Progressives Seek Out New Younger Leaders

Progressives are on the hunt for new candidates to replace the very few, but very old, real progressive leaders in Washington. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more.

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

Progressives are on the hunt for new candidates to replace the very few, but very old real progressive leaders in Washington. You know, before we came on the set, I said, I can't think of anybody that I want to replace, that I would want to put in that slot. Give me some names. I mean, we're talking about, we're talking about Bernie quality.

Yeah.

We're talking about Elizabeth Warren kind of quality candidate. What do you think?

Well, you know, we, we've talked a lot about just the aging problem with the Democratic party, but on the actual progressive side, yeah, we've got two people. Bernie's 81, she's in her early seventies. They're kind of aged out and people understand that. They're not gonna run again in 2024, and honestly they shouldn't.

No.

Bernie Sanders at 83 should not run. Love the guy, but it, it's not happening. So the question is, who carries the torch? Who is out there actually fighting against corporations, fighting for workers? A couple names to me come to mind. Katie Porter out in California.

Mm-hmm.

She is.

You, you really like her.

I really like Katie Porter.

Every time you talk about Katie Porter, you light up. Okay.

I, I am just absolutely loving Katie Porter because you watch her on the House floor during these hearings, taking on these CEOs better than anybody I've seen.

Yeah. That's what, she's smart, isn't she?

Yeah.

I mean, and, and she's not afraid. She, she's, you know, obviously when she takes on these big corporations, they dry up money to her, but she doesn't seem to be afraid of that. Anybody else you can think of?

Possibly Ro Khanna. He's actually also from California.

Mm-hmm.

He actually served as kind of Bernie's right hand man during his 2020 presidential campaign.

Mm-hmm.

So he's very much like Bernie. He's got baggage. You know, we actually brought him up recently talking about the insider trading stuff.

Right, right, right.

His wife, his family. So.

It's a pretty ugly story.

That's what, that's what turns me off about him now. But, Katie Porter, I, I've, I've dug, I've dug, I've dug, I don't see the baggage. She's not somebody that the conservative media's been out there trashing for years, which is a problem that the squad has.

Yeah.

They've been so tarnished by right wing media, I don't think they could have broad appeal.

Whether, you know, I, I, as I watch the squad.

And, and I like them. I do.

I do, I, I, they do some good things.

Yeah.

I don't know whether they just don't do it right or whether the media is just so set and, and, and they don't, you know, corporate media does not like progressives. I mean.

Right.

They may act like they do. You may watch MSNBC and you may say they really have kinship with progressives. They don't.

We've, we've.

There's no.

We know firsthand behind the scenes stuff they hate progressives at MSNBC.

Yeah. I did MSNBC, as you know, for a long time, you were one of the producers that worked with me when I'd made, I'd make, I'd be on a couple times a week and they'd rarely let you tell the story. So for us to believe that progressives, progressives have an easy run with media and that they're gonna support, that'll be the problem with Katie Porter, won't it?

Yeah. It.

The problem will be they will do everything they can to dis, to discredit her.

Right. But actually too, if you look at Katie Porter's voting record, she does have a very, a moderate coming across voting record.

Okay.

So she doesn't, she's not super extreme, but the fact that she takes on corporate power and does advocate for workers, the working class, consumers, that's the kind of thing we need. And, and in her mold, we could bring more people in that way.

Yeah. Maybe we can ask as people watch this, you send in your comments.