What to make of these recent political developments? Seattle has clearly shifted back to the progressive camp. The centrists are sinking, one after the other. Mayor Bruce Harrell is the latest to go under. It is mathematically impossible for him to catch up, and he is expected to concede today.
The remaining members of a center that swelled in the 2023 election (Rob Saka, Robert Kettle, Joy Hollingsworth, Maritza Rivera) are likely to reassess the “public safety” mania that got them elected and essentially came down to reducing a structurally induced housing crisis and stagnant wages to those who fell through the paper-thin bottom floor of an otherwise very rich city. The centrist Dan Strauss? Never really existed. He was just a dream. Expect him to wake up one of these fine mornings as the progressive he, to save his political career, put to sleep in 2023.
And so, the heyday of centrism is receding, and what we are heading to is a politics that sees homeless people and substance abuse as a minor problem when compared to the thugs authorized by the president to kidnap people from the streets and rip them from their families.
BREAKING: Masked ICE agents tried to take custody of an 11 year old girl as her mother screamed, “She’s a minor, don’t touch her!”
Bystanders shouted that the little girl is an American citizen, but the agents didn’t care, they saw brown skin and assumed immigrant.
💔 www.threads.com/@swagrman/po…
— Lugala (@lugala.bsky.social) November 13, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Because the homeless do not abduct people and traumatize children, it’s much harder to portray them as the ultimate urban villains. They have rightly been eclipsed by ICE; the city can see clearer now. We are at war with the superrich, and this is why Wilson is our next mayor. In this new and more sober context, the importance of urban fellow-felling and affordability carries the day.
This local development was not isolated. From the elections that occurred across the nation (New York City, New Jersey, California, Virginia, and even Mississippi) on November 4, the geist of an unapologetic or combative left emerged and marched straight to the frontlines of the class war between billionaires and the rest. This is the era of Zohran Mamdani.
Then came November 10. That day witnessed a political disaster of the first order. Moderate Dems did a thing completely at odds with the feelings of most voters, or even in defiance of this new spirit. After forcing Donald Trump to shut down the government unless a popular program (tax credits for the Affordable Care Act) that cut healthcare costs for millions of Americans was extended, moderate Dems showed their true colors by caving to Trump and giving him exactly what he wanted with practically nothing in return. And it was at this moment, after 40 days and 40 nights, that the flaw in the structure that maintained the middle in American politics became as shamefully exposed as Noah after he had too much to drink.
Drunkenness of Noah https://www.wikiart.org/en/giovanni-bellini/drunkenness-of-noah
— Giovanni Bellini (@giovannibellini.bsky.social) September 5, 2024 at 8:54 AM
The moderates no longer generated compromises but concessions to what was left of the right, the far right. But where had the counterpart to the moderate left, the moderate right, gone? An answer can only be supplied if we take a brief walk through the short 20th century.
The center in American politics didn’t exist in any meaningful way until after the rise of social democracy (also called New Deal policies) in the US. This happened in the 1930s, the Red Decade. Following the Second World War, capitalists, shaken by two devastating wars and a massive market crash in 1929, were forced to compromise with labor. This commitment was codified in 1950 by the Treaty of Detroit and a form of state-managed capitalism that increased homeownership, guaranteed full employment and living wages, provided a social safety net, and built roads to the suburbs. Here, in this conjecture, a center emerged and found a home. And class struggle became, at least for white labor (black labor remained militant), a thing of the past.
The reason for the center’s success and longevity (30 years) is that it was composed, in equal measure, of people on the right and the left. This successful union stabilized American politics until the 1970s, when capitalists, borrowing ideas cooked up at the University of Chicago, revolted and demanded, for the resuscitation of the kind of profits no one had seen since The Gilded Age, labor’s submission and the freezing of wages.
By the 1980s, labor collapsed, the right returned to political power, and it imposed massive tax cuts and deep cuts on social democratic programs. This is when their journey away from the center began. And the more they moved to the right, the more and more moderate Democrats were isolated in the center.This growing imbalance ultimately led to the end of compromise and the rise of concession. And this is why we found, even during Biden’s term, the wealth of top capitalists increased like never before.
True, Biden attempted to counter this disparity with Keynesian programs (“Build America Better”) that kept unemployment low, but this proved to be inadequate to save the centrists, who were now despised because the main posture of the center was capitulation.
Enter the Elvis of continental philosophy, Slavoj Žižek. In an article recently posted on Project Syndicate, he made this important assertion: “Mamdani won because he did for the left what Trump did for the right. He clearly articulated his radical position without worrying about losing the center.”
This needs a little consideration. Right after Mamdani won, Trump realized that his rejection of the center was now directly challenged by a politician on the left who also rejected the center, but for completely different reasons. Nothing in Mamdani politics comes close to resembling those of Trump. It’s just that both have left the center. This structural similarity has made Trump vulnerable because it exposes the limits of his form of rejection, which was entirely negative and plainly unproductive .
Now, if there is someone on the left who offers the same rejection but in positive terms and offers a real possibility of economic gains for wage earners, the game has completely changed.
Do not be surprised to see many on the Trump side pop up, with quantum suddenness, on the Mamdani side. Why? Because at the end of the day, you can’t eat the Gulf of America.
No we aren’t because one side cannot win the presidency without moderates or centrists. Centrists aren’t as vocal, and stupid, as their counterparts at the extremes.
@1 I think what Charles is positing is that appeals to the center no longer work – the left is better off embracing the far left ideology / ideas / whatnot (just like we’ve seen with orange piece of shit / Magats on the right). The strategy is the center will come towards these polar opposites – the risk is if you over play your hand (NTK gave us Davidson, someone who typically wouldn’t sniff electoral success).
We’re about to find out if this works – I hope it does (but I fear we will simply seesaw back to the center – like what we see with places like NY)
@1 Centrists will continue to exist but all the action is at the extremes now. I don’t see politicians pandering to the middle anymore because nuanced policy talk and compromise dont cut through the noise of our fractured media and misinformation landscape. And voters are done with the bs of carefully workshopped and packaged campaign talking points when we’re experiencing this rapid a pace of change — whole federal departments shuttered, masked agents rolling down the street, and consumer purchasing power cratered. The era of boring and predictable politics is over.
the
Go-Along-
to-Get-Along
‘middle”ll either
sink with the MAGAs
or thrive with Progressives
the Choice becomes more Clear
with every ICE Beating & wages-
sucking strip-mining Profiteers
take to el Banco de América,
LLC, lol, beetches
@3
oh. ya
Beat me.
@4 they are not going to thrive with the progressives. Progressives don’t create anything. They just take, take, take and tell you how awful you are for complaining about them taking. Progressives give you equality but the equality is that everyone has an equally shitty life. It should be a great experiment watching this bear out in two of the best cities in the country over the next four years.
@6 yeah right
d37r
& FDR
was a fuck-
ing FAILURE &
so “horrible” that
HE WAS REELECTED
THREE FUCKING TIMES
we ‘get it’
~ you HATE
Progressives.
no Need
to thank ’em
for a 5 day workweek
nor for worker Protections
etc etc etc
you won’t be-
cause you Cannot
get it. we got it. ‘centrist.’
FDR would be viewed as a corporate conservative sell out if he were alive today. FDR never said capitalism was awful or pretended the US was some great evil that should be abolished. He embraced capitalism and sought to establish guardrails to regulate it properly. Progressives today advocate for a complete abolition of our economic structure and government controlling, not regulating, the markets. They say they are “progressives” but there is nothing progressive about the policies they propose.
@8, now that the term “woke” has finally jumped the shark, cranks of the world have seized on “progressive” to be the new boogeyman. This term is conveniently without definition or official platform, I know no candidate who actively advocates “for a complete abolition of our economic structure,” whatever that is. If you don’t like the policies, debate them on their merits, not some ginned up scare word. You’ll notice that the Seattle centrists were completely ineffective at tackling the issues that matter to voters, they weren’t even successful rolling back protections afforded to poor people (tenant law, minimum wage) when they had the chance. Reflect on why centrism has been such a failure, dig deep down to find some pragmatism, and run for office yourself in two years. I’m open to some fresh takes, but I’m doubtful the centrists have any.
@9 you do realize the irony of complaining about labels when Harrell was smeared with being MAGA in these very pages? I will be here debating Wilson’s policies over the next 4 years just as I hope you are here to account for the harm they are inevitably going to cause. I look forward to a lively discussion.
@4: Just pair the safety net agenda from progressives with the common sense agenda from conservatives for a popular blend.
@12, sure, bring some material points next time.
I associate centrism with pragmatism and extremism with idealism. Pragmatism has never been popular and has become even less so due to social media’s preference for drama and outrage.
@8
“Progressives today advocate
for a complete abolition of
our economic structure. . .”
not on These Pages.
you’re making shit
Up again d13R
it must come with
the Ideology?
better put a fucking Bridle
on your beloved Capitalists
before they Destroy it & Us
Sanity Envelopes Nation
Corporate Centrists &
Neolibs and Cons
are PISSED:
Progressives Win in Seattle, Changing Directions on Public Safety
Voters ousted a mayor who oversaw
a surge in encampment sweeps, and a
Republican prosecutor who pursued punitive
policies toward homeless people and drug users.
–by Guy Oron; November 13, 2025
https://boltsmag.org/progressives-win-in-seattle-wilson-evans-public-safety/
Centrism will never die as long as people exist who believe in nothing except that they are smarter than everyone else.
@16: FTW!
Squeaking out the narrowest of progressive wins in a mayoral election in Seattle (one of the most progressive cities in America) is hardly a firm foundation from which to declare “the death of centrism in American politics.” 😂
@18
you
musta
Missed
all the Others
Nationwide, thumpfnsorna
but then again
they won’t quite
Fit your Narrative
so there’s
That.
@13 You hit the nail on the head. Centrists don’t traffic in rage.
“I associate centrism with pragmatism and extremism with idealism. Pragmatism has never been popular and has become even less so due to social media’s preference for drama and outrage.“
@18 Exactly. This wasn’t a landslide. Harrell was just weak sauce.
Mamdani won 9% over Cuomo because Cuomo was truly an awful candidate. Harrell did not lose by that number and would have won had he been a better candidate and spoke not like a politician. Voters, including me, are tired of what sounds like reading off of a teleprompter.
@18: It’s even less impressive when we consider the last time Seattle re-elected a mayor was in 2005 — twenty years ago! (And Mayor Nickels went on to LOSE THE PRIMARY in his next re-election bid.) Since Nickels’ failed third try, Seattle has had SIX one-term wonders — and Nickels took over from Schell, who had also served just one term. (The last two-term Mayor who wasn’t subsequently defeated was Norm Rice, first elected in the eighties.)
Rather than word-salad pronouncements about the supposed death of centrism, I’d rather learn why a place like Seattle can’t find anyone better for mayor than a college dropout who never held a real job.
@19: Progressivism is an ideology for middle-class urban whites. It loses with everyone else, including rich people, poor people, people of color, and rural people. 😂
That’s why progressive candidates can win district elections but not statewide elections. They can win mayoral races, congressional races, and state legislative district races, but they can’t win gubernatorial races, senatorial races, or electoral college races. Other than Senator Sanders of Vermont, I can’t think of a single progressive currently in office who has won a statewide election. And Vermont’s governor is a Republican! 😂
Progressivism will never attract more than 20% of voters nationwide, everyone else is either a centrist or a conservative! 😝 Now quit throwing elections to the Republicans, you pinkos! 🤣
@23
when you need a Schmear
from someone with a
Dynomite Sneer
one can
ALWAYS
turn to the
Wormtongue
just popping In
from the Far, East Coast to
Level one at Seattle’s Newest Mayor:
“a college dropout
who never held
a real job.”
like
Bill
Gates
Oprah
Paul Allen
Steve Jobs
Henry Ford
Walt Disney
Quincy Jones
Steven Spielberg?
c’Mon
wormmy!
you’re just
Phoneying it
In, for fuck’s sakes.
Infucking
STEAD of Bringing
Kate Wilson DOWN
why tf Not
raise her
Up?
@24
@thumpfnsornas
see:
NYC &
Zohran
Mundani
oh and
FD fucking R.
@26: Mamdani…from a mayoral election? FDR…from 80 years ago? Your examples only support my argument @24 😂😂😂
and
I’m Certain
it was a Good one!
@24: “Other than Senator Sanders of Vermont, I can’t think of a single progressive currently in office who has won a statewide election. And Vermont’s governor is a Republican!”
And those two facts are tightly connected. Sen. Sanders continues in office at the tolerance of the local Democrats. Vermont’s old-school Republican governor remains popular, and wants to become a senator. If the Democrats run someone against Sanders, they risk a three-way race which the Republican wins with a plurality. So the Democrats do not run a candidate against Sanders.
(The All Gaza All the Time crowd also castigated Sanders for not yelling “genocide” with them when they so demanded it of him, so he couldn’t count on their support either, even if they still mattered.)
@29 ~ oh
Wormtongue
the only one who did any ‘castigating’
of Bernie Sanders for not yelling “genocide” with us
was
YOU
with at Least
a Dozen comments
here at derr Schlogg and
I don’t seem to Recall ANYONE
rising to take your phoney Baloney “bait.”
Bugger off
either in British
or howsoever Gets
you Off.
@24: Expanding on what I wrote @29, the All Gaza All the Time crowd really let Sanders have it, for his not immediately snapping into line upon their express command:
‘MAGA wingnut Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling the Gaza holocaust a genocide while progressive hero Bernie Sanders continues to adamantly refuse to do so, despite the solidified consensus among human rights groups and genocide experts that that’s what this is.
‘This is humiliating for everything that passes for the “left” in mainstream US politics. Imagine being such a dogshit human being that you’d let Marjorie Taylor Greene be a better person than you.’
(https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/marjorie-taylor-greene-called-it?utm_source=publication-search)
It’s also worth noting that “dogsh–,” sorry, “progressive,” Sanders peddles pork — including military pork — with the zeal of an old-time pol. Vermont is a small, remote state, on the border with our closest ally, with no natural, industrial, or military resources to protect, and a population smaller than that of Seattle. Why did the Vermont Air National Guard have the FIRST squadron of F-35s in the country? Because Sen. Sanders wants to keep his job, that’s why:
‘“You also support the F-35, which many of your supporters find a little incongruous,” our colleague Jane Lindholm said in an interview with Sanders in 2013.
‘“That’s true,” Sanders replied. “But I would on that one … my own guess is that probably more people support the F-35 than are opposed to it. But you’re right, there are many people who are opposed to it. But sometimes you have to vote what you think is the right thing to do, even if not everybody supports you.”
‘Sen. Leahy, in 2018: “Senator Sanders, Congressman Welch and I have supported the F-35 coming to the Vermont National Guard because there will be no mission for the Vermont Air National Guard if it’s not the F-35.”’
(https://www.vermontpublic.org/podcast/brave-little-state/2021-07-22/why-is-the-f-35-based-in-vermont)
Having lived in Vermont, I can state with confidence that most of the people outside of Vermont who praise him know nothing about what he does, and only some of what he says. Again, from Vermont Public Radio:
‘“My sense was that Sanders certainly didn’t stand in the way of this,” Bender goes on. “But I think optics for him were a little bit different because Bernie Sanders rails against the defense budget. But certainly, he didn’t stop it.’
@31: In Sanders’s defense, though, the F-35 is awesome! 💥💥💥
@32: It’s a very versatile aircraft, and when Tsar Vlad decided to forcibly re-incorporate Ukraine into his modern Russian Empire, for a while it felt good to have them zooming around over our heads. The VT-ANG F-35 squadron is so loud, the city of South Burlington (where the Burlington airport is actually located) bought the houses across from the airport and tore them down, creating an impromptu green space there.
Worth noting, the All Gaza All the Time member in good standing quoted above is so far gone on the subject of the US and Israel, she blames western governments for Tsar Vlad’s unilateral imperial invasion of Ukraine: “…the Russian invasion of Ukraine was indisputably provoked by western aggressions.” (https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/some-thoughts-on-ukraine?utm_source=publication-search) No word on whether these ‘western aggressors’ told Tsar Vlad the Ukraine was ‘pro-Nazi,’ as he’d claimed at the start.
@24, 29, 31-33:
another
Excellent
Discussion,
above; I’m al-
most sorry I was-
n’t able to find the Time
to read the dang thing tho if I
know thumpfnsorna, or wormthumpfer,
it’ll be one for the Ages which they [he]’ll be
able to Point To when making yet another pointless
word salad . . . signifying . . .
hmmm.
here, let’s let The Master give it a Go
where Were we
oh, right
signifying . . . “a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told
by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
“an
idiot,
full of
sound
and fury.
Signifying
nothing.” — that’d
be a bingo. Thanks, Willie!