So, as you can tell I've read some centrist democrats doing their stupid little victory laps about how Bowman sucked and progressives suck, and I do despise those guys, but in the name of fairness. I do think that some of what they say about Bowman is valid.
The fire alarm stunt
I covered this on here when it happened, but remember when this dude pulled a fire alarm to delay a vote? Yeah, that happened. And it was cringe. And I was very critical of it. It did come back around to bite him, because a lot of the centrists in his district are the civilteh types who cant stand that crap. I didn't like it either to be fair, but it also wouldnt have deterred me from supporting him. But yeah, it's a fair criticism and he was stupid for doing it.
That rally
So he held a rally over the weekend in the Bronx where he cursed and actually acted like a real person, and got crapped on for it and called "unhinged." And Im gonna be honest. While I get how it's not everyone's cup of tea, this is where I diverge from the dems. The dems are anti populist. They like everything buttoned down, prim and proper. How dare this guy use words like that. How dare he appear human in front of other humans. I've heard some to go so far to say that he sounds like Donald Trump. Given how Trump is beating our #### right now in the polls, that's a good thing. We NEED to be more like Trump, at least in the small positive populist ways. Dems are boring, stuffy, and perpetually stuck in the 1990s. And I get it, different demographics like different things, with Bowman's district also having a lot of suburbanites who dont like that sort of thing. But this as nothingburger as the "Dean Scream." I've seen clips of his rally, I LIKED his rally. I wish more politicians would act like this. Makes them seem more human and less corporate automaton.
9/11 conspiracy theories
Given how he represents freaking New York City (the Bronx and suburbs like Westchester), I can see why this doesn't land. I think he disavowed such positions, but still, it's cringe. I wouldnt hold it against him given he has distanced himself from such views, but some still are susceptible to being turned off by it. To be fair, it was a crappy position.
The anti Israel thing...
Now, I might be critical of Israel and their war in Gaza, but it should also be clear that I'm effectively pro Israel in terms of the conflict at large. I was with them after October 7th, and shifted away from them as the war got a bit too bloody and brutal. But still, Bowman takes it to cringe levels. He voted against Iron Dome, he denied that people were raped on October 7th, which is Brianha Joy Grey levels of cringe.
Above everything, this is the real reason he lost. He actually had a large Jewish base in his district, and they were heavily mobilized by AIPAC to get to the polls. And it's like, dude, wtf are you thinking? Maybe if you represented Dearborn Michigan you could get away with this crap, but not NYC in a district full of Jewish people. He just was wildly out of touch for what his voters wanted.
It's a shame. I like Bowman in a way. I obviously dont agree with him on this issue fully, and I already stated I wish progressives would keep their heads down on this issue and NOT make it their red line. But yeah. We just lost one of our most progressive members of congress, over this issue. It's losing issue for us. Hammering it hard so much is political suicide. We can't do this. We will destroy what little influence we've amassed in the past decade if we don't play ball at least some of the time. And this is an issue to just concede IMO. The anti Israel left is being very electorally stupid. And I aint with them on this one.
As such, that's my analysis. Bowman was a decent congressperson IMO, but he had cringe moments. He mightve withstood a primary challenge if he didnt go full anti Israel in a district full of Jewish voters. I think that's what demonstrably killed him. I know a lot of centrists are talking about the other stuff like the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and the fire alarm, and his profanity laced rally, but eh, a lot of that doesnt bother me much. If anything, I thought the rally was based. I hate the decorum people on that one. The fire alarm and 9/11 stuff was cringe but it's also, eh...whatever.
But yeah. Don't go all anti Israel in a district full of Jewish people. Lesson learned. Heck, if anything this is why ive been reluctant to embrace a more pro palestine narrative, polling doesnt indicate it would endear the population. If anything dems are more likely to lose voters on this one and the free palestine people are an electorally insignificant minority of people for the most part. Maybe they could cost Biden Michigan narrowly, but other than that, it's like, why even talk about this?
So yeah, the left's out of touch on this one. But upon reflection, they'll just say everyone else is wrong. Kinda makes you realize why AOC voted for Iron Dome that one time.
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