Waleed Shahid, the former advisor and chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, has spoken out against Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D) for blaming her reelection loss to the anti-Socialism campaign local, state, and national Republicans effectively waged against Democrats during the 2020 presidential election.
Shahid, a devout socialist from Philadelphia, says that it was the “corruption and cronyism” argument national Republicans made against ‘DMP’ in Florida’s 26th congressional district that defeated her reelection campaign.
“Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell said Republican attack ads about "socialism" were responsible for her loss,” stated Shahid. “But the GOP-funded attack ads in her district don't center on socialism as much as accusations of corruption and cronyism.”
Shahid, like his former boss “AOC,” is trying to defend the Socialism agenda that Progressives campaign and lost on, and the NRCC video he cites as being his source is just a small percentage of the ads that targeted voters.
Mucarsel-Powell is right when she says that the Socialism campaign against her worked, and yes, the “corruption and cronyism” that Shahid mentions did play a role in her demise, but the overarching issue that sunk both her and Rep. Donna Shalala was the argument against Democratic Socialism.
Congressman-elect Carlos Gimenez, Congresswoman-elect Maria Elvira Salazar, the NRCC, and outside groups pounded both Shalala and Mucarsel-Powell for their support of political and social issues directly tied to the Democratic Socialist agenda, not to mention the voting record that put them in lock-step with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) and Progressive “Squad” in the House of Representatives.
This was also the case in Texas, as voters shot down all of the Progressive Democrats running for the U.S. Congress —Senate candidate MJ Hegar, congressional candidates Candace Valenzuela, Julie Oliver(pictured), and Mike Siegel.
Across the country, Democratic Socialist had a rough night against Republicans but did make gains during the primary elections against fellow moderate, incumbent congressional Democrats.
This could be a wake-up call for Pelosi Democrats.
The 2020 election is not over yet. The last two remaining Senate seats in Georgia will be decided on January 5, 2021, and Democrats are still pushing the Progressive game plan that fell short on Election Night.
