173
Sen. Ed Markey, 80, wins Mass. Democratic primary over opponent who called for generational change (apnews.com)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/politics@lemmy.world
55 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey secured the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts’ Senate primary Tuesday, once again fending off a push for generational change as he seeks a third term.

Markey, 80, defeated U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, who had attempted to argue that it was time to do away with the “status quo” in his pursuit to oust the octogenarian.

Yet Markey successfully pointed to Moulton’s more moderate positions to argue that it was Moulton — not the older incumbent — who was out of touch with the state’s voters. Perhaps no other issue defined the race more than transgender rights, and Markey repeatedly hit Moulton for previously saying he would not want his daughters to play against transgender athletes.

all 56 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 83 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Mass voter here: I was dismissive of Markey before learning of his positions and work. We went to a rally, and many young people spoke about his progressive stances, advocacy for trans rights, voting against this regime, and so on. I voted for him, and I’m glad to see Seth dejected. I don’t want a young Senator with old positions.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago

    As a daily reader of the news, I have a positive reaction to Markey. I vaguely recall he is fighting for at least some things that are in the common good. Somehow I was thinking oregon for that name though, both of their senators are relatively ok, if you discount Israel, which I don't.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
    • [–] 124 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    "More moderate" absolutely fucking is not an accurate description of someone's transphobic rignt-wing views.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
    • [–] 61 points 2 months ago* (11 children)

    Transphobia is not a moderate position. Massachusetts successfully rejected the injection of more extreme right wing positions into the Democratic party.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 11 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (9 children)

    How so transphobic?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
    •
  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago (8 children)
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
    •
  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago (7 children)

    Ha ha, just another moderate that doesn't understand the electorate, as if his base was stoked up on trannies. It's fox news viewers and their ilk worked up, and 0 of them vote democratic.

    Good riddance what a piece of shit.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    Just a heads up in case you're not aware, "trannies" is typically seen as a slur.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Oh thanks my bad I did not know that.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    No problem. It typically depends on the context but I'd say a safer alternative to use is just "trans folk" or "trans people".

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago* (2 children)

    I’ve just resorted to using the umbrella term “queer” as in “queer folk,” probably because I’m too lazy to type out LGBTQ+ every time. Don’t know if that’s seen as negative or correct, but that’s where I’m at.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I use queer as well when talking more broadly. I think, as a whole, it is appropriate especially since "queer" has been fairly ubiquitously reclaimed. Although I'm sure some pockets of the LGBTQ+ community may disagree.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    I remember when they took queer back. It's a lesson in language, we don't have to ban words because some misuse them, just co-opt them back. It loses it's punch for dickheads when their marks are calling themselves it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
    • [–] 35 points 2 months ago

    Fuck this click-bait title. How about "Progressive Incumbent Fends Off Moderate Challenger" instead.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [–] 55 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    This is PROOF that people WANT Older Candidates and NOT proof that People want TRANS FRIENDLY Candidates!

    -APNews!

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 30 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Ain't that the truth.

    Thank you for calling out exactly what is happening here. Articles that appear to be unbiased and sources that are about as neutral as they come...still try to manipulate you with carefully chosen language.

    Moulton isn't a dino, he's a moderate. He's not a transphobe, he's traditional.

    Markey is 80.

    Moulton thinks old people are old and need to stop being so old.

    Fucking hell AP.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] -3 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    The AP has never been a good source. Not outside of a few core areas. They were and presumably still are ironclad on US Election Results. So that is something.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    The question wasn't whether or not they were accurate, but whether or not they were unbiased and objective in reporting it.

    I wouldn't call them spotless. They were the first ones to call Gore for Florida in 2000.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
    • [–] 24 points 2 months ago*

    The real take here is that older progressives should find a younger progressive to support, better yet, train an understudy or protege to take over when they retire, or best case, be a part of an org that can replace them when the time comes.

    Look, between the two, of course I'd rather Markey, but come on. It's wild to me that so many people in power have no plans regarding how to pass the torch.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [–] 22 points 2 months ago*

    So I mean I'm all for getting rid of the older Democrats and let the younger generation lead but Seth wasn't it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [–] 12 points 2 months ago

    Massachusetts rocks.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [–] 6 points 2 months ago

    Yeah, number of times around the sun, as a metric used by itself, doesn't mean jack squat.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [–] 9 points 2 months ago* (2 children)

    Markey repeatedly hit Moulton for previously saying he would not want his daughters to play against transgender athletes.

    Why? Do they have cooties or something?

    Sports are meant to be a fun socializing exercise, the only good reason for kids to play them.

    Attributing importance to sports above and beyond “fun social time,” especially in school (outside of the capitalist dystopia that commodifies everything), is insane.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I disagree that sports are only important for their "fun social" aspect. The personal growth and learning about team dynamics while competing is valuable. Learning to win and learning to lose is valuable. The value of competing in sports is why it is so important that Trans people get to play.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] -1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    Competition for its own sake is a puerile reflection of humanity’s worst tendencies. Power, fame, glory, pride, vanity, greed. That’s competition in a nutshell.

    Edit: I think folks are unhappy that I’m pointing this out.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
    • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    Hell yeah!

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [+] -13 points 2 months ago (10 children)

    We need to start forcing people retire (especially if they are not dependent on the income). Geriatrics are hoarding too much wealth and power.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 34 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

    Uhh the old guy was the better choice here my man.

    Moulton is a racist, transphobic DINO.

    Had Markey retired, the stage would've been flooded with a dozen progressives and one DINO, making it easier for the less popular messaging to win out.

    Plus he still has his faculties. There's centenarian triathletes out there, I'm 41, a terrible swimmer, and could barely ride a bike. Age isn't everything. Being stuck in a prior age, though, is.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    I concede that in this case the the older candidate was a better candidate (seemingly a lot better)

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Seth Moulton: “In the newly released Epstein files, your name appears repeatedly. I’m not going to get into all the details, but I do want to ask one question,” he said. “Why would you even take a meeting with a lobbyist on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein?”

    “What you are doing right now is absolutely reprehensible,” Markey responded, seemingly stunned by the question.

    Moulton’s campaign searched through the Department of Justice’s Epstein Library and found that, in 2015, a lobbyist claimed to have met with Markey in an email that was later forwarded to Epstein. That lobbyist was not advocating for Epstein, but for his friend, Karim Wade, the son of a former Senegalese president who had been imprisoned for corruption, and Epstein was footing the bill for the lobbying effort.

    Two days later, Markey’s campaign told GBH News that it checked the calendars of the senator and his staff at the time, and that no such meeting occurred.

    I made this comment in another post, but I think it's still relevant here. You can't just accuse people of being in the Epstein files when they're calling out your bigotry and lack of progressive policies. It only makes you look worse.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Nope, that's a ridiculous take.

    People have a choice at the ballot box. And the young are just as capable of hoarding wealth and power; it's hardly exclusive to any particular age bracket.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (3 children)

    Capable, sure, but that's not the reality we're living in. I just believe there needs to be some sort of re-calibration towards equity between people in the late stages of their career and the young people who are waiting for them to leave the well-paying jobs.

    But I do recognize there's a lot of nuance to this discussion. I do however find the arguments of Samuel Moyn ("Gerontocracy in America") very compelling, moderate, and well-reasoned.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    Eh, I seem to recall hearing boomers complaining about the same thing (older generations not just stepping aside and letting them take over). They seemed to think they were just somehow owed positions of more prominence, just by the rationale that there was so many of them and they had been coddled most of their lives.

    I like Adam Mockler, but I'm so tired of him making some kind of point where he says "people in my generation..." as a preface, as if there is something truly unique to an age bracket. It is truly eye-rolling, and I bet he cringes at some of this stuff once he's a bit older.

    Also, what people overlook is the biggest wealth transfer in history has already started, and it's from boomers -> Gen Y/Gen Z. So when people are talking as if boomers are somehow clinging to all the wealth, I'm not sure that's really true.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    That's fair. Looks like I need to investigate this further.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    It's possible I've been consuming too much rational optimist type of stuff. What tends to come up a lot in this kind of literature is that the average lifespan is increasing, as a general trend. So when I see the possibility of not only lifespan being extended, but health span, I wonder at the constant drumbeat to start imposing things like arbitrary age limits on politicians, which is likely to trickle down to people in other roles, at a time when people, more than ever, may be retaining their capabilities (along with the wisdom and the job experience) into much older years on average.

    Or when I see people clamoring to "fix" Social Security by making people take those benefits at a later age at almost the exact same time they are talking about pushing people out of work.

    I'm not saying you are making those arguments, mind you.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
    • [+] -28 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (11 children)
    [removed by mod]
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 11 child comments
    •
  • [–] 24 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (7 children)

    You know nothing.

    Markey is a way more progressive...socially and economically, than that fucking DINO shitstain Moulton.

    The really embarrassing thing is that Auchincloss held his ground against his challenger, by like 50 points. Both young guys but Auchincloss is clearly bought-and-paid-for.

    It would've been nice to have a younger progressive to challenge Markey, or for Markey to retire, sure...but also keep in mind the dynamics of elections:

    • with a third, younger progressive, the progressive vote is now split between Markey (who has incumbent bias)...good chance that a "moderate" (dino) secures more votes, despite progressive policies being more popular and having more total support (imagine an 33/33/34 split with Moulton (dino) winning)

    • If Markey retired, the stage will be packed with candidates. Same thing, the vote gets split too many ways with too many similar messages...makes it easier for a dino to take "the majority" with a small overall percentage of support. I still contend this is how Trump secured the 2016 GOP nomination. He was loud and had staying power, and that's all that mattered when there were a dozen candidates on the stage.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (6 children)

    Ranked choice or really anything other than first past the post would solve that.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

    Absolutely. But that's not the world we are living in today.

    Until it is, we have to vote according to the confines of reality.

    If I said they didn't have to select three they could just pick two or one, would they be even more afraid? Would they run off screaming?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Ranked choice type voting needs to be pushed more at the state levels. Some have changed. It's the only way to ever change the higher voting system. The ones in power certainly aren't going to open the door for losing their job.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (3 children)

    Ma voted against ranked choice just a few years ago.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago* (2 children)

    Because it was too complicated.

    God damnit. How is ranking things you like complicated? If I asked these people what are their top three ice cream flavors, would they just look at me with vacant eyes, like I just asked them to solve quantum physics?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago

    I don't like that an 80 year old won, but the alternative is a younger but shittier option. Change just for the sake of change isn't good. It's not controlled opposition when the older candidate actively represents their constituents progressive views and the other is a bigot. His history is very public so we don't just think he's on our side, his body of work proves it. What a joke of a take you have there.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent