Gwynne, we try very hard here to embrace the rainbow, allowing for the differences in our party to flourish, to welcome debate not run from it, as we are a party of Agers, Spanbergers, AOC, and many, many more. We don't attack other Democrats here. We seek to learn, to understand, and lift people up and not tear them down. Your comment thus is not welcome as written, and not in the spirit of what we try to do here every day. If folks like Ager are not welcome in your family than we will be a permanent minority the rest of all of our lifetimes.
You telling candidates who are running and winning in swing districts, flipping red seats, that you know better than they on how to win is something....perhaps listen and learn. Expand your horizons. We live in a big diverse country are working to build something new, together. And there is no censorship here Gwynne. My god please take a break and head somewhere else today. We are working hard here to win this election. What we do here every day.
And the reason "socialism" has become an issue is because of a series of now public, deleted posts from Avila Chevalier which you can read about here - https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/29/politics/darializa-avila-chevalier-communism-tweets. This is the second batch of deleted posts that have been uncovered. The first came just before the election. These were found on Monday. Here's the first graph from the CNN story:
"Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic congressional nominee endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who ousted longtime Rep. Adriano Espaillat in Tuesday’s primary, maintained a since-deleted Twitter account with repeated sympathetic references to communism, Marxist ideology and Soviet figures, including Vladimir Lenin."
Please stop piling on a sincere effort to express what I hear on the ground. I know where my head is. I know where a lot of the younger generation is. They need to feel inspired, not told that the status quo is best for them. Maybe they are swing districts because the people who would vote for something else don’t feel inspired to vote. I am in the fight every single day as the co-leader of a very large Indivisible group in the Bay Area. I have been doing it for ten years, maybe not nearly as long as you have been in politics, but I have given up a whole lot of my life when I also have to learn a living. I accept this is your platform and i said I won’t make any more comments on it, but my opinions and my work deserve more respect than this.
You crapped all over one of our best candidates in the country, accused me of censorship - take responsibility for your words and sentiments please and stop fighting with me and others here. All of my comments here today have been respectful, and I've taken the time to engage, explain, bring you and others along. If folks like Jamie Ager are a problem for you this may not be the right community for you. Thank you for your good works and service but please stop fighting. It just isn't what we do here.
Jamie Ager is not the status quo. Chuck Edwards, the incumbent Trump supporter under investigation by House Ethics for sexual harassment, is the status quo.
Was it really full throated. Everything wrong in the US today can be found in a socialist system. Having leaders working for citizens is a pretty good vaccination against tyranny from any direction. Benevolent socialism (Nordics?) is often built on similar infrastructure as is capitalism.
I also want to say that pissing on this effort to raise money today and stay focused on mission is self-indulgent, and unwelcome. Take a deep breath next time before spewing stuff like this next time.
Thanks for posting the pledge. I worry so much more about the focus of the pledge as a whole and not two terms, used once, that are contested (capitalism and socialism). Real people have overlapping interests. But even so they have different reactions to those 2 words. I taught economics for decades without needing those two words. If a student insisted, we had to arrive at an agreement on definitions. We couldn't start with one is inherently bad anymore than one was inherently good. Context, accountability, regulation, oversight matter. Either can be corrupted by those in charge.
thanks for posting the link to it- most of the time we hear about things through someone's opinion of them on social media but don't actually see the source- I have to admit that was the case for me in this situation- I don't really understand why the word socialist has such a charged power- it's probably pretty complex- the thing is, I actually think that the people who signed this pledge are looking to do exactly the same things that the democratic socialists are trying to do- actually deliver by solving problems for working people, small business folks, etc- we all want a government that works for the people and not just the billionaires/trillionaire- a government that is not overrun by corruption, but is accountable to the people - filled with folks committed to serving the interests of the American people and not just their own self interests- what I've been so impressed by in your candidate interviews is that through line of insight into problems, commitment to public service, and problem solving moxie. I just hope that we on BOTH sides of the democratic socialist/capitalist debate within the Democratic Party can see that we need each other and work hard to build a coalition that can successfully push back the MAGA coalition and build something truly transformative - maybe you, Simon, can discuss what that work of coming together might look like. thanks for you and your team's work
Agreed. I don't read full throated capitalism NOR full throated socialism. Getting things done that citizens need should be the focus. Not hate. Not scapegoats. Yes stop abuse of power, especially not for personal glorification, which can happen under either system.
Does everyone understand that there are only a handful of Members of Congress openly affiliated with DSA? DSA is not progressive. The progressive caucus endorsed Espaillat in NY13. We will work to help everyone understand these distinctions and this debate in the weeks ahead.
Voters need to be able to make their choices and not some Uber Democrat. If winning in NC means letting your voters know where you stand, that is what he should do. Signing onto someone else's statement (which I have not seen) may be a shortcut, but Western NC is nothing like NYC. Courting Trump supporters is much trickier there. Rent control and public transportation mean less than having FEMA do what it was built to do. Follow his campaign more generally if you want to slam that choice.
I have NC roots and this person seems PERFECT for his district. I like how he and so many others are avoiding much ragging on DJT since we all know the deal. Jamie is that steady guy who knows who he is and comes off as truly patriotic. I feel sorry for him in a way, HAHA, that he'll have to leave his farm for DC!!
BREAKING NEWS! I still can't focus on anything else and could hardly believe my eyes while in the dentists chair (too much novocaine?) reading the LIVE NEWS FEED of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship. This comes on the eve of the 4th of July and what more fitting affirmation of "We The People” could there be." #gratitude
Simon, Jamie is definitely one of the most down to earth People. He really relates to Western North Carolina-11. He is a great Candidate, and a Winner!
Prior to catching Jamie's Conversation, I was working on what Donations I was going to give. It took awhile, so I decided the fair thing to do was to give All of Our Candidates a Donation.
Winning The House, Winning the House/ Second Wave, Winning the Senate, Graham Plantner and Josh Turek, Winning Ohio and the Hopium Audacious Expansion Fund.
Simon, thanks for this. Ager is a great candidate for NC 11. I grew up in Hendersonville, about half an hour from his farm. I am a Democrat who wants to win elections. Hard for me to comprehend what is so hard to understand about supporting candidates who are a good fit for their districts. Ager is a “dirt-road” Democrat who can win. A more liberal Democrat could not. We need to get beyond the left vs. center, which gets a lot of media attention because it’s an easy story to write.
I love the photo of the train he made for the kiddos and pulling it behind his riding lawn mower. What a great guy. I donated to him earlier and donate through the Hopium house candidates. We live in TN, but used to have a cabin in Bryson City and he is the right guy to lead NC-11.
We are headed to Cullowhee Native Plant Conference at WCU next month. July 15-18th. He should stop by on Saturday morning (free day) and talk to folks. Lots of native plant growers from the Asheville, Fairview, and other Western Carolina nurseries.
Honestly one of my favorite candidates. I actually read his fundraising emails. He’s genuine, I really believe he got into this because he wants to help people in his neck of the woods. I also like that he listens to the questions, e.g. the thoughtful one on retail politics Simon asked at about the 4 minute mark - you can see him listening closely. Donated to him through the Hopium link
This is an interesting video from MT that shows Mike Lawler and Russell Vought for the wankers they are. (As if you needed any more proof.)
Raskin gets into a shouting match with Lawler, who reminds me of Satan, and Vought gets a good grilling, only to show what an evil nebish he really is in life (when he's not drafting democracy-destroying manifestos).
Rep Pocan was never on my radar, and I would love to hear from anyone who knows more about him. He did a GREAT job with Vought.
Gwynne, we try very hard here to embrace the rainbow, allowing for the differences in our party to flourish, to welcome debate not run from it, as we are a party of Agers, Spanbergers, AOC, and many, many more. We don't attack other Democrats here. We seek to learn, to understand, and lift people up and not tear them down. Your comment thus is not welcome as written, and not in the spirit of what we try to do here every day. If folks like Ager are not welcome in your family than we will be a permanent minority the rest of all of our lifetimes.
You telling candidates who are running and winning in swing districts, flipping red seats, that you know better than they on how to win is something....perhaps listen and learn. Expand your horizons. We live in a big diverse country are working to build something new, together. And there is no censorship here Gwynne. My god please take a break and head somewhere else today. We are working hard here to win this election. What we do here every day.
And the reason "socialism" has become an issue is because of a series of now public, deleted posts from Avila Chevalier which you can read about here - https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/29/politics/darializa-avila-chevalier-communism-tweets. This is the second batch of deleted posts that have been uncovered. The first came just before the election. These were found on Monday. Here's the first graph from the CNN story:
"Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic congressional nominee endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who ousted longtime Rep. Adriano Espaillat in Tuesday’s primary, maintained a since-deleted Twitter account with repeated sympathetic references to communism, Marxist ideology and Soviet figures, including Vladimir Lenin."
Please stop piling on a sincere effort to express what I hear on the ground. I know where my head is. I know where a lot of the younger generation is. They need to feel inspired, not told that the status quo is best for them. Maybe they are swing districts because the people who would vote for something else don’t feel inspired to vote. I am in the fight every single day as the co-leader of a very large Indivisible group in the Bay Area. I have been doing it for ten years, maybe not nearly as long as you have been in politics, but I have given up a whole lot of my life when I also have to learn a living. I accept this is your platform and i said I won’t make any more comments on it, but my opinions and my work deserve more respect than this.
You crapped all over one of our best candidates in the country, accused me of censorship - take responsibility for your words and sentiments please and stop fighting with me and others here. All of my comments here today have been respectful, and I've taken the time to engage, explain, bring you and others along. If folks like Jamie Ager are a problem for you this may not be the right community for you. Thank you for your good works and service but please stop fighting. It just isn't what we do here.
Jamie Ager is not the status quo. Chuck Edwards, the incumbent Trump supporter under investigation by House Ethics for sexual harassment, is the status quo.
Was it really full throated. Everything wrong in the US today can be found in a socialist system. Having leaders working for citizens is a pretty good vaccination against tyranny from any direction. Benevolent socialism (Nordics?) is often built on similar infrastructure as is capitalism.
I also want to say that pissing on this effort to raise money today and stay focused on mission is self-indulgent, and unwelcome. Take a deep breath next time before spewing stuff like this next time.
Finally, here's the pledge. The idea that this reads like a Republican document is absurd. https://www.thepromisetoamerica.com/
Thanks for posting the pledge. I worry so much more about the focus of the pledge as a whole and not two terms, used once, that are contested (capitalism and socialism). Real people have overlapping interests. But even so they have different reactions to those 2 words. I taught economics for decades without needing those two words. If a student insisted, we had to arrive at an agreement on definitions. We couldn't start with one is inherently bad anymore than one was inherently good. Context, accountability, regulation, oversight matter. Either can be corrupted by those in charge.
thanks for posting the link to it- most of the time we hear about things through someone's opinion of them on social media but don't actually see the source- I have to admit that was the case for me in this situation- I don't really understand why the word socialist has such a charged power- it's probably pretty complex- the thing is, I actually think that the people who signed this pledge are looking to do exactly the same things that the democratic socialists are trying to do- actually deliver by solving problems for working people, small business folks, etc- we all want a government that works for the people and not just the billionaires/trillionaire- a government that is not overrun by corruption, but is accountable to the people - filled with folks committed to serving the interests of the American people and not just their own self interests- what I've been so impressed by in your candidate interviews is that through line of insight into problems, commitment to public service, and problem solving moxie. I just hope that we on BOTH sides of the democratic socialist/capitalist debate within the Democratic Party can see that we need each other and work hard to build a coalition that can successfully push back the MAGA coalition and build something truly transformative - maybe you, Simon, can discuss what that work of coming together might look like. thanks for you and your team's work
Agreed. I don't read full throated capitalism NOR full throated socialism. Getting things done that citizens need should be the focus. Not hate. Not scapegoats. Yes stop abuse of power, especially not for personal glorification, which can happen under either system.
Does everyone understand that there are only a handful of Members of Congress openly affiliated with DSA? DSA is not progressive. The progressive caucus endorsed Espaillat in NY13. We will work to help everyone understand these distinctions and this debate in the weeks ahead.
Thanks signed it. I'm a former State Executive committee woman. Husband is signing it now and he was Mayor for 6 years.
Voters need to be able to make their choices and not some Uber Democrat. If winning in NC means letting your voters know where you stand, that is what he should do. Signing onto someone else's statement (which I have not seen) may be a shortcut, but Western NC is nothing like NYC. Courting Trump supporters is much trickier there. Rent control and public transportation mean less than having FEMA do what it was built to do. Follow his campaign more generally if you want to slam that choice.
I have NC roots and this person seems PERFECT for his district. I like how he and so many others are avoiding much ragging on DJT since we all know the deal. Jamie is that steady guy who knows who he is and comes off as truly patriotic. I feel sorry for him in a way, HAHA, that he'll have to leave his farm for DC!!
BREAKING NEWS! I still can't focus on anything else and could hardly believe my eyes while in the dentists chair (too much novocaine?) reading the LIVE NEWS FEED of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship. This comes on the eve of the 4th of July and what more fitting affirmation of "We The People” could there be." #gratitude
Another good candidate. All the new faces make me eager for November
Thank you for this second interview. I am proud to support Jamie Ager and his platform for U.S. Congress. https://agerforcongress.com/platform
Simon, Jamie is definitely one of the most down to earth People. He really relates to Western North Carolina-11. He is a great Candidate, and a Winner!
Prior to catching Jamie's Conversation, I was working on what Donations I was going to give. It took awhile, so I decided the fair thing to do was to give All of Our Candidates a Donation.
Winning The House, Winning the House/ Second Wave, Winning the Senate, Graham Plantner and Josh Turek, Winning Ohio and the Hopium Audacious Expansion Fund.
Simon, thanks for this. Ager is a great candidate for NC 11. I grew up in Hendersonville, about half an hour from his farm. I am a Democrat who wants to win elections. Hard for me to comprehend what is so hard to understand about supporting candidates who are a good fit for their districts. Ager is a “dirt-road” Democrat who can win. A more liberal Democrat could not. We need to get beyond the left vs. center, which gets a lot of media attention because it’s an easy story to write.
I love the photo of the train he made for the kiddos and pulling it behind his riding lawn mower. What a great guy. I donated to him earlier and donate through the Hopium house candidates. We live in TN, but used to have a cabin in Bryson City and he is the right guy to lead NC-11.
We are headed to Cullowhee Native Plant Conference at WCU next month. July 15-18th. He should stop by on Saturday morning (free day) and talk to folks. Lots of native plant growers from the Asheville, Fairview, and other Western Carolina nurseries.
Honestly one of my favorite candidates. I actually read his fundraising emails. He’s genuine, I really believe he got into this because he wants to help people in his neck of the woods. I also like that he listens to the questions, e.g. the thoughtful one on retail politics Simon asked at about the 4 minute mark - you can see him listening closely. Donated to him through the Hopium link
This is an interesting video from MT that shows Mike Lawler and Russell Vought for the wankers they are. (As if you needed any more proof.)
Raskin gets into a shouting match with Lawler, who reminds me of Satan, and Vought gets a good grilling, only to show what an evil nebish he really is in life (when he's not drafting democracy-destroying manifestos).
Rep Pocan was never on my radar, and I would love to hear from anyone who knows more about him. He did a GREAT job with Vought.
Hopiates represented by Pocan are lucky.
https://youtu.be/eBlQQQ1xT9A?si=R5WGKAAL5mYHVUmA