Thank you for this thoughtful piece. I agree that moving more to the middle will widen the pool of voters and the chances of winning for the DFL. When you go to the extremes, there's simply less people to appeal to, and you become ultra-reliant on a small subset of people voting, which they don't always do, often times because these voters demand purity in ideology over willingness to compromise.
Ideologically pure candidates stay in office not because they're popular, but because of structural pieces such as gerrymandered districts (or city council wards) and the exclusionary, grueling and impossible-to-explain caucus process.
By the way, this plays out in both major parties. The Republicans in Minnesota are fighting their own civil war of far right purists vs more traditional candidates (Royce White anyone?). You don't hear about it as much in MN because mainstream media largely focuses on the DFL, and there's almost no coverage of municipal races in outstate Minnesota.
It's worth calling out the "small but vocal minority" in Minneapolis politics specifically. They're not hard to find. They appear in every single doorknocking photo for DSA candidates, they are staff members at prominent non-profits and labor unions, they write commentaries and letters to the editor in the Star Tribune weekly, and record videos and social media ads for Minneapolis for the Many. Some are political aides to current elected officials, and many of them are appointed to state, city, and county advisory bodies that 99% of people have never heard of, but nevertheless shape policy for years. Many are UMN Humphrey school graduates and have strong networks to find jobs and stay in the metro, continuing to influence public policy and discourse.
The small but vocal minority are dedicated and some make a living as political organizers. Others are simply passionate and believe they're doing the right thing. But they're organized and have built far stronger "bones" to maintain their influence; the "moderates" by contrast rely entirely on PAC money and many arguably weak candidates who have little to no connection to the ward or area they're running for.
If the moderates want to win, it goes beyond messaging. Moderates need to build a pipeline of candidates for mayor, city council, parks, BET, school board and state reps/state senate. They need to be appointed to advisory bodies and shape the discourse. They need to be active and present in their communities, and it's going to take years to do.
“Moderates need to build a pipeline of candidates for mayor, city council, parks, BET, school board and state reps/state senate.”
Right on, Mara. The far-leftists took inspiration from Bernie to get elected to these bodies, but their politics have gone far beyond even Bernie. If you look at who’s running for park board, for instance, many of the candidates speak of social justice, equity, etc., but have very little to say about being inspired by and maintaining parks. They just see the park board as a tool or stepping stone for other goals.
These folks can’t help themselves and are bragging about their “infiltration” (their words!) of the DFL, even of caucuses like the DFL Senior Caucus. A lot of people don’t seem to realize what these extremists are all about.
Great piece. I am disgusted by Trump, but I admire his ability to read the public. He understood that the majority was anxious about the cost of living and immigration - he perfectly played that anxiety (unfortunately, he is now overplaying). Returning to Minneapolis and our upcoming municipal elections, our candidates need to understand that leaders must be able to hold multiple thoughts in their heads at the same time. For example, hiring more cops, being tough on crime, developing alternative public safety concepts, and working to eliminate police brutality are not mutually exclusive. The NYT editorial board's summary you shared of the centrist consensus is so obvious that it is embarrassing that the DFL locally and the Dems nationally are so clueless. The Minneapolis DSA anti-capitalism is as misguided as MAGA's racist anti-immigration stance. Again, you can be anti-oligarchy and pro-capitalism. Thanks for this post!
Excellent perspective; thank you! DSA ideology does not work for moderates, regardless of party. As an Independent, I vote on moderate policy and claim no allegiance to either party. However, I believe we need a strong two party system to guard against excesses of both sides. Currently, I'm not happy with either party and am left to vote from the lesser of evils...which means rejecting any DSA candidate at a minimum. It is troubling to see so many people do not take the time to educate themselves before voting and seem fairly clueless about the realities of how a government works. For example, we have neighbors/friends/family who have always been democrats, view only liberal news/social media, and are convinced that conservatives/Republicans are to be distrusted and deserve denigration. They think all democrats are on the same team.....which is not the case between DFL and DSA's. They also do not want to hear any facts that disturb their established belief system, and are therefore vulnerable to propaganda. It's a sad thing when people are unwilling to discuss their differences. Cheers for the moderates....at least we can debate the issues!
Another great article - really highlighting what is too often ignored or drowned out. The vast majority of people in the country and in our city are more towards the center than either end.
Terry, totally on the nose. Many of my family and friends were fired up for No Kings, but I was wondering, “What’s next, besides another protest in a few months?”
If the Dems don’t chart a more sensible course, the electoral map will look like it did in 1984, or even a total red-out.
I was speaking with some moderate neighbors and was disappointed to hear they early voted without understanding who was running in all of the races, and who the moderate choices were. For park board at-large, for instance, three spots are open, so the top three vote-getters get a seat. They voted for the one person (Forney) that they recognized, and left the other spots blank, although there are at least two other more moderate candidates (McKelvey and Dowgwillo). tbh, I don’t know a lot about the latter two candidates, but have no reason to think they are DSA-aligned.
The far-leftists won’t make this mistake. They will vote for all of the DSA-endorsed candidates, which means we will likely have at least two far-left at-large commissioners.
And then there is the issue of many DSA-endorsed candidates getting the DFL endorsement at the sham DFL city convention…
Good point. McKelvey seems great for park board at-large. Please do tell your neighbors and friends to use all 3 rankings, because it does make a huge difference in the outcome. The Minneapolis Times also wrote a nice piece explaining how the math for ranked choice for park board at large and BET is different than the math for mayor:
Thank you for this thoughtful piece. I agree that moving more to the middle will widen the pool of voters and the chances of winning for the DFL. When you go to the extremes, there's simply less people to appeal to, and you become ultra-reliant on a small subset of people voting, which they don't always do, often times because these voters demand purity in ideology over willingness to compromise.
Ideologically pure candidates stay in office not because they're popular, but because of structural pieces such as gerrymandered districts (or city council wards) and the exclusionary, grueling and impossible-to-explain caucus process.
By the way, this plays out in both major parties. The Republicans in Minnesota are fighting their own civil war of far right purists vs more traditional candidates (Royce White anyone?). You don't hear about it as much in MN because mainstream media largely focuses on the DFL, and there's almost no coverage of municipal races in outstate Minnesota.
It's worth calling out the "small but vocal minority" in Minneapolis politics specifically. They're not hard to find. They appear in every single doorknocking photo for DSA candidates, they are staff members at prominent non-profits and labor unions, they write commentaries and letters to the editor in the Star Tribune weekly, and record videos and social media ads for Minneapolis for the Many. Some are political aides to current elected officials, and many of them are appointed to state, city, and county advisory bodies that 99% of people have never heard of, but nevertheless shape policy for years. Many are UMN Humphrey school graduates and have strong networks to find jobs and stay in the metro, continuing to influence public policy and discourse.
The small but vocal minority are dedicated and some make a living as political organizers. Others are simply passionate and believe they're doing the right thing. But they're organized and have built far stronger "bones" to maintain their influence; the "moderates" by contrast rely entirely on PAC money and many arguably weak candidates who have little to no connection to the ward or area they're running for.
If the moderates want to win, it goes beyond messaging. Moderates need to build a pipeline of candidates for mayor, city council, parks, BET, school board and state reps/state senate. They need to be appointed to advisory bodies and shape the discourse. They need to be active and present in their communities, and it's going to take years to do.
“Moderates need to build a pipeline of candidates for mayor, city council, parks, BET, school board and state reps/state senate.”
Right on, Mara. The far-leftists took inspiration from Bernie to get elected to these bodies, but their politics have gone far beyond even Bernie. If you look at who’s running for park board, for instance, many of the candidates speak of social justice, equity, etc., but have very little to say about being inspired by and maintaining parks. They just see the park board as a tool or stepping stone for other goals.
These folks can’t help themselves and are bragging about their “infiltration” (their words!) of the DFL, even of caucuses like the DFL Senior Caucus. A lot of people don’t seem to realize what these extremists are all about.
Great piece. I am disgusted by Trump, but I admire his ability to read the public. He understood that the majority was anxious about the cost of living and immigration - he perfectly played that anxiety (unfortunately, he is now overplaying). Returning to Minneapolis and our upcoming municipal elections, our candidates need to understand that leaders must be able to hold multiple thoughts in their heads at the same time. For example, hiring more cops, being tough on crime, developing alternative public safety concepts, and working to eliminate police brutality are not mutually exclusive. The NYT editorial board's summary you shared of the centrist consensus is so obvious that it is embarrassing that the DFL locally and the Dems nationally are so clueless. The Minneapolis DSA anti-capitalism is as misguided as MAGA's racist anti-immigration stance. Again, you can be anti-oligarchy and pro-capitalism. Thanks for this post!
Excellent perspective; thank you! DSA ideology does not work for moderates, regardless of party. As an Independent, I vote on moderate policy and claim no allegiance to either party. However, I believe we need a strong two party system to guard against excesses of both sides. Currently, I'm not happy with either party and am left to vote from the lesser of evils...which means rejecting any DSA candidate at a minimum. It is troubling to see so many people do not take the time to educate themselves before voting and seem fairly clueless about the realities of how a government works. For example, we have neighbors/friends/family who have always been democrats, view only liberal news/social media, and are convinced that conservatives/Republicans are to be distrusted and deserve denigration. They think all democrats are on the same team.....which is not the case between DFL and DSA's. They also do not want to hear any facts that disturb their established belief system, and are therefore vulnerable to propaganda. It's a sad thing when people are unwilling to discuss their differences. Cheers for the moderates....at least we can debate the issues!
Another great article - really highlighting what is too often ignored or drowned out. The vast majority of people in the country and in our city are more towards the center than either end.
Thanks Terry for once again writing a thoughtful piece.
Terry, totally on the nose. Many of my family and friends were fired up for No Kings, but I was wondering, “What’s next, besides another protest in a few months?”
If the Dems don’t chart a more sensible course, the electoral map will look like it did in 1984, or even a total red-out.
I was speaking with some moderate neighbors and was disappointed to hear they early voted without understanding who was running in all of the races, and who the moderate choices were. For park board at-large, for instance, three spots are open, so the top three vote-getters get a seat. They voted for the one person (Forney) that they recognized, and left the other spots blank, although there are at least two other more moderate candidates (McKelvey and Dowgwillo). tbh, I don’t know a lot about the latter two candidates, but have no reason to think they are DSA-aligned.
The far-leftists won’t make this mistake. They will vote for all of the DSA-endorsed candidates, which means we will likely have at least two far-left at-large commissioners.
And then there is the issue of many DSA-endorsed candidates getting the DFL endorsement at the sham DFL city convention…
Good point. McKelvey seems great for park board at-large. Please do tell your neighbors and friends to use all 3 rankings, because it does make a huge difference in the outcome. The Minneapolis Times also wrote a nice piece explaining how the math for ranked choice for park board at large and BET is different than the math for mayor:
https://minneapolistimes.com/one-of-these-rcv-things-on-your-ballot-is-not-like-the-other/