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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net to c/news@hexbear.net

Progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., suffered a primary defeat Tuesday to a moderate challenger who was backed by pro-Israel groups, NBC News projected, following a bitter and expensive race that exposed the party’s divisions over the war in Gaza.

The race between Bowman and Westchester County Executive George Latimer in New York’s 16th District drew more ad spending — $25 million, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact — than any other House primary in history. Nearly $15 million of that spending came from the United Democracy Project, a super PAC linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel lobby, which backed Latimer.

With 68% of the vote in, Latimer led Bowman by a wide margin, 55.7% to 44.3%.

Speaking to a roomful of his supporters Tuesday night, Bowman conceded defeat to his "opponents," most likely a nod to big-spending outside groups, but he vowed that the broader fight for "humanity and justice" would go on.

"This race was never about me and me alone. It was never about this district and this district alone. It was always about all of us," Bowman said. "Now, our opponents — not opponent — may have won this round, at this time, in this place. But this will be a battle for our humanity and justice for the rest of our lives."

edit: also AOC won her primary so she is staying

In a closely watched primary, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, has emerged victorious, securing her position as the Democratic candidate for New York’s 14th Congressional District.

The 34-year-old progressive, known as AOC, overcame a challenge from 66-year-old investment banker Marty Dolan, who positioned himself as a moderate alternative.

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[-] GVAGUY3@hexbear.net 104 points 4 months ago

Bowman wasn't great. He did vote to fund the Iron Dome a few years ago and still holds liberal zionist positions. That being said, it is disturbing how this wasn't enough for the zionists and basically had his seat bought from him. Very bad vibes. Like electoralism is a dead end, but it somehow became even worse.

[-] MayoPete@hexbear.net 22 points 4 months ago

Devil's advocate for a sec... if elections can be "bought" because people are so apathetic or lazy that they need literally millions of dollars worth of advertising to convince them to vote, then maybe electoral democracy can't work?

I mean, if we can't trust the masses to make good decisions in elections how can we trust them to make good decisions in a post-revolutionary system? Maybe Mao was right about a cultural revolution or can people actually convert to our side en masse?

[-] MayoPete@hexbear.net 24 points 4 months ago

I'm personally struggling with the idea of "democracy" being an ideal since I have grown to hate most people. I think the majority of people in America are simply not smart enough, nor have enough basic empathy for others, to be trusted to make good decisions. Someone convince me that some form of benevolent authoritarianism isn't the solution.

[-] Hexphoenix@hexbear.net 13 points 4 months ago

A benevolent dictatorship is obviously the most effective form of government, the problem is that any dictatorship can be used for good or evil and no matter how benevolent your queen or dictator or whatever you call her is, she's gonna die eventually and now you're rolling the dice. If you get someone less benevolent, system's a failure. If you get someone just as benevolent but less competent and they get deposed, system's a failure. And that's assuming that the system even survives succession rather than devolving into old-school feudalism or capitalist 'democracy' or ancap utopia or whatever in a power vacuum.

The only way to ensure a benevolent government remains long-term is by spreading the power out enough that the system can shrug off the deaths and retirement of individuals and keep going along some plan that exists beyond any one person

Okay, you say, so don't have a dictatorship of one benevolent queen but rather of a benevolent group acting in the best interests of the people. And this has the same pros and cons, but both blunted. It's good at what it does as long as the group remains truly benevolent, but any organization can decay and become corrupt and, in a sense, die just like our hypothetical good queen.

So if we just keep following the logic down, we end up at the idea that the group responsible for the wide-ranging decisions affecting everyone's lives should ideally be accountable to, more or less, everyone. If the ultimate goal is for the government to act in the best interests of the people, it follows that it is the people who should be the best judge of how well the government is working. If it stops doing its job properly, it is the people who notice. So it should be in the hands of the people to correct it.

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this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2024
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