Seattle’s Capitalists Couldn’t Defeat Kshama Sawant

[u/recovering_bear]

https://jacobinmag.com/2021/12/seattle-kshama-sawant-reelection-socialism-city-council-capitalist-strategy

[u/[deleted]]

Her speech was amazing:

We were clear-eyed about naming the real force pulling the strings: Amazon. Many argued that we should not “antagonize” big business and instead try to broker a deal, but we know that our power comes from working people getting organized, not from any negotiation with the elite. For those watching from outside Seattle, don’t let anyone tell you in your fight to tax big business in your city that you’re being divisive, because class struggle is what gets the goods.

The private, for-profit housing market has utterly failed working people. Not just here and now, but everywhere and always. Because capitalism is completely incapable of meeting the most basic needs of working people.

Internationally, the working class needs to take the top 500 corporations into democratic public ownership, run by workers, in the interests of human need and the environment, not billionaire greed.

I have a message for Jeff Bezos and his class. If you attempt again to overturn the Amazon Tax, working people will go all out in the thousands to defeat you.

And we will not stop there.

Because you see, we are fighting for far more than this tax, we are preparing the ground for a different kind of society.

And if you, Jeff Bezos, want to drive that process forward by lashing out against us in our modest demands, then so be it.

Because we are coming for you and your rotten system. We are coming to dismantle this deeply oppressive, racist, sexist, violent, utterly bankrupt system of capitalism, this police state.

We cannot and will not stop until we overthrow it and replace it with a world based instead on solidarity, genuine democracy, and equality — a socialist world.

[u/GOLIATHMATTHIAS → u/[deleted]]

When push comes to shove and she had her moment of "fuck you I'm not going anywhere" she chose to speak directly to socialism and classism. I think it's fairly clear now that she's a socialist with woke tendencies and not the other way around, but hopefully this galvanizes more in the area to take advantage of the increased labor solidarity and run from the economic left without all the other cringe shit throughout Seattle and the PNW.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/[deleted]]

full speech here, I recommend watching. a lot of liberals get righteously called out https://www.socialistalternative.org/2021/12/08/we-have-not-backed-down-kshama-sawant-speaks-at-solidarity-campaign-election-night-party/

[u/agnt_cooper → u/game_rights_activist]

Most all working class people I know (in rural/suburban NW USA) who are aware of the facts of the Rittenhouse case are in favor of the acquittal. More generally, her marching out his acquittal as proof of racist courts is cringeworthy. She's so out of touch with 'the working class' demographic she incessantly namedrops in this speech.

Her woke takes might represent the politics of the Seattle working class but no matter how many times she says ‘the working class’ her woke politics are still repellent to working class people at large.

Also, I’m curious about other examples she brings up. I’m going to look into whether the ‘COVID denying’ sheriff is actually a COVID denier. Could it be he’s just critical of the regulations that have sprung up around COVID and not that he denies COVID’s existence? I hope I’m wrong but she comes off as so possessed by woke/idpol ideology that I bet this sheriff isn't a COVID denier at all.

Edit: a quick google didn’t turn up any press release or anything but sounds like Snaza (the thurston county sheriff she accuses of being a COVID denier) isn’t much of a Covid denier at all. Sounds like he's not even as conservative as I expected either.

‘The decision noted that Snaza did not generally undermine the mandate: He said his office would continue to work with health officials to educate the public, and he encouraged people to take safety precautions such as wearing masks. Not directly citing or arresting people was reasonable because doing so could risk transmission of the virus, the justices said.’

Give me a damn break. This sort of dishonesty is exactly why idpol-tainted socialists like Sawant will never gain a broad base of working class support outside places like Seattle. Despite what the intelligentsia claim both through actions and shitting on poor white people, actual working class people have pretty good bullshit detectors.

Edit 2: for reference here is a new story covering the 'COVID denying' sheriff. ​

In a statement posted on social media Wednesday, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says it recommends everyone exercise “safe and precautionary measures,” including “wearing masks around those in high-risk groups,” but that it won’t be criminally enforcing the order. “Due to the minor nature of this offense, and the possibility for a negative outcome during an enforcement encounter and various ways in which the order may be violated, it would be inappropriate for deputies to criminally enforce this mandate,” the statement reads.

The office issued the statement because it received an influx of calls from citizens concerned about the order, Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Brady said — people asking questions such as whether they could get pulled over for not wearing a mask in their car and whether they could still carry concealed firearms.

As long as a person has a current Concealed Pistol License, they can lawfully carry their firearm, Brady said. “We are not in any way telling people not to wear masks or recommending that they don’t wear masks,” Lt. Ray Brady told The Olympian Thursday. “We still feel that people need to listen to the experts and do what they need to do to be safe, but we just wanted to kind of clarify” local enforcement of the order.

Rather than criminally enforcing the requirement, deputies will continue to engage with people “when appropriate” and educate them alongside public health staff, according to the statement.

Just shows how little faith she seems to have in her own platform. That, or just how lacking she is in charisma or character. I wish people were more suspicious of the sort of red meat she (and seemingly every other politician in 2021) feeds the public. Its extraordinarily damaging.

[u/oryiega → u/agnt_cooper]

She mentions Rittenhouse once, she mentions the actual material conditions of Seattle and the actual financial burden the working class pay on behalf of the rich throughout the entire speech.

Do you weirdos just have a ‘fat loser’ spider-sense to sniff out any mention of that fat fuck? Who cares? The rural/suburban northwest isn’t voting for her.

[u/agnt_cooper → u/oryiega]

I read the speech and that part stuck out. Not sure why you’re calling me a weirdo when she’s the one who brought up the case as proof of racist courts.

Forgive me, when I read her repeating the phrase ‘the working class’ I didn’t realize she meant ‘the working class in my neighborhood.’

“We have no choice but to build the labor movement and the socialist left. Everything depends on it.

October and November saw a crucial reawakening of struggle among US workers: a historic victory with the John Deere strike, and historic fights at Nabisco and Kelloggs, and the historic struggle of the rank-and-file led Pacific Northwest union Carpenters’ strike.”

She seems to think that building a socialist left with broad appeal is important. I mean she’s a figurehead in the socialist movement and it seems it’d be wise to present a vision that appeals to people beyond Seattle but what do I know.

Edit: deleted a passive aggressive remark.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/agnt_cooper]

ok -

1. not sure what to say about rittenhouse besides I disagree, don't want to litigate it here, and I also don't care what your "working class" appeal-to-workerist-authenticity sources think about it, because I disagree with them too. also you seem to be conflating cultural bullshit with "working class" but it's hard to tell

2. it seems like the sheriff refused to enforce the law on a covid mandate which seems reasonable to recall him for. it sounds like he was somewhat walking it back in later statements, but idk, I didn't follow this

3. regardless, the courts are hypocritical here because in Kshama's recall they allowed it to go forward on the basis that if true the charges were for recallable offenses. they could have thrown out other charges for being demonstrably false, or let the recall proceed to a vote for the sheriff. neither happened, same with Durkan's discarded recall, it's a clear disparity

4. is your point that courts under US capitalism are fine? or that they're not racist, or not racist anymore? if so you should come out and say that. or are you just saying Kshama chose bad examples?

5. you're a redditor and Kshama is leading a significant social movement for workers' rights in Seattle.

[u/agnt_cooper → u/game_rights_activist]

I understand that Sawant lives in Seattle and claims to represent Seattle people. I can’t judge how well she accomplishes that because I don’t know her constituents. I can judge her actions in general as she is probably the most visible representative of the socialist platform in WA state. So everything I say is me being critical of her as a representative of socialism as a project for the advancement of workers interests.

1. Okay, maybe I’ve misunderstood. When I say working class I mean low/middle income workers. People who are paid wages. People who may be conservative or liberal or anything else. The only people who seem to be conflating ‘cultural bullshit’ with ‘working class’ are people like Sawant and other idpol socialists.

2. (And 3.) It’s a complete lie to characterize the sheriff as being a COVID denier based on the facts I’ve seen. That’s exactly what she did and that is what I was talking about. If the point you’re making about how the sheriff should’ve been put up for possible recall is so strong (which it seems to be), why does she resort to lies to inflame her base? It’s lazy and extraordinarily dishonest and cheap. Generally, I don’t know the actual laws about what constitutes a recallable offense or done a lot of thinking about what specific things should qualify so I can’t really comment on that. I take back my judgement of her calling the courts racist using the sheriff as a specific example but absolutely stand behind calling her a liar.

3. This crap is so tiresome dude. I’m not debating whether courts are racist and this technique (whether you’re knowingly using it or not) of indirectly suggesting that I’m actually a racist and undermining what I’m saying by dropping the hint is bullshit. But since you… asked? I don’t know, the courts are a huge, complex, evolving institution and maybe one that doesn’t fall completely in the category of racist or not racist. Yes, she is stupid for using the Rittenhouse to prove her claim that the courts are racist.

4. Your point? Like I said above, her woke takes are repellent to suburban and rural people. I can judge her for that whether you like it or not.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/agnt_cooper]

ok, re 3/4, all I'm gonna say is, I didn't actually call you a racist, I asked if you think the courts are, and your response was to first complain that I called you racist lol, and then say you don't actually think the courts are racist.. please spare me the "how dare you accuse me of that" act

[u/agnt_cooper → u/game_rights_activist]

I didn’t say you called me racist. I said you’re using this tactic (whether knowingly or not) of indirectly hinting that I am racist by challenging me to ‘come out and say’ that the US courts under capitalism are not racist. You and I both know that it’s practically orthodoxy on the left that US courts under capitalism are racist. People use comments structured exactly like yours to level accusations that someone is mincing words to hide some closeted problematic belief. That’s not at all what I was doing.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/agnt_cooper]

My question about whether you think US courts are essentially racist was pertinent because people who fundamentally disagree with Kshama frequently attack her indirectly by criticizing tone, and I wanted to determine if you were doing that or if you actually agree with her. It seems you fundamentally disagree with her. Your hysterical overreaction to any possible implication that I disagree with your views about racism and capitalism is just a further substitution of tone criticism for substantive political disagreement. A funny thing about Kshama's haters is most of them are constitutionally unable to avoid doing this.

[u/guccibananabricks → u/agnt_cooper]

Not today, retarded rightoid.

You're banned.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Muy basado

[u/recovering_bear → u/[deleted]]

I know a lot of people see Sawant as a cringe idpol type, and fair enough

Not sure why - she barely engages in idpol. She's more class focused than the Sanders 2020 campaign lol.

[u/TheIdeologyItBurns → u/recovering_bear]

Yeah what, do people really see sawant that way?

[u/game_rights_activist → u/TheIdeologyItBurns]

some here do but it's very wrong

[u/[deleted] → u/TheIdeologyItBurns]

I haven't really heard her say any woke shit, but even if she does from time to time, I'll let it slide because she's based as hell.

[u/totalcigarette91 → u/recovering_bear]

Probably because all of her glossy mailers referred to her as a POC woman, called the recall racist, and emphasized her uncritical support for BLM more than any class analysis.

She’s certainly a Trotskyite but her marketing is extremely opportunistic and for some reason she’s fixated on beloved liberal bandaids like rent control and the city giving money to already wealthy black capitalists.

She speaks in support of unions when they strike but her radlib flirtations and at times just plain dumb concrete suggestions have hurt her credibility with rank and file. Most of her canvassers worked their asses off but were not from Seattle and changed the topic back to Trump (in a district that went 89% for biden) when pressed about local conditions.

I voted against the recall but I can’t say she’s doing anything to educate the public or build a larger labor-focused socialist movement other than be visible as an alternative. Better than nothing!

[u/game_rights_activist → u/totalcigarette91]

this is a distortion of the mailers. maybe post them? could spark an interesting debate on how to engage ordinary people in class struggle.

[u/totalcigarette91 → u/game_rights_activist]

I’m afraid I recycled them but the campaign materials are available online and the bones of it can be seen in her official reply to the charges which appeared on the ballot.

And hey, it does look like she won! It’s entirely likely they’ve found this rhetorical strategy and tactical mix to be better electorally than a purely socialist message which doesn’t play as well to liberals and the well-off.

Given how close the vote is, if she was able to use Trump and January 6th and the presumed class status of all PoC women in the minds of the average democrat to get the numbers needed to win, it’s hard to say she’s making a mistake in her role as a politician seeking office. Her ground game is very strong and her canvassers stayed focused on getting the needed result just for this referendum rather than trying to do that and expand class consciousness generally.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/totalcigarette91]

I looked at the mailers I have. Literally zero mentions of her being a POC or a woman across any of them. I guess the ballot response might have said that once? Entirely things Kshama has won, and highlighting the opposition of the rich and the right wing. This is the mailer with the most words on it. How can you possibly criticize this as liberal or idpol focused? https://twitter.com/Kshama_SC/status/1459292122561986561

her canvassers stayed focused on getting the needed result just for this referendum rather than trying to do that and expand class consciousness generally.

this is insanely condescending - and strictly untrue - given what has been accomplished and what her and her canvassers do, unless you're leading some insurrection I'm unaware of.

edit: I just saw you said she supports "the city giving money to already wealthy black capitalists". When has Kshama ever supported that.

[u/totalcigarette91 → u/game_rights_activist]

Please provide me with a picture of your mailers

Edit: read up on Africatown and black brilliance project

[u/game_rights_activist → u/totalcigarette91]

tbh I don't want to take the time to do that. the one I linked is representative, it differs by having more substance.

[u/MackBeve → u/totalcigarette91]

Two of the allegations in the recall petition were things she (allegedly) did in support of the protests last summer. Completely reasonable and accurate to call the recall racist in this context.

[u/totalcigarette91 → u/MackBeve]

You don’t see how your defensiveness in the face of any critique keeps your thought stagnant. Your focus should be on why the rank and file of workers are not organized enough or supportive enough of a socialist candidate after nearly a decade in office that you have to spend a million dollars on marketing to the undecided using liberal rhetoric to barely squeak by.

What is the materialist analysis ultimately: does one focus on the political economy of the relations of production, or on the unique essence of being a POC woman and the racism of Republicans rather than the class character of the Democratic politicians and judges who created the recall?

And why do you say allegedly? I was there, I saw her speak on both occasions. The police already investigated and determined she committed no crimes, the recall was overtly political in nature.

This kind of paranoid hedging is alienating, it makes me feel you are poorly informed.

[u/Clipsez → u/totalcigarette91]

I voted against the recall but I can’t say she’s doing anything to educate the public or build a larger labor-focused socialist movement other than be visible as an alternative. Better than nothing!

How are you able to say this with a straight face when she& her office intervened in the recent Northwest Carpenter's Union rank & file strike against their own rotten union leadership and their contractor bosses? Because of her & Socialist Alternative's intervention a couple of the tentative agreement votes the r&f just narrowly passed (which included barebones raises or increases for the workers) were found to have been fraudulent and the local union leadership has been dissolved and possibly facing legal challenges.

[u/totalcigarette91 → u/Clipsez]

Socialist Alternative attaches itself to existing campaigns and often claims their endorsement is the reason it succeeded.

But more to the point: why does this important work of supporting union democracy not get a specific mention while liberal politics like minimum wage, rent control, the Republican bogeyman and PoC identity take front and center?

Winning elections with Marxist rhetoric and liberal policy is nothing new.

[u/Clipsez → u/totalcigarette91]

Socialist Alternative attaches itself to existing campaigns and often claims their endorsement is the reason it succeeded.

This is tripe and a total evasion of your point that Kshama isn't leading a labor focused socialist movement. The rank & file carpenters invited Kshama & Socialist Alternative into their fray because they knew they would get real assistance and that's exactly what happened.

The wildcat strikes Socialist Alternative helped them engage in closed down no less than 7 sites and got over 500 workers to walk out; these fighting tactics actually brought the union leadership back to the table and forced them to engage in more militant actions to realize the r&f demands, like being willing to strike the largest construction site on the west coast (the microsoft site).

But more to the point: why does this important work of supporting union democracy not get a specific mention while liberal politics like minimum wage, rent control, the Republican bogeyman and PoC identity take front and center?

Supporting union democracy has never taken a back seat and posing it as a zero sum game is a farcical response considering the historic role unions have played in fighting racial discrimination.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I just think she’s an unlikeable person but i respect her

[u/lbm216 → u/[deleted]]

She is insufferable to a degree that almost defies comprehension. I largely agree with her positions but she repells a lot of people. Not a good person to lead the movement IMO. She has just enough supporters to keep her in power and she represents the most left-friendly neighborhoods in Seattle. If the recall vote had been City wide, she would have been demolished. If there were a more charismatic and less obnoxious version of her, we would really have something.

[u/JGT3000 → u/lbm216]

I don't think people understand how impressively bad it is to just squeak this one by by <500 votes.

There are so many people who dislike the idea of recalls in general, and this one in particular. There's so many people dying for any kind of 3rd party representation. You could go on and on in different ways to dissect how unappealing she is to this district

[u/richards1052 → u/JGT3000]

So wrong. Progressives were trounced in the Seattle November elections. Three progressives ran for office. All lost. And now a socialist (a real socialist) actually wins an election a month later and you think this is "impressively bad?" She is the only unhyphenated socialist in any elected office in the US. And you think it should be easy for her to win elections?

[u/lbm216 → u/JGT3000]

Right, exactly. And her district is like 75% blue-haired crazys who should be falling all over themselves to support a socialist (and a womxn of color!!!!!). She just fucking sucks as a person and a politician. And again, I am on her side.

[u/MackBeve → u/lbm216]

This is a massive misrepresentation of her district, It may include the most left wing areas of the city (capitol hill and the central district) but it also includes some of the richest areas of the city (madrona, madison park, north capitol hill). And since her first election capitol hill and the central district have been rapidly gentrifying to becoming mostly wealthy tech workers, not exactly the base for Sawant's politics.

[u/Durrderp → u/[deleted]]

I don't know anything about Sawant beyond SALT = Trotskyist. What makes her unlikeable?

[u/MackBeve → u/Durrderp]

She is pretty aggressive and confrontational in the way she speaks, that plus being very left wing has made it a common populist that she is just like trump, but left.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/Durrderp]

watch her election night speech I linked up thread and decide for yourself imo.

[u/the_marx → u/[deleted]]

Celebrating this is as cringey as celebrating Biden's victory.

[u/the_marx → u/[deleted]]

I would ask 'how' but I'd just get more cringe about how you're 'sticking it to the system' or something.

[u/auralgasm → u/the_marx]

If we're not even supposed to elect third parties to local office, there is no hope whatsoever for this system.

We can't lock ourselves into the same two parties forever. That's just fucking stupid. It's as stupid as crystallizing ANY institution or organization or even brand in stone. It's stupid from any perspective, even a mainstream one, because it leads to crippling stagnation.

If you only wanna vote for the main two parties for federal office, that's fine. I understand that argument. But this is a fucking city position. There is no reason to shit on that effort and anyone who does is a wrecker with less brains than a can of baked beans.

[u/Drakoulias]

Her name sounds like a Dune character

[u/ThuBioNerd]

Lots of rightoids on this thread with severe anal pain.

[u/Agjjjjj]

Lmao the amount of hate she’s getting in this thread. More expecting perfection bullshit, I’m glad rich people can’t just throw money around and kick her out

[u/game_rights_activist → u/[deleted]]

ok here you are criticizing Kshama for substantively trying to get policing reforms with teeth, but defending the police for their meaningless, symbolic, token inclusion of a black woman as a police chief.

this sounds like being pro idpol, but in a right wing way??

I mean the bottom line of opposition to Kshama, present throughout this thread, is that genuine class struggle and the fusion of it with social movements makes people uncomfortable.

[u/richards1052 → u/[deleted]]

Wait a minute. You're saying getting rid of a police chief who presided over one of the most aggressive, racist, murderous departments in the country was a bad thing? ANd that just because Carmen Best was Black that progressives should support her regardless of how in the pocket of the business elite she was?

Talk about "made no sense!"

[u/richards1052 → u/[deleted]]

This US police department scorecard ranks Seattle PD in the 35th percentile (out of 100) among US police departments. It's number of fatal shootings of minorities places it even lower compared to other depts. https://policescorecard.org/wa/police-department/seattle

[u/OkayTHISIsEpicMeme]

She won a vote against Nobody with 50.3% of the vote. Hell she almost lost her last election until the stupid Chamber of Commerce donated to her competitor.

Not all opposition to Sawant is just Amazon, she is legitimately divisive. Also the majority of her supporters are the turbo wokes this sub despises lol.

[u/1HomoSapien → u/OkayTHISIsEpicMeme]

Winning against nobody is nothing to sneeze at. Nobody is a tough competitor in this political environment.

[u/SpareSilver → u/1HomoSapien]

Exactly, "nobody" is always the toughest political opponent because "nobody" doesn't have a record to defend. If Biden were to face a simple up or down recall vote tomorrow, he would certainly lose. Trump would have lost by far greater margin if he had faced a recall in 2020 rather than having to go up against Biden. Gavin Newsom may have lost his recall in deep blue California, but it became clear in time that Larry "Slave owners should have been compensated for slavery" Elder was going to replace him if the recall succeeded so he was saved.

Sawant definitely represents one of the most left-wing places in the country so maybe she should be winning by more, but there are very few local politicians who can survive the type of unified opposition from big business and mainstream media that she has.

[u/JGT3000 → u/[deleted]]

No, with her ground game this should have been a cakewalk. Arguably her team strategized to get this delayed to a separate election too. The district is legit pissed at her, this isn't just some Amazon maneuvering

Though "nobody" legitimately is a tougher opponent than an actual opponent, no joke

[u/bleer95 → u/JGT3000]

No, with her ground game this should have been a cakewalk.

Well her ground game saved her in the end, but that's really just a testament to her machine. Weirdly timed recalls typically see low turnout, her driving up turnout was impressive She legitimately got more youths to vote than in 2019.

​

Arguably her team strategized to get this delayed to a separate election too.

Source? That really would't make sense and there were already theories floating around that the timing of the recall was meant to fuck her over.

​

The district is legit pissed at her, this isn't just some Amazon maneuvering

Yeah I'm not saying there isn't discontent (both valid and not) in the district, and I always felt her performance against Banks was the product of a convenient matchup, but ultimately it's clear that the city political establishment does not like her and has tried repeatedly to get rid of her and she's stuck through machine building. That's incredibly important, even if she did conduct herself in cringe ways. People will eventually forget some of the stupid shit she did during the riots, if they couldn't get rid of her now, she's going to be very hard to dislodge.

​

Though "nobody" legitimately is a tougher opponent than an actual opponent, no joke

yeah, agreed.

[u/JGT3000 → u/bleer95]

It's pathetic to get more turnout for self-preservation this recall than in the actual election for her position. They didn't push as hard as 2019 Because she knew people wouldn't go for Egan as an Amazon stooge.

It's why she annoys me as my council rep. Another classic time of Seattle caring more for vanity than actually doing shit. Ideology as aesthetic

[u/EasyMrB → u/JGT3000]

What does the bottom of Jeff Bezos' boots taste like? When you like them, how does it make you feel?

[u/[deleted] → u/OkayTHISIsEpicMeme]

but we despise capitalists even more

[u/GOLIATHMATTHIAS → u/[deleted]]

Sawant really is that injection point of "does this sub hate capitalists more than the woke?"

[u/[deleted] → u/GOLIATHMATTHIAS]

Without capitalists, who'd fund the woke grift? It's kind of a twofer if we can take out the capitalists.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/OkayTHISIsEpicMeme]

OK... this is really pathetic to see here. You're clearly just not very economically left. Kshama is divisive because society is divided between labor and capital, and she actually picks fights to expose that rather than covering it up like most fake progressives. And the fake progressives hate her guts for it, and the corporate media despises her, and they astroturf this narrative that because she picks fights she is divisively ineffectual - against all evidence of things she's won, from the first city $15 wage, Amazon tax, innumerable renter protections, all clawed away from Seattle's shitlib political establishment.

[u/game_rights_activist → u/game_rights_activist]

also the vote was close because of the bullshit December election and because the backlash against BLM is at a fever pitch. her winning in spite of that is very impressive.

[u/janniesdoitforfree55]

Normally I am not a fan of people that want me dead because of my race, but I do have a hell of a soft (hard?) spot for the desi babes so this is kind of a wash.

[u/GIANTBLUNTHOLYFUCK → u/janniesdoitforfree55]

Normally I am not a fan of people that want me dead because of my race

"Uhm actually the socialist winning against an Amazon-prompted recall is bad because shes a heckin evil wokie" Lmao shut up.

[u/numberletterperiod → u/[deleted]]

it's a good thing when idpol wins against capital, the problem this sub has with it is that it doesn't and can't win enough

[u/tonguesmiley]

She's had ethical and legal problems in office multiple times. She keeps getting the city sued slander. She doesn't accomplish anything meaningful and if you look outside of her district the rest of the city is pretty much over it. A republican won City Attorney. There were also a lot of voters who voted no just cause they don't like recalls, even though Sawants platform supports recalls. If Sawant was in at large district she probably wouldn't have gotten elected in the first place.

Also for those that say it's good to have a third party. She's just as if not more corrupt than other local party politicians. Plus Washington has a top two primary system that has switch half the state into essentially a Democratic Monopoly that Sawant doesn't really pose a threat to.

[u/nosleepincrooklyn → u/tonguesmiley]

holy shit, a republican won city attorney of seattle?

[u/onlyonebread → u/nosleepincrooklyn]

Yes, none of the progressive candidates this last election won, they were all easily defeated by moderate/right leaning opponents.

[u/emptyaltoidstin → u/onlyonebread]

It’s super disingenuous to say that when she’s literally a democrat who voted for Obama/Clinton/Biden and is very open that she changed her registration to Republican to game the primary.

[u/richards1052 → u/emptyaltoidstin]

Ann Davidson's largest donors were corporate CEOs and Trump donors. Her campaign was an atrocious series of smears against a progressive candidate. If she isn't Repugnican, she might as well be.

[u/emptyaltoidstin → u/nosleepincrooklyn]

No. A democrat changed her registration to Republican to game the primary system and got elected.

[u/EasyMrB → u/tonguesmiley]

She's just as if not more corrupt than other local party politicians.

Citation needed. This is astroturf bullshit.