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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
Summary
Ken Martin, chair of Minnesota’s Democratic–Farmer–Labor party, won the race to lead the Democratic National Committee, defeating Wisconsin’s Ben Wikler.
Martin takes over as Democrats grapple with major losses in the 2024 elections and seek to reconnect with working-class voters.
Supporters see his leadership as key to rebuilding the party, while critics worry it signals a continuation of the status quo.
His first major test will be the 2026 midterms as Democrats attempt to reclaim the House and rebuild their electoral strategy.
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Now more than ever is the time to put the Democrat party in the dirt. Over the next four years American workers can and must establish a party for the workers.
As no one is talking about who Martin is let’s go over his accomplishments and how he could be positive for the party:
Since he became leader of the state party, 14 years ago, they have not lost a statewide race.
He talks about how they need to appeal to working class voters again.
He frames himself as a pro-labor progressive.
Pelosi and Schumer wanted his opponent.
He said this during his victory speech
“Are we on the side of the robber baron, the ultrawealthy billionaire, the oil and gas polluter, the union buster?” Mr. Martin asked. “Or are we on the side of the American working family, the small-business owner, the farmer, the immigrant and the students?”
He also talks about how we need a country wide approach not specific states. He wants people to be running everywhere.
He’s one of the better candidates that could have won. Not perfect, but definitely better than some of the other candidates.
Important edit: he also talked about how there were “good” billionaires and “bad” billionaires which is bs. But there is a reality that it’s gonna be hard to run a campaign and win without the support of any possible billionaire. I mean, one of the reasons the GOP won this time around was because the billionaires manipulated shit. We should still make it so that billionaires don’t exist because having a system that creates them is insane. But also, it’s hard to win in the current system without them.
he also talked about how there were “good” billionaires and “bad” billionaires which is bs.
True, but there are bad billionaires and worse billionaires. Until we can get rid of billionaires, which is by no means a simple task, I prefer billionaires like Bill Gates and Mark Cuban who are at least using a portion of their wealth to do good things.
Is it enough? No. Is it largely performative to launder their reputation? Absolutely. Did they get that money through ethical behavior? Definitely not. But peoples’ lives are materially improved by some of their actions, which is better than you can say for most billionaires.
My thoughts as well. I think it’s kinda like a low road vs high road thing. Taking the high road kneecaps you and keeps you from really being able to fight and challenge the BS. I think refusing to take any money from Billionaires in a world where people like Musk and Murdoch manipulate everything, not taking any Billionaire money will not work. There is no way for small donors to give enough money to outstanding those billionaires or to out manipulate media.
Pelosi and Schumer wanted his opponent.
Good enough for me
That was my thought as well
And what’s his history like?
Words are cheap, let’s see the action.
Well he’s not a representative or anything. He was chair of the DFL party which is the Democratic party in Minnesota. So he doesn’t have a voting record but he was elected 14 years ago and again, they haven’t lost a statewide race since. He’s a strategist.
He led the campaign in 2008 for the the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment which is designed to help public lands, help keep water clean from pollution, and fund the arts and heritage fund.
Wilker, his opponent, was also supported by two billionaires but Ken wasn’t.
Under his watch Minnesota defeated the amendment to ban same sex marriage and an ammendment for voters ID, they regained state senate and house majorities that they lost in 2010, he’s the guy who helped get Tim Walz to be governor. He helped flip multiple seats in Minnesota from Red to blue including one that was red for 40 years.
Again, he’s a strategist, which is what the DNC chair does, strategize.
Edit: original comment I responded to said “voting record” not history
Wilker, his opponent, was also supported by two billionaires but Ken wasn’t.
Sure, Matin wasn’t supported by two billionaires, he was only supported by one. That’s only 50% as corrupt!
Some candidates criticized Wikler for relying on billionaires to fund his campaign. George Soros and Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn cofounder, each gave Wikler $250,000, according to federal filings.
Martin received a donation from a billionaire as well — Vance Opperman, a Minnesota-based businessman, donated $100,000. Martin has defended the party’s need to accept money from wealthy donors to keep up with Republicans. He has said he would not take contributions from people who do not share his values.
Don’t forget with the trifecta we got universal school lunches, the largest one year increase in school spending, legal abortion rights (both legislatively and from our supreme court), legal marijuana etc. it’s been pretty great as a Minnesotan. Also the recent election after this 2024 moved to a tied session which is pretty good considering how shit the rest of the results were
Good point. I forgot all about that stuff cause I’m not a Minnesotan.
“Are we on the side of the robber baron, the ultrawealthy billionaire, the oil and gas polluter, the union buster?” Mr. Martin asked. “Or are we on the side of the American working family, the small-business owner, the farmer, the immigrant and the students?”
Yes and never, respectively.
Important edit: he also talked about how there were “good” billionaires and “bad” billionaires which is bs.
Yeah. His wing of the party doesn’t seriously believe that there is such a thing as a bad billionaire.
Ken, “We will happily take bribes from good billionaires but not the bad billionaires”, Martin won?
Oh great, nothing will change.
You watch. They will double down on trying to peel away Republicans.
This was my last vote for “not as bad as Trump.” They need to sit down with the few progressives they’ve allowed to force their way into the party and bring me a platform I can feel good about. Step one of that is going to be not continuing the rightward slide of the party.
This was already as bad an election outcome as I could possibly imagine, DNC. If we have an actual framework for free elections still in existence for the next one, I’m not going to vote for what I hope and think you might do if you can suck up to enough conservatives to get you into the whitehouse. You need to come with a platform that’s going to excite me.
As a non Democrat, why would Democrats try to pull away republicans when republicans have been playing politics like a team game?
Build your own damn team and give them a reason to be on your team.
Biden and Harris only got my votes because Trump has shown himself to be a piece of shit and Republicans are either throwing a blind eye or playing along in his game or Nazi.
As a non Democrat, why would Democrats try to pull away republicans when republicans have been playing politics like a team game?
No disagreement from me.
Build your own damn team and give them a reason to be on your team.
Yep
Biden and Harris only got my votes because Trump has shown himself to be a piece of shit and Republicans are either throwing a blind eye or playing along in his game or Nazi.
Yep. But we can’t sink any lower, so that was the last time. If we get another election, they need to inspire me with something better than just being less conservative than the Nazi party.
Yep. But we can’t sink any lower, so that was the last time.
As long as Republicans move to the right, Democrats will too.
As a non Democrat, why would Democrats try to pull away republicans when republicans have been playing politics like a team game?
Because the alternative involves treating the left flank of the party like they are human beings with agency.
Because they took leftist votes for granted.
Dems always expect the left to fall in line and back them, hence why they feel they are free to consistently move further right rather than to appeal to the wishes of their voters, because after all, what are the leftists going to do, vote Trump?
Harris lost in 2024 because Latino and Gen Z males who voted for Biden in 2020 swung to Trump in 2024.
Those voters are centrist/independents, and identify as neither Democrat nor Republican. They voted Democrat in 2020 and Democrats need to win them back in 2028.
Anyone who still thinks “capture the center” is how politics works when Donald Trump enthusiastically diving to the right beat Kamala Harris campaigning with actual Republicans isn’t willing to update their priors with new information.
It didn’t work for Kamala Harris. But it’s how Biden beat Trump. And it worked for over 20 sitting Democratic governors, one of whom will very likely be the next Democratic nominee.
There weren’t even 20 governors up for reelection and most of them weren’t competitive. You’re literally just making up data to support a conclusion that blatantly contradicts actual real life.
One of those governors will likely be the next Democratic nominee. And they all have a history of running as centrists. Not just in 2024, but in all of their previous campaigns.
Newsom, Pritzker, Beshear, Shapiro, etc aren’t going to spontaneously embrace socialism in 2028. And I’m sorry to disappoint you, but an 82 year old Bernie Sanders won’t be running in 2028.
Running to the right didn’t get their votes, did it?
Not this time. But Obama and Clinton successfully ran as a centrists, and I expect Democrats will try again in the future.
Why would they ever change?
You certainly don’t want them to.
They should only change if a different approach were proven to work better.
Practically speaking, that means leftists need to consistently win gubernatorial elections before a leftist can become a presidential nominee.
They should only change if a different approach were proven to work better.
Sounds like an excuse to never try another approach.
Practically speaking, that means leftists need to consistently win gubernatorial elections before a leftist can become a presidential nominee.
I wonder what the new goalpost will be when the party’s best efforts are longer sufficient to keep progressives out of gubernatorial races.
Have you ever even heard of him before? Yet you’ve already decided to give up on him and the Democrats. You’ve already written then off, why should they bother trying to win your vote?
And this is in the face of what we’ve all watched Trump do over the last week.
This whole attitude you have is why the country is in the mess it’s in.
Damnit, I just saw the ml. I shouldn’t have engaged.
DNC Elects “Guy you’ve never heard of” to drive up public engagement in the DNC
TBF, how many Democrats give a fuck about who the chair is. Can you name the last 3 chairs?
Yes I can. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, Tom Perez, and Jaime Harrison. Pretty easy if you actually pay attention to american politics
He beat out another “Guy you never heard of” for the position. The Dems are doomed.
Oh yeah? Who’s the head of the RNC?
Lara fucking Trump, it was big news
“Since March 8, 2024, the Republican National Committee has been co-chaired by Lara Trump and Michael Whatley”. So, sure. That’s close enough. And before that some names no one heard of either. I just don’t get the point of thinking that the RNC and DNC chair would be someone you’d already know. Maybe that should change, but it’s the case presently for most people to not know the chair beforehand, for either party.
