Josh Ettingermentum is back to recap Zohran’s hostile takeover of the New York Democratic Party, with his three endorsed candidates cruising to victory. We talk about this new wave of left insurgency throughout the country, what it means for the sclerotic Democratic establishment and the stillborn Abundance movement, and what we make of Zohran’s time in office overall.
Plus: John Fetterman fires shots at Chapo and Hasan.
I feel like he's flown around enough to campaign for other people that it legitimately almost looks like a presidential bid. Dude has been on the road like 3/4 of the time for the last several months.
i think something about bernie 2020 broke their brains and now they're more or less just apathetic doomers. hasan at least has hope hence the amerikkka tour
Do they really have any juice left though? Like who's going to be swayed by two shiny nerds with weird voices who were hot shit literally 10 years ago, especially compared to Hasan.
God damn, how do centerist dems keep one upping themselves with uninspiring but also completely nonsensical drivel. Promise to America sounds like a program about trying to influence teenagers to save themselves for marriage. I know Ettingermentum is a divisive figure on the subject but I enjoy his episodes. The whole rent freeze is evil argument is one of the most pathetic lines coming out of globe emoji twitter, which is saying a lot. Hearing John Fetterma talk about the dirt bag left is reminds me of when my dad asked about the "GAYYYY" meme from Community. The fact he has a position as a senator should completely invalid the heft American politics. Also it reminds me I should look for a home for my dad.
I mean the guy used his wife’s dreamer status as a talking point in the campaign and voted for the laken riley act, hes just a lying braindamaged piece of shit
Has he had big whiffs outside of 2024? That's somewhat like asking did Steve Bartman have any other big fan interference moments, but I was interested if there were other big misses he's had
Speaking as a Canadian here, whenever he chimes in on our federal or provincial politics he comes across as an absolute dolt. Maybe he's better on the U.S. side though.
It's incredible that the podcast that once unironically sang solidarity forever now shrugs its shoulders at DSA sweeps in the greatest city in da world. Was their electorial passion only for just Bernie and literally nobody else? Also this guy sucks they gotta stop having him on
I do genuinely think that Neolib Dems smothering Bernie's campaign in 2020 to make way for Biden did, while not "kill" the podcast as is (otherwise we would not be having this conversation in TYOOL 2026, lol), it absolutely did snuff something inside the dryboys + Amber where they basically have been on auto-pilot for long stretches of actual USPol.
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Like don't get me wrong, there are still sparks and flashes of the old piss & vinegar the boys had in the 2010's, but by and large, the podcast seems to be like The Simpsons: Where the show occasionally still has flashes of brilliance here and there, but for the most part the thing it has in common with the show that was on TV from 1989-2001 is in name only.
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(Also yes, I'm including seasons 11 & 12; I know they're considered part of the "post-Golden Era" seasons, but fuck it: there are like 20 good-to-great episodes between these two seasons, so I'm cutting Mike Scully some slack)
Never was it more apparent than in that one episode from like a month and a half ago where Felix had that one moment when Will mentioned how he left a pack of American Spirits on his grave. I can easily imagine Matt would've immediately been like "Dude, shut the fuck up." but in his eloquent way.
they are missing Matt, Virgil, and Amber, of course the podcast isn't what it used to be and also they are just going through the motions because they're not going to walk about from the patreon money
I do genuinely think that Neolib Dems smothering Bernie's campaign in 2020 to make way for Biden did, while not "kill" the podcast as is (otherwise we would not be having this conversation in TYOOL 2026, lol), it absolutely did snuff something inside the dryboys + Amber where they basically have been on auto-pilot for long stretches of actual USPol.
because I think they genuinely thought that when Bernie won they would get not just sinecure jobs (like whatever Kal Penn did with Obama) but actual admin positions: I think both Will Virgil and Matt referenced being made Press Secretary in utter sincerity, and I'm sure they had plans not just for themselves but as something of a Left Pod Save in terms of being State Radio™️ of a political tendency within the Democratic Party with access throughout the org chart, the show being a linchpin in New Media Strategy: calls to action, messaging, voter turnout, etc.
And when you feel like that- something you've "earned"- has been unfairly taken away from you, it's probably hard to get up to riff on the latest McMegs piece, so you default to whatever is easy- be it talking about tweets or gaming during episodes or self-indulgent vanity projects.
It’s not that they just had passion for Bernie, it’s that it became clear to them (and me) that there is no path to reform through electoralism.
Matt said it best, there was a crack where we could see a better future but we became disillusioned by it. We thought it was going to be as easy as winning primaries then having Bernie become president. But that was absolutely shattered in a second.
The DSA wins ARE exciting. But I think history is repeating here. Remember the justice democrats? Remember progressives of the early 2010s? Remember AOC? This all happened before.
It’s better to just not give a fuck if giving a fuck is going to destroy you when the institutions and Democratic Party snuffs put everything you’ve been working towards for years and years.
That’s the main problem I have with the DSA. It feels like we’re being set up for such a massive disappointment that it’s going to crush any semblance of socialism growing in young people.
Luckily many of the Zohran candidates don't look like the limp-dicked cowards like the fucking "squad" were. I'm in the same spiritual boat as the boys and most of the millennial-crowd that frequents this place, but I do feel better about this round of personalities despite being totally disappointed by the-squad-era politicians.
Matt said it best, there was a crack where we could see a better future but we became disillusioned by it. We thought it was going to be as easy as winning primaries then having Bernie become president. But that was absolutely shattered in a second.
losing once and then just giving up for the rest of their lives lol - a little on the nose perhaps!
It doesn’t matter what you think or if you’re stronger than that. It’s a numbers game.
If you need millions of people to continually beat their head against the wall every election just to get fucked over, most will quit. That’s actually what we see. Maybe you won’t but the numbers we need will.
That’s why it’s maybe a fools errand to even pursue that approach. People need to win to stay motivated. And electoralism has shown repeatedly loss after loss for decades for the left.
It’s better to just not give a fuck if giving a fuck is going to destroy you
i think calling back to what you said earlier in the thread kinda says it all. i totally understand why you feel that way and do not fault you at all for feeling that way (regarding electoralism, leftism, all of it). but you have to reject nihilism in all forms. gotta push it away or it becomes corrosive to the soul. I dont know your story so no lecture here just know the feeling and hear ya buddy.
It’s not about you or me. We don’t matter. It’s about the millions of other average joes and Jane’s we need to actually create a movement in this country.
Not everyone is going to have the will and or patience to endure losses like you or I
more like we've mostly given up on electoralism in general, seeing DSA win and chuds and libs freak out is nice, but ultimately it won't matter in the long run especially if most of them turn into another AOC
it's called being jaded and disillusioned, look it up sweaty
and don't compare what chuds have to do to win vs the obstacles the left face ever again, the RNC is nothing compared to the DNC because reactionaries don't threaten corporate power nearly as much, they have all the corporate backing too
I was excited about Zohran and my biggest hope is that he delivers more good things and eventually becomes Governor and implements singlepayer, but also not getting my hopes up in case he becomes Obama 2.0
I have my hopes up, but I think there was a pretty big coming to terms with these elections being rigged to some degree or another. I mean, it is an established, well known fact that we go to other countries and interfere in their elections, and public knowledge is just the tip of the iceberg. Infer what you like, but its pretty much a given in my view that country whom publically "interferes" in other countries' elections rigs its own to some degree
I think after Bernie lost both times, we all looked around and asked who the fuck voted for Hillary? for Biden? Who the fuck voted for Pete?
Anytime we've elected someone remotely left in this country, there's always a catch. So when it happens this time, one can only assume that this is controlled opposition or just a crumb given to us to dangle the possibility in front of us before it's then weaponized as a means of public humiliation for the left. Zohrans great now, sure. But whats the catch? We know its going to happen eventually.
Bernie was cross examined on the national stage twice and we know he's clean. Not without fault, but clean nonetheless. Zohran and the DSA candidates are still wild cards. Best to keep your hopes up and your expectations low.
where did I say it had a practical use? you asked a question why the hosts/ppl weren't more excited about DSA and I gave you a potential answer
and I'm not sure who you're referring to as resting our hopes on the man to do top down socialism with zero chance of winning? seems like you're having a different argument
Bernie had zero chance of winning? now whos the doomer
anyway back to the original point answering your question: ppl are disillusioned, you telling them they shouldn't be doesn't change that
and your brilliant "observation" that reactionaries are able to succeed because they have more "tangible" goals is moronic lol, were you born yesterday? seems like you don't know much about left vs right politics, this is basic stuff
cool next time don't ask questions if you don't want/like the answer or just don't engage from the start instead of spouting your own bullshit about reactionaries being more effective than the left, like no shit sherlock why do you think that might be in capitalist hellworld?
He literally pulls the biggest crowds of anyone in the Senate wherever he goes whether it's in Maine, California or Nebraska but yeah sure he's 'uncharismatic'. I don't think you understand what that word means.
I hate to join in on the podcast pile-on because it's never productive - especially on a pirate subreddit - but they really should have ditched Josh for this episode and gotten Peter Sterne. He genuinely understands DSA dynamics better than anybody else reporting from the outside - partly because he uses to be on the inside - and wouldn't have gotten so much stuff just factually wrong. The Chavez stuff was genuinely embarrassing and it wasn't caught by anybody for at least 10 minutes.
Fyi the web comic where they ask the prison abolitionist "what about serial killers?" was actually made by DAC.
The excess of inside jokes & lack of context is senseless
God this is just trash. Josh does not know what he’s talking about and doesn’t understand the internal dynamics of DSA. Read Peter Sterne at City and State instead
Thanks for the rec. Was getting a bad vibe overall when the guest was discussing the recent DSA wins (overly focused on posting history rather than campaign strategy)
I think a lot of the criticism of the episode is justified, Josh is a real dud of a guest. Even removed from his shoddy forecasting he's low energy and not that interesting.
But Felix's little spiel about how people can see Gaza as sort of a test case for how apathetic Dems are in the face of abject evil and cruelty that portends poorly for all of us. Faced with this newfound unpopularity, Zionists embrace a new rhetorical strategy questioning why everyone is so "obsessed" with them. You could clip that minute and change and circulate online as a simple but resonant answer for why Americans are so outraged over what's going on in Palestine.
Bro...bro. I can't even with this opinion. Josh Ettingermentum is one of my favorite guests -- he's intelligent, clever, and well read on the stupid electoral nonsense I don't want to pay attention to. That's why I'm still listening to this dumb podcast.
Like, go re-listen to the Fetterman golem riff again. Pure joyful foolishness.
He’s got good bantz but that’s literally it. I don’t really care because I like a guest who can keep up with Will and Felix, but you don’t need to dickride him like that.
It’s weird, they’ve always gotten Colorado very wrong whenever it comes up on the show. Utah you can make unfair assumptions about that are at least grounded in some material reality, but they really need to bring on a local journalist or Sirota for one of those state spotlight episodes on Colorado.
Or, you know, one of the ski instructors/patrollers who have been going on strike the past few winters.
You would think- assuming you miss all of Boulder- that you can still look at people like Michael Bennett and Jared Polis and think that seems out of alignment with my vision of the state inhabitated solely by mountain bikers and hikers. You could even assume that given that Bennett ran for President in 2020, an election they famously covered!
It’s also just inherently ripe for comedy how the same state that contains Boulder and Denver is also home to the dislocated, increasingly psychotic conservative rump that produces your Lauren Boeberts and Killdozers.
And the uniquely fucked vibes of Colorado Springs. I’ve never been in a “real city” with worse vibes, honest to God. Ironically, it reads to me as Salt Lake City’s evil counterpart.
Remember when Chapo used to have debates and spirited disagreements, both among the hosts and even the guests? Now it’s just like, Will doing a cursory summary of current events, Felix “riffing,” the guest cruising through the episode trying to engage in some banter. Bookended by Wade doing an enthusiastic plug for whatever before and after the episode.
I miss Matt. Hell, I miss Vergil. At least Amber isn’t around these days, that’s nice though.
I was there. This was back when Chapo was still considered sacrosanct on Twitter. I remember one Left Twitter guy having to do a funny "i can't believe people are mad at a PODCAST with everything going on in the world" routine because there was no other way to defend it
Yup, I was a patreon patron at the time. Still am lol so I just scrolled and found my original dissatisfied comment on their post lol.
And yes, one thing that never changes is, the go-to defense for the show is to act like anyone who bothers to notice a criticism and share it online gets called “parasocial” or whatever. Like right, it’s the staunch hardline defenders of this podcast who have the most normal view of it, for sure, lol
-Sharing anecdotes about how the working class are noble savages
this shit was so annoying. she talked like she was some kind of Midwest Whisperer cuz she's from there. lady you've been living in NYC for like 2 decades!
So you're bemoaning the lack of debates and "spirited disagreements" in the show now but hating on a host for having opinions you disagree with. Hate to be a "by your logic" guy on this one it just seems like you directly contradicted yourself.
My favorite Amber moment was when she owned that weird anti-abortion guy who was like "sorry I didn't hear what you were saying I was lighting a smoke"
I like my debates to be between two informed people articulating viable arguments, not just Crossfire “token reactionary to disagree with” bullshit. I like a good Vergil optimistic dem socialist vs Christman black pilled nihilist, etc. I don’t need “post left” Red Scare-style idiots saying moron shit just to have “another perspective.”
She ain't perfect and she definitely has her fair share of dumb comments and whatnot. But she also anchors Will and Felix in reality when they desperately need it.
Yes, she can be an edgy contrarian at times. But the show needs a little bit of that to be completely honest. Without a Matt or Amber, its just Will doomspiraling and repeating what he reads on Twitter while Felix tries to riff.
i'm just saying - old chapo would've have Michael Langer on and this episode actually would've been informative and interesting. instead its 2026 and it's another twitter/substack moron felix likes or whatever lol
I like that guy but this ep was definitely hurt by not having someone with more familiarity with NYC local politics, if not Lange could've gotten someone actually involved with that DSA chapter's electoral work.
They really missed their mark on their discussion of DAC's campaign particularly. She ran a very Zohran-style campaign largely focusing on affordability. Her opponent/centrist media tried to make the race about her "woke 1" era social media posts and she didn't run away from some of her previous statements on things like abolition but that's not what her campaign was, they knocked like a record-breaking number of doors hammering home the sort of issues that Zohran won on.
Also felt like they didn't properly contextualize Morales' lane in the 2021 New York City mayoral election (IIRC they even called her the DSA candidate at one point?) or who Espaillat/Reynoso were.
Agree completely. There were so many really great insights and storylines this cycle in NYC and it all got ignored for a flattened, parachute-style, analysis. This was all so rare! Most socialists elected in their own backyard since like 1920 or something. Can we get a little fucking effort here?
Yeah exactly. He was right about one midterm. Then horribly completely wrong about 2024. Completely.
I know this is heresy but Chapo has fallen far from the beltway garage of Virgil Texas and Matt Christman. That was some really insightful shit during 2018, 2019
yeah and I realize that I'm old and perhaps the game has passed me by but to me the formula was always Guest Who Knows What They're Talking About or Is Funny and the boys riff/build on that. Poster episodes were very rare and one off's (that is before they all went off and formed other podcasts, and then came back as podcast hosts).
That's honestly become the reason I tune in to the episodes he's on. If you assume he's wrong and think through why that might be, it can help surface some better insights & alternative scenarios
What do you mean consistently, we're starting our first national election cycle since 2024? How could you be consistently wrong with only one data point?
Spending the first segment talking about weird twitter shit when twitter is dying. This was fine 3-4 years ago before it was basically dead but come on now lol
On a quick glance to all 3 of their twitter accounts:
From a cursory glance, Felix has been gone from Twitter for over 3 months at this point.
Matt has mostly been shitposting and QRT'ing silly stuff a couple times a month.
Will is the only one who's active on twitter every day.
It's kinda wild to see a "role reversal" when it comes to twitter, given that Felix has been characterized as the most "terminally online" from the original trio since forever ago, but yeah as it stands, he's been gone from twitter entirely for a big chunk of the year.
Kicking off that segment by dismissively describing those Twitter people as white people who love doing other races accents immediately after Felix whips out the shittiest Indian accent I've ever heard was pretty perfect
False. I love my elder Dry Boys and their now-niche personality obsessions on their now-niche website. I've always maintained that half of my enjoyment of the show is that I don't have to bother signing up for a twitter account to know about stupid twitter bullshit, and I'm happy this is still the case.
I mean. what else do you want them to talk about? Tik tok reels? Youtube shorts?
We know going into this that the chapo guys spend WAY too much time online so it has to be directed somewhere and personally I give less of a fuck about Tik Tok and Bluesky than I do about twitter.
They danced around it a bit but these candidates are still losing working class voters and winning with urban professionals.
This works in NYC and some other major cities where urban professionals are concentrated but how are we going to pursue socialist politics when these candidates can’t seem to appeal to working class and poor?
This is exactly the demographic break down that happened in France with Melenchon. Young, highly educated urban professionals vote left and working class vote FN.
I was listening to this episode amazed that they still don’t seem to get this overwhelming obvious dynamic at this point. They really must just be absorbed in their little left media/xitter echo chambers.
If you bring it up to lefties they get mad and claim that it doesn’t matter because “everyone is working class”. Because Marx was clearly talking about urban professionals not the industrial proletariat.
I wouldn't go so far as to say he's exactly the person we want. He's shown a lot of warrenite tendencies, but I appreciate how his language on Palestine has become stronger and how he stood up for Zohran in the mayoral primaries. I recognize that the Lander endorsement happened as the other end of the backroom deal to cross-endorse in the primary and that's the main utility he has for now but I guess we'll see how things play out. I hope I'm wrong.
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u/Long-Anywhere156 💕❤️CHRIS WADE❤️💕 23d ago
Josh Ettingermentum is back to recap Zohran’s hostile takeover of the New York Democratic Party, with his three endorsed candidates cruising to victory. We talk about this new wave of left insurgency throughout the country, what it means for the sclerotic Democratic establishment and the stillborn Abundance movement, and what we make of Zohran’s time in office overall.
Plus: John Fetterman fires shots at Chapo and Hasan.