 So the death of the Bernie 2020 campaign has left a huge void I don't know who the next leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is going to be I mean certainly Bernie Sanders is still around fighting for worker rights and for the people but in Terms of who's gonna be the next leader of the movement who's gonna run for president as a progressive. I Don't know. I genuinely don't know. I think a lot of progressives have been asking themselves this question It's definitely not gonna be Elizabeth Warren She's burnt every single bridge with progressives in 2020 when she threw Bernie Sanders under a bus so she could advance her own Campaign and when she had an opportunity to really make a difference and prove to everyone that she was serious about enacting progressive change She didn't she could have dropped out and endorsed Bernie Sanders when all of the moderate Democrats dropped out and coalesced around Biden But she didn't do that So I don't think anyone trusts her and for good reason. So Besides her who else has name recognition? I mean you have AOC But I for one think that it'd be better off if she had more experience as a legislator You know, you can have the right policy ideas, but that doesn't necessarily translate into effective policy making So I want her to remain in Congress a lot longer So she can actually build up the experience necessary to be more effective if she ever chooses to run for president some day So who's gonna run in 2024 if Biden isn't seeking a second term? Who's gonna run in 2028? I Think there's nobody right except Campaign alum from Bernie 2020 is throwing out a name and they're pushing it pretty hard and that individual is Rokana so this was discussed in an article written by Holly Otterbean in Politico and I'll tell you my thoughts on it But first let's get to the substance here top figures from Bernie Sanders presidential campaign are privately encouraging Rokana to run for president in 2024 if Joe Biden doesn't seek a second term giving the California congressman an Important stamp of approval from progressives as the party looks to its post Biden future Jeff Weaver Sanders former presidential campaign manager and Mark Longabaugh a senior advisor to Sanders during his 2016 bid have both urged Kana to consider a campaign at the event Biden declines to run again according to a person familiar with their discussions I think Roe would be a very effective candidate said Longabaugh who stressed that he was only referring to a scenario in which Biden did not Run again in 2024 quote this guy has a message. That's very powerful Roe is basically saying is there a way in which we can reconstruct the economy? So that all of the wealth is not just being generated on the east coast West Coast or out of my congressional district in an interview Kana made clear that he had no intention of challenging Biden and Expressed strong support for his reelection, but he did not close the door to 2028. I'm not running in 2024 Kana said I fully expect the president to run and intend to support him strongly if for some reason he doesn't that would be very Disappointing but there are a number of other candidates who I think I could get behind who would make sure that the Democrats beat Donald Trump Okay, so it doesn't seem like Roe is open to this perhaps 2028, but 2024 not necessarily so How do I feel about that? That's what you're all wondering, right? And honestly, I I'll just be honest. I'm not optimistic about anyone currently. I feel completely hopeless I don't know that we're going to have the right leader emerge for quite some time on the left I just I really value Roe Kana's opinion. I think that he is a Good person his intentions are pure But the problem is that as we've learned that only goes so far Bernie Sanders is a good person His intentions are pure but in 2020. He just wasn't combative enough He refused to challenge the status quo as vociferously as he did in 2016 And I think that that hurt his campaign he refused to attack Joe Biden directly when it was warranted and necessary And I think that Roe Kana would be largely the same in that regard when it comes to strategy now policy I agree with him. I absolutely admire that he supports Medicare for all. He is largely anti-war I have policy disagreements when it comes to BDS. It hurts me that he doesn't support the BDS movement But I think that when it comes to policy He would be one of if not the most left-leaning president in American history if he were able to get elected But I think that he's so nice That the Democratic Party establishment would absolutely crush him and he's pursuing the same strategy that Elizabeth Warren pursued, right? She really tried to Not take a side when it comes to both warring factions of the Democratic Party, you know, she didn't want to burn bridges with moderates But for the most of it, you know for the most part She tried to maintain a healthy relationship with leptists until the very end when she burned bridges and Moderates still didn't support her. She was still attacked So I think that this strategy has been a proven failure So if Roe Kana were to be serious about being the new leader of the left He has to change strategies I think that his strategy would be catastrophic if he were to ever run for president I just think that you have to be combative, right? I mean with build back better for example, he's been overly deferential to Joe Manchin and he's tried to Put his faith in Joe Manchin. He's he's claimed that we have to respect Joe Manchin when I think that the opposite is actually true I think you have to attack Joe Manchin and call him out So I feel like somebody who's really going to be the next leader of the Democratic Party's progressive wing They've got to be a wrecking ball They've got to be someone who isn't afraid to make enemies someone who is going to Unapologetically stand up for the people even if that means making enemies within the Democratic Party and calling out Democratic Democratic Party leadership again When it comes to his policies, I think that he would do a lot of good with his executive order But when it comes to the process of governing, I mean would he have What it takes to call out members of his own party who obstruct his agenda as they inevitably will do Does he have what it takes to condemn the media when they side with corporate Democrats, you know Because their advertising dollars also happened to contribute to I'll go to you know corporate Democrat campaigns I just don't feel hopeful now having said that though whenever there's another Democratic Party primary I will support the most left-leaning candidate I'll be it enthusiastically so because I just don't have hope that the media is ever going to allow a left-wing candidate Who's actually left-leaning to be successful? I think that 2020 taught us a lesson It taught us that the media is still very very powerful and they control the narrative And if they want to find a way to sink a candidate, they'll do that in 2020 It was electability the Democratic Party's base agreed with Bernie Sanders on Medicare for all But they got voters convinced that Bernie Sanders just wasn't electable so I Just don't have hope and maybe I'm too cynical Maybe Ro Khanna can be the leader who wins all of this is all speculation, right? But I'm sorry our electoral system has beaten me down to where I'm not very optimistic and it's sad because Ro Khanna is someone who I think is Genuinely a nice person. He's reached out multiple times to come on the show When I criticized him who does that who actually wants to listen to criticism most people recoil So he genuinely wants to do good. I think his intentions are pure but I think that the Democratic Party establishment would exploit his niceness and Crush him and also subsequently crush the left as a consequence and that's why I just feel so Cynical and I'm being honest. I hope that my cynicism doesn't rub off on people But even if there was a candidate who I was excited about I just don't think that I would allow myself to get as excited and feel as optimistic as I did in 2020 because we saw the reaction to Bernie Sanders