The Centrists Screwed Us Again
Accountability isn’t purity, it’s survival.
Every time a progressive demands accountability, someone yells, “Blah blah purity testing.” It’s become the laziest shield in Democratic politics, a way to protect Corporate Democrats who keep trading away the needs of the people for promises that never come. But haven’t parties always had standards for who gets to represent them?
Once, long ago, the Democratic Party purged segregationists and Dixiecrats, because the party became the party that stood for civil rights and couldn’t function if its own members were actively advancing white supremacy. That wasn’t “purity politics.”
Demanding that Democratic officials not collaborate with a Republican Party sliding toward authoritarianism and ripping millions from healthcare is not a “purity test.” It should be the minimum standard of political self-defense. Funny. It’s always the Centrists that cave, surrender leverage, and enable bad-faith actors. We want a functioning Democratic Party, but they don’t act as coalition partners. They’re liabilities. Holding them accountable should be like regular maintenance every election cycle.
The Ingrateful Eight.
Not a one from Texas, so there’s nothing we can really do there. On top of that, two of them are set to retire, and the other six aren’t up until 2028 or 2030. Maybe they were hoping everyone would forget about it by then. And perhaps we will.
Not Fetterman, though. I’m sure even Pennsylvania Democrats were done with Fetterman before this happened. But I’ll tell you this, it’s because of John Fetterman that I won’t trust Pennsylvania Democrats again in the near future. I saw some of that primary before Fetterman’s stroke, and I thought his primary challenger, Malcolm Kenyatta, was the better candidate. Kenyatta is now the Vice Chair of the DNC.
Yep, and that means PA Governor Josh Shapiro won’t be a presidential pick for me either. Not only did he handle the pro-Palestine protests at universities poorly, but he’s also a big pro-vouchers guy. Knowing how hard Texans fought against vouchers, I couldn’t imagine supporting a candidate who is pro-voucher.
Then, you had this Senator from New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen. She went on TV this morning and said she’s hopeful Republicans will work with Democrats on healthcare after the government reopens, because Republican Majority Leader Thune told her so.
Republicans haven’t ONCE acted in good faith since Obama was first elected nearly 20 years ago. Are you kidding me? How could anyone believe Republicans would act in good faith?
The population of New Hampshire is 1.7 million, which is less than the number of people in Texas who will lose their healthcare because of these eight Democratic Senators.
The statement James Talarico put out last night regarding the eight Senate Democratic capitulators:
No word from Colin Allred’s camp.
Every time Democrats get kneecapped, it’s the Centrists doing the kneecapping.
We’ve seen this pattern over and over again, not just in the Senate, but in Congress, and right here in Texas.
When Rep. Al Green filed his impeachment resolution, who dragged their feet?
The Centrists. They said it was “the wrong time.” They said “let the process play out.” Meanwhile, the Right was consolidating power and rewriting reality in real time.
When Texas Democrats were fighting like hell to stop vouchers and Big Oil tax carveouts, who broke ranks to give Republicans leverage they did not earn?
The Centrists. The same faction that always says they’re being “responsible” while they rubber-stamp corporate giveaways and call it bipartisanship.
When our legislators took the most courageous stand this state has seen in decades, breaking quorum this year to stop the maps, who refused to get on the plane and stand with the caucus? The Centrists.
It is never the progressives siding with Greg Abbott.
It is never the labor-backed Democrats siding with Ted Cruz.
It is always the Centrists who wander into the arms of Republicans and say, “Well, maybe they’ll be reasonable this time.”
They concede. They give the GOP exactly what it wants at the direct expense of marginalized communities, women trying to access healthcare, teachers fighting for classroom funding, trans kids simply trying to live, and working families who don’t get a second chance when “December” promises fall apart.
And just like the eight we watched last night, our Centrists here in Texas are counting on one thing. That we’ll forget.
Because candidate filing opened yesterday.
This is not personal. This is pattern recognition.
If we don’t primary them now, we are signing up to watch the exact same script replay two years from now. And four years from now. And eight. Until there’s nothing left to defend.
Regular maintenance. Just like we said.
We’re actually lucky here in Texas.
In large part, because the Texas Democrats generally are ideologically progressive, there are very few “Centrists” left. In Congress, I would call them probably “Corporate” or “Establishment” because I wonder if they used to be more ideologically aligned with the people, but were just corrupted by DC money over time.
Then, in the Legislature, the truth is that most of the capitulators hold seats along the border, and I think for some reason they have been convinced that if they don’t act like Republicans, they’ll lose their seats. Meanwhile, their voter base in those regions has shrunk each election cycle.
For some reason, the Secretary of State isn’t yet publishing the names of those who have filed. However, both the Texas Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Texas are.
Regardless, I’ll tell you which Democrats in safe blue seats have repeatedly betrayed us with their votes. When they get primary challengers, I’ll be super-happy to bring all the receipts for each one in a feature piece with a long list of grievances, for those in the dark.
In Congress:
Lizzie Fletcher (TX07)
Henry Cuellar (TX28)
Marc Veasey (TX33)
Vincente Gonzalez (TX34)
There is still a lot of uncertainty about these maps and whether some of these candidates will even file for these seats, other seats, or any seats at all. Also to run in the Democratic primary (so far):
TX33: Zeeshan Hafeez
TX34: Etienne Rosas
In the Texas Senate:
Let me be absolutely clear about this. There are other Senate Democrats, who I think should be primaried for constantly bending to Republicans, but they aren’t up for election this cycle.
Judith Zaffirini (SD21)
In the Texas House:
Oscar Longoria (HD35)
Sergio Munoz (HD36)
Armando Martinez (HD39)
Terry Canales (HD40)
Richard Raymond (HD42)
Eddie Morales (HD74)
Mary Gonzalez (HD75)
Joe Moody (HD78)
Claudia Ordaz (HD79)
Philip Cortez (HD117)
Running in the primary so far:
HD78: Alexander Pacheco-Luquis
HD117: Robert Mihara
Again, filing just started, so we’ll keep a close eye on it and I’ll update y’all again soon. I’m expecting other primaries to emerge in the coming weeks. I was sure we would have someone for Fletcher, but that’s uncertain now.
Etienne Rosas, running against Vincente Gonzalez, is a solid candidate, and if you haven’t checked him out yet. You definitely need to. I won’t be endorsing any Legislative or Congressional candidates until after filing closes, but this is one candidate to watch.
Accountability is not “purity politics.”
It’s not about insisting on perfect politicians or demanding ideological sainthood. It’s about recognizing patterns of harm and refusing to reward the people who keep causing it.
Every time Democrats lose leverage, every time essential protections get bargained away, every time Republicans walk out of a negotiation with more power than they came in with, it’s the Centrists who opened the door and handed it to them. Not progressives. Not organizers. Not labor. Not the people in the streets. It’s the Democrats who think bipartisanship is a personality trait and not a power exchange.
We don’t need to shame them. We don’t need to scream about them. We just need to replace them.
If we want a party that actually expands healthcare, defends public schools, protects working families, strengthens democracy, safeguards bodily autonomy, and stops giving fascists the benefit of the doubt, then we need to elect Democrats who believe in those things without flinching.
Progressives are the baseline. The coalition works when we lead.
Candidate filing is open. Primaries are coming.
No more excuses. No more “maybe next session.” No more trusting the people who have shown us who they are. Elect people who fight. Elect people who don’t fold. Elect people who remember who they serve.
Regular maintenance. Just like we said.
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
LoneStarLeft is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Follow me on Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.
FYI: I learned today that HD121 Jonathon Taylor is not running. He is a professor at UTSA and told Michelle LoweSolis that he isn’t running. We need another candidate. Can anyone here help?
On another note: how do we convince voters that not all Democrats are alike? Too many people are feeling so betrayed that I feel this will screw us next year. 🤬
These bad apples might hurt us and it’s deflating.
🙏🏼 that the House holds! So this doesn’t pass. Does this take us back into a shutdown? I’m still learning.
Corporate donors = corporate democrats. We can’t let corporate Dems kill our party!
Remember the Tea party that high jacked repubs and turned the party Nazi? We progressives need to take back our party, continue the momentum from NoKings and last weeks elections and show that WE are the true populists. WE need to follow that polestar of the common good and common decency, and steal those voters back.
I ask the same question Eva asks above: how do we convince voters that not all democrats are weak?
How do we pull a tea party on those corporate shills?
Stay and fight.