In practice though, in order to get anything done, they of course needed to build relationships, get committee assignments, and play ball with the party.
Do you actually think the party gives a fuck about them?
Every one of the establishment gatekeepers is a monster, in both political parties. They are not good faith people, they won't work with progressive senators or whatever because that'd go against their cause, and their cause is against the progressive senators.
They are gatekeepers specifically to guide the party away from progressivism and towards the company's and military's profits. These were people that were willing to go with Biden until a month ago because they actually thought what was going to be a corpse would beat Trump, and he'd be a guy who was already part of the establishment.
That's the reason people like AOC/Bernie stayed with Biden until the very end. No matter what happens, if they are wrong, they are on the chopping block- progressives need to stay in line on things like that even when it's not in anyone's interest.
Look at Labour in UK as an example, shutting down Corbyn so hard and spending practically an entire election cycle to slander a progressive, that a person was lynched in the street because he isn't white this week, and the most Starmer can say is "they're thugs", while they and the Tories still have similar policy on tons of things including immigration.
Establishment. Democrats. Aren't. Negotiable. They do not care. They do not want to compromise. They are ACTIVELY OPPOSED to progressivism; it is not just "electoral pragmatism". I do not know how else to stress this. It is not a relationship, outside of the fact that the progressive Senators have to do anything they can to prove their use to the party, else they be ousted quickly.
The only reason we got this far is because it was the most convenient. The election is soon, they actually started seeing Trump as a threat, and they are willing for this to get out of Trump. Which, keep in mind, Trump was a PART OF THE STRATEGY, that is having an opponent that was so bad they didn't have to have good policy to win!
I don't know how many times this has to be explained, they do not like progressives! They are ideologically opposed to progressivism!
Why would they leave a ladder that upends their entire ideology easily within their own party. Superdelegates, AIPAC, corporate funding, lobbying, propaganda against themselves, funding Conservatives, anything goes as long as they can try to keep the progressives out while still winning with neoliberalism.
Start locally. Local and state level is the best we have right now. Walz VP is great, but fundamentally Kamala and Walz can, at best, try to do a little and be a part of long-term change.
There's a reason most outlets kept asking for other VPs rather than Walz, and why Bloomberg posted a video today arguing that Walz is a detriment to the election- because they don't like him. The constituency likes him, but they don't.
If Kamala actually cares, she can get the ball rolling especially as that old generation is starting to literally die, but as is she is still also beholden to the same people as the gatekeepers within her party.
