VoPro
Currently, you can sign up for a volunteer information session, a Know Your Rights training about voting in NC, or for a volunteer recruitment phonebank. Next month there will be training for the NC Voter protection hotline and in September there will be Poll Observer training.
Find out about some more volunteer roles like being an ambassador for Voter Protection, being a Board of Elections liaison, or helping out behind the scenes. You can learn about these opportunities by attending a volunteer information session:
https://www.mobilize.us/nc-coordinated/event/953396/
Your assessment right on and frustrating as hell. All told though, I’ll sign on to your notion of centrism, if for no other reason than to see more people like Roy Cooper, Josh Stein, and Jeff Jackson in public office. Let’s elect some decent thinkers who care about people; then we can argue about what the American Left has to offer.
I live in deep Red Union County, NC. I would love to describe myself as a Democratic Socialist, that is where the heart of my values define me.
But, if I am to ever get my neighbors to consider voting for Democrats I have to keep my more radical ideas in check.
Even then, it’s a steep climb. These folks in rural Union County are so thoroughly brainwashed in MAGA politics that they won’t even consider anything but straight Republican.
Good luck if the Democratic Party gets much more Left of Roy Cooper.
Thanks to Thomas Mills for speaking the truth.
Once again, Amen.
As always, Thomas, I read your thoughts with respect and agreement. I have a dilemma you may be able to offer some insight into, and I suspect some other readers might also share my question: As we close in on the midterms, I am being bombarded with funding requests from various organizations: young voters/voters of tomorrow, leaving MAGAs, Former Republicans (Lincoln Project), and former congressmen (Adam Kinzinger) are just a few that come to mind. For a MODERATE income centrist Democrat like me, where would you recommend I invest my relatively limited funds?
Competitive candidates, not organizations. In NC, Roy Cooper, NC Democratic Party, House and Senate candidates.
💯