This is from yesterday’s Washington Post (archive link after quote):

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Thirteen Democratic House members and candidates announced their support Thursday for a centrist initiative aimed at pushing back against the party’s tilt toward democratic socialism.

[…]

“They should not be the face of our party,” said Jessica Killin, a Democratic candidate running in a competitive Colorado district. “We need to be organized and clear in our vision.”

Killin is one of the 13 who signed on to the “Promise to America” initiative that commits candidates to a set of centrist principles, including capitalism, fiscal discipline, strong borders and pride in the United States.

[…]

The other signatories [other than Killin, Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY) and Rep Adam Gray (CA)] who announced their support Thursday include candidates and incumbents running in competitive races, including several districts that Trump won. Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet (Michigan), Susie Lee (Nevada), Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire), Josh Gottheimer (New Jersey), Laura Gillen (New York), Don Davis (North Carolina), Janelle Bynum (Oregon) and Vicente Gonzalez (Texas) are all supporters. Candidates Marlene Galán-Woods in Arizona, Jamie Ager and Paul Barringer in North Carolina and Bobby Pulido in Texas also signed on.

Washington Post

I looked around a while to find any outlet other than the Post that had covered the story, but the quoted story is the only one I could find. Here’s the Promise to America website. It’s non-specific, but they clearly want a balanced budget, and they’re patriots.

These candidates are all running in tough districts. Most of them will probably be fine in this political environment, but the challengers are going to have to work hard to win.

Speaking of tough districts, I started blogging in 2006, covering a R+6 district. In 2008, the Democrat in the race won. Times have changed, but he didn’t do it by pissing left or promising to balance the budget. He centered healthcare as an issue, spoke out against the war in Iraq, and he put in the work, knocking on doors and engaging with the party committees in the district. He won by winning over voters.

The Promise to America organization, headed by a guy who ran WelcomeFest 2025, is not here for voters. The pablum promises and attacking the left are a reassurance to donors. The subtext is: “don’t worry, we’re not going to tax the rich or enact meaningful regulation.” I hope all of these candidates win, but I just don’t find the strategy of the organization they’ve joined compelling.

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Scott H4 months ago

Also too, this assumed DSA "takeover" of the Democratic Party—a charge of characteristic centrist hyperbole—is not that complicated: voters wanted Dems to reform from the inside, and they refused year after year. DSA ran candidates on Dem ballot lines and proved they would do the reform.

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C P4 months ago

Yeah, like... this is literally what your own voters are voting for. Stop complaining.

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Scott H4 months ago

The Promise to America organization, headed by a guy who ran WelcomeFest 2025,...

That's all anybody needed to hear. 3rd Way/No Labels puppets. It's not coincidental that many other WelcomeFest clowns like MattY and Alex Thompson have been making similar kinds of posts trying to spin the week's electoral events as "Bad News For Dems".

Good, let them feel, if just for a moment, how the rest of us have felt for literally decades as shitstains like them have moved the party every more rightward.

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Scott H4 months ago

The Democratic Party also lost credibility because we ran on popular ideas in 2020 that would make a positive impact on the lives of working people — then let the conservatives in the party undermine and block that agenda — and then continued supporting those conservative members in primaries.

And that same controlling segment of the Party simply wants to double down like it always does.

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C P4 months ago

Speaking of tough districts, I started blogging in 2006, covering a R+6 district. In 2008, the Democrat in the race won. Times have changed, but he didn’t do it by pissing left or promising to balance the budget. He centered healthcare as an issue, spoke out against the war in Iraq, and he put in the work, knocking on doors and engaging with the party committees in the district. He won by winning over voters.

+1

I've been saying this about the Trump collaborators from the start.

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TBone Dinosaur4 months ago

I smell a rat. Using fascist window framing to climb in and sit next to the Nazis at their table. Guess what that makes them.

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TBone Dinosaur4 months ago

Tom Suozzi lives at C Street, controversial Christian center behind National Prayer Breakfasts The New York Democrat kept secret his low-rent lodging at a right-wing Christian townhouse

https://www.salon.com/2026/05/29/tom-suozzi-lives-at-c-street-controversial-christian-center-behind-national-prayer-breakfasts/

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TBone Dinosaur4 months ago

Taking a swipe at the left by pointing out that you're a capitalist? Fuck off, democratic socialism is simply regulated capitalism!

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Kay W.4 months ago

This stupid site adds an apostrophe in comments where it doesn’t belong! Turns everything into a contraction. Or it my ancient IPhone?

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mister mixAuthor4 months ago

Not happening to me fwiw…

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Sepideh M4 months ago

I think that may be your phone. Is a keyboard too sensitive? Is a sensor for a touch pad stuck somewhere? I am sometimes having trouble with my tablets.

I have several devices for my work, and it is always an adventure.

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Kay W.4 months ago

The clip of Mamdani they played on Tik Tok was Chris Hayes telling Mamdani he “pissed off” the Democratic Party (meaning D pols) and Mamdani answered “what is the Democratic Party if not it’s voters?” Good answer.

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David J4 months ago

Huh. The Bezos owned Washington Post ran an article about a centrist group founded by kids who are mostly college undergraduates? Looking at the "promise" I had to squint and still didn't find any real substance.

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mister mixAuthor4 months ago

I thought that was odd, too. I wonder who’s paying for it.

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Sepideh M4 months ago(edited)

Did they name the nepo babies involved? Do we know who their parents are?

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mister mixAuthor4 months ago

All the future Krysten Sinemas and Ezra Kleins are here: https://www.thepromisetoamerica.com/about

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Sepideh M4 months ago

Felix Frisch is the son of Alex Frisch who lost to both Lauren Boebert and Jeff Hurd here in Colorado. So we need to respect that his family has the money to run for the U. S. House of Representatives and lose twice to Republicans and still not learn better politics.

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Scott H4 months ago

Gee, wonder which billionaire's money is helping with that?

Probably the same sourcing for "The Argument". JFC.

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Sepideh M4 months ago(edited)

On of the Hasan Piker clip channels on YouTube, he is watching Ezra Klein talk to Chris Hayes, and Chris makes an interesting point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJN3PwLCaIk&t=627s

You have a situation where you have stacked these different things atop each other where it is like

  • money in politics
  • the establishment
  • the failed status quo
  • the pro-Israel lobby

    • Are all stacked atop each other and very hard to disentangle. And so being the populist insurgent against the status quo, your criticism of Israel, your criticism of the war on Gaza, your views on that put you across these incredibly salient divides that reach up and down from the actual issue of Gaza.

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    Kay W.4 months ago

    I agree with that. It’s a rebellion against all the lobbying.

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    Sepideh M4 months ago

    It's very nice of them when they put together lists of people who need primary challengers for us like this.

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    Kay W.4 months ago

    It’s so typically “meta” Centrists want to “signal” something rather than doing anything. The blather is the point.

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    Kay W.4 months ago

    FDR was not a Leftist. What FDR was is a RESPONSE to the Left. At the time we had huge labor unrest and violence, 20% of the House were genuine Leftists and FDR was terrified that the US would go socialist. So he offered a real alternative. A public safety net. He beat the Left back not by scolding young people a or calling everyone racist, he beat the Left back by DELIVERING on an alternative to socialism. Centrists should try that! It works.

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    Busted Knee4 months ago

    Liberals do not want that. They want a society for the top 20%.

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    Kay W.4 months ago

    Not one actual promise or practical proposal on the whole site. This is why people hate politicians - stupid shit like this. This is the opening DSA is exploiting! The fact that these fucking people never actually DELIVER anything to anyone other than their donors!

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    Busted Knee4 months ago

    The voters we care about, the upper middle class, keep doing fine and pulling away from the rest of us and retaining their ability to rule over the masses. So liberalism is working. We aren't going to change that. The party is doing what it was taken over to do. Those voters interests are tied up in the same industries the donors are. We are delivering exactly what we want to to who we want to.

    This won't change until the upper middle class is cowering for their lives and begging us to take their money and crush their industries so they all make less than six figures, have to sell their homes, can't afford to take vacations, and can't afford to eat fancy dinners. Till that happens nothing will change.

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    r po4 months ago

    I sure wish you hated billionaires as much as you hate your neighbors. It's a giant country and the culture inside the Beltway is not really representative of what the rest of us see.

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    Kay W.4 months ago

    So it actually promises nothing other than “support” for vague ideas? They still don’t get it. People want them to ACTUALLY govern. Push thru the housing bill! Back Elizabeth Warrens Social Security plan! Push thru the two pro union laws that have passed the House and are stuck in the Senate! Ensure the ICE murderers who are running around free are brought to justice! Do they really need a “to do” list?

    Mamdani is popular because he sticks to his positions and gets shit done. I guess he could spend days writing bullshit like this instead of working but instead he pushes thru affordable daycare. Do the centrist version of that! Look busy!

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    Busted Knee4 months ago

    We are now the party of people who are comfortable and we protect them and act as their enforcers. We've been that since Clinton. We are not going to change this until our precious upper middle class fears violence because the violence has already started. People need to accept that reality and plan for it.

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