The kids are alright: Alberta at politico on the new socialist generation in columbus, ohio
"Socialism is ascendant among ascendant voters, the youngsters ages 18 to 35, not as a short-term political engine to propel Sanders into the White House but as a long-term restructuring of the American social contract"
"Ohio is perceived to be placid, politically unoffensive, as dull and tame as its topography. And yet, few places have populist roots that run deeper than they do here. "
"community—is central to the worldview of the young socialists I met in Columbus"
"This isn’t about the success of one person, it’s about the success of a movement. Bernie is building a movement that will be able to take power back. "
"Today, Pok isn’t putting his faith in a political figure. He supports Sanders but is skeptical that a president, any president, can do much to affect his life. “That’s why I’m here,” he said, motioning toward the DSA allies behind him."
"they think impeachment is going solve all our problems. It’s like, no, that really doesn’t solve any of our problems."
"Democratic Socialists are, by definition, not your average Democrats. I was shocked at how, in nearly a dozen conversations with DSA-aligned young voters, there was near-uniformity in refusing to back anyone except Sanders as the nominee."
" “I held my nose for Hillary in 2016,” Kristin Porter told me at Rehab Tavern. “I’m never holding my nose again.” "
"young leftists convinced they don’t need to compromise—not with themselves, not with the Democratic establishment, and sure as hell not with the Republican Party. Having come of age in the post-9/11 era, with wars and school shootings and economic hardships the norm, these voters aren’t going to settle for a promised return to normal, because in their eyes, normal was never all that great."
“We’ve been building this movement to exist outside of electoral politics. This campaign is one fight for us, but the bigger battles for social change will go on regardless of what happens with Bernie,”
"we need to build local organizations that have a longer-lasting impact than electing one president. To me, these housing ordinance fights in Columbus are just as important as Medicare for All, because it’s an issue we see affecting peoples’ lives here every single day."
"When she and her peers do engage politically, Howell said, it’s from the bottom up. This is so counterintuitive as to seem insane"
" “To see Bernie winning, it’s nice,” she shrugged. “But it’s not the only thing we’re focused on.” "
"Bernie is just one guy—a guy we’d like to be president, but just a guy all the same"
" We fix broken headlights and taillights for free. We fill food pantries. We try to make more just and more cohesive communities. Bernie was the flint on the stone to spark this fire, but it’s these relationships we’re building, the work we’re doing in these communities, that will endure."
" there’s a recognition that we need to prepare for life after Bernie ... I’ll be just as excited to work on behalf of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez when she runs for president."
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/06/life-after-bernie-young-left-121534sidd