There are folks running around on TV blaming progressivism for Dem underperformance. I was curious, so I decided to open the hood on struggling campaigns of candidates who are blaming progressives for their problems. Almost all had awful execution on digital. DURING A PANDEMIC.
Underinvestment across the board. Some campaigns spent $0 on digital the week before the election. Others who spent did so in very poor ways. If I spent only $12k on TV the week before an election & then blamed others after, you’d ask questions. That’s how it looks seeing this.
Ideology + messaging are the spicy convos a lot of people jump to but sometimes it’s about execution and technical capacity. Digital execution was not good, polls were off, ironically DCCC banned the firms who are the best in the country at Facebook bc they work w progressives! Also, the decision to stop knocking doors is one people need to grapple with and analyze.
@IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib never stopped and may very well have helped delivered a Biden Presidency bc of it
There are swing seat Dem incumbents who cosponsored the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, etc and if I’m not mistaken every single one won re-election. So the whole “progressivism is bad” argument just doesn’t have any compelling evidence that I’ve seen.
When it comes to “Defund” & “Socialism” attacks, people need to realize these are racial resentment attacks. You’re not gonna make that go away. You can make it less effective. How do you make it less effective? Invest in year-round deep canvassing. Data shows that this kind of work helps blunt the force of racial resentment at the polls. If you’re always running away from convos about race, then the only ppl owning it are GOP. You’ll lose. And on this hand-wringing about slight POC increases for GOP in some areas - this is also an area w answers. But honestly when it comes to Latinos the party’s just never seriously made an effort. Mexicans, Central Am, Caribbean, Chicanos - Cubans are not the only impt community.
By the way if white communities are getting more comfortable w overt racism or “cultural resentment” (if that’s what they’re rebranding it now) it’s only gonna get harder for POC turnout to save everyone. Real organizing & strategy is needed that disarms bigotry, not avoids it.
You can’t just tell the Black, Brown, & youth organizers riding in to save us every election to be quiet or not have their reps champion them when they need us. Or wonder why they don’t show up for midterms when they’re scolded for existing. Esp when they’re delivering victories.
And btw I’m happy to cede ground on things that aren’t working in some areas! But finger pointing is not gonna help. There’s real workable & productive paths here if the party is open to us. (After all, I got here by beating a Dem who outspent me 10-1 who I knew had bad polling)
➐ on Twitter: "@AOC
on Twitter: "@AnnAnnChe @jlrindahl @AOC Lauren Underwood isn’t a progressive.
Voted 
on Twitter: "@MarcheseJack @AOC The marketing of the phrase "defund the police" was a terrible idea. Idk who's idea it was to push that but it should been reform the police or something like that. Defund leads people to believe we want to abolish the police which is not what the phrase means (at least most)." / Twitter
