Here’s how this conversation is introduced:
As inequality deepens and dissent is punished, many are looking to new voices like Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist running for New York City mayor on a platform of rent freezes, free public transit, and taxing the rich.
Can candidates like him revive the Democratic Party in the United States, or is real reform from within impossible?
There is a left populist economic path to electoral success and Zohran Mamdani is writing that path. You don’t need to become Liz Cheney to win. And in fact, Liz Cheney is not exactly winning in politics, and bear-hugging her did not turn-out so well for Kamala Harris in terms of ginning up votes. . . . So when you hear about compromise, and how we have to be a center party, and how we have to be pragmatic in order to win, that’s all propaganda to justify why the [Democratic establishment] won’t just ran on legitimate popular policies like universal health care, like taxing the rich, like a $15 minimum wage. Really basic stuff. . . . In this moment there’s an enormous amount of frustration with the Democratic Party among rank-and-file Democrats which presents opportunities for those of us who would like to see a break from the party. And, short of that, the threat of a break that is sufficiently real that it actually forces the Democratic establishment to have to choose the people over their corporate commitments. I don’t know if we’re close to that, if the party can fundamentally ever be reformed because I believe the purpose of it is to advance those corporate commitments. . . . I question if it is possible to be within the Democratic Party and carry on legitimate left, progressive values; economic populist values.
– Briahna Joy Gray
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
THE FAILURES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
• Mike Figueredo on the “Political Malpractice” of the Democratic Party
• Ted Rall: Democrats Are Not “the Left”
• Exposing the Dark Money Network Secretly Funding Establishment Democratic Influencers
• Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism
• Howie Hawkins: “The Democrats Are Not the Answer to the Trump/Fascism Problem”
• The Longstanding Fault Lines Within the Democratic Party Have Surfaced Again in Minnesota
• Jeff Cohen on How Obama’s “Corporate Liberalism” Led to the Rise of Trump
• Progressive Perspectives on Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour
• Eric Fernández: Quote of the Day – May 14, 2025
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2025
• When Democrats Undermine Democracy
ZOHRAN MAMDANI
• Dorothy Lennon: Quote of the Day – June 26, 2025
• A Timely and Important Conversation
• The Rational National’s Take on Zohran Mamdani
• How Democrats Can Start Winning Again
• Mike Figueredo on the “Political Malpractice” of the Democratic Party
• Memes of the Times – September 2025
OMAR FATEH
• A “Racist and Factless Meltdown” Over Omar Fateh
• Omar | Jazz | DeWayne
• In His Efforts to “Build a City That Works for All,” Omar Fateh Secures a Key Endorsement
• Something to Think About – July 25, 2025
• The Longstanding Fault Lines Within the Democratic Party Have Surfaced Again in Minnesota
• Omar Fateh: “We Need to Meet the Needs of Working People”
• “Hopeful and Grounded”: Omar Fateh’s Vision of Democratic Socialism
• Omar Fateh: A “Person-Centered Leader”
• Why Omar Fateh Is the Right Choice for Mayor of Minneapolis
• Omar Fateh’s Grassroots Campaign for Mayor of Minneapolis
• The Rise of Omar Fateh
• Omar Fateh: A Mayor Who Will “Meet the Moment”
THE GREEN PARTY
• “The Moment Is Ripe”: Butch Ware on Building a “True Oppositional Alternative” to the Duopoly
• “It Is Our Responsibility to Make a Third Party Viable”
• We’re Witnessing a Liberal Meltdown Over Jill Stein
• “We Give Reasons for People to Come Out and Vote”
• Butch Ware: “You Can Actually Vote Your Conscience”
• The “Green Smoothie” Option
• When Democrats Undermine Democracy
• Howie Hawkins: “The Democrats Are Not the Answer to the Trump/Fascism Problem”
• “The Next Step Is a Green Step”: Cornel West Endorses Jill Stein (2016)
• Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein: Is An “Historic Collaboration” in the Making? (2016)
• Demolishing the False Narrative About Jill Stein and the 2016 Election
• Hope Over Fear: Voting Green
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