Can Democrats ride this week’s winning momentum to Congress and the White House? That was the raging debate at Crooked Con.
Thousands turned up in Washington D.C. on Friday for Crooked Media’s first-ever pro-democracy conference aimed at figuring our national shit out — Crooked Con. Sixty speakers filled two-dozen panels on three stages before some 2,500 attendees, for one ginormous, feisty, geeked-out debate about the future of American politics.
Festivities kicked off with a splash the night before, when Former President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at a live Pod Save America taping at D.C.’s Warner Theater. Audience members rose for a standing ovation upon suddenly, unexpectedly, finding themselves face-to-face with Obama. The former president hailed this week’s Democratic electoral wins, and urged Democrats to keep up the momentum. “Tuesday was nice, but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Obama told the roaring crowd.
That pretty much summed up the vibe at Crooked Con the next day. Speakers included Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY), the moderate southerner widely seen as a contender for the next Democratic presidential nomination; Former FTC Chair Lina Khan, co-chair of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team; Hasan Piker, the popular left-wing Twitch streamer; Alex Ball, the campaign manager for mayor-elect of New Jersey Mikie Sherrill; Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), the progressive congressman; and many more.
Word of the day: “Affordability.” It was a key theme for Tuesday’s winners… but not as simple as it sounds.
The new Democratic buzzword refers to the common message connecting diverse campaigns, from democratic socialist Mamdani in New York City to moderate governor-elect Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, along with winners in New Jersey, Georgia and elsewhere.
“What’s the throughline between Zohran, Spanberger, Sherrill and other candidates? They all represent different ideological parts of our party,” DNC Chair Ken Martin told What A Day on the conference sidelines. “At the end of the day, they’re all focused on the same goal, which is to actually reduce the cost of living for people.”
The message is both powerful and flexible, said Lis Smith, a veteran political operative. “For different people, it’s going to mean completely different things,” Smith told What A Day. “That’s the nuance that Democrats must always bring to that conversation, versus just saying it’s all about grocery prices, or it’s all about gas prices.”
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker warned that Democratic candidates also need to call out the ultra-wealthy, and also be wary of corporate donors, to be successful in the long term. But even Piker agreed that affordability is an effective message. “If the Democrats do abide by that, then I think that they will end up winning elections,” he told What A Day.
One major takeaway from Crooked Con: The Democrats have pitched a “big tent” of diverse views. Next up: Moving forward, with all those different ideas, to the midterms and beyond.
The xxxxxx’s Tim Miller had some, um, straight-forward advice for Democrats thinking about running for public office. “Have some fucking balls: Run a fucking campaign,” he said. “Tell us what your campaign is about. Don’t be a fascist. And be able to talk!” I love the energy.
Former FTC Chair Lina Khan outlined her new role on Zohran Mamdani’s transition team. “I’m gonna be especially focused on things like, how do we make sure that we have a full accounting of all of the laws and authorities that the mayor can unilaterally deploy?” she said.
Attendees had a lot to say about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)’s recent change of tune Lately she’s been criticizing her own party and sounding… far less batshit crazy? Reps. Janelle Bynum (D-OR) predicted: “She’s being messy, like she might switch parties. That’s my guess.”
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) had another theory about MTG: “It is a revenge tour … She is furious that the Trump White House put the kibosh on her Georgia Senate race.”
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker called on Democrats to focus less on the gerontocracy, and focus more on economic hardships than culture war issues. “We need real whips in the party,” Piker said, referring to Democratic leaders who keep members in line. MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend quipped: “I’m sorry, what kind of whips?” Crooked Con gettin’ wild!
“Yeah, man. We’re gonna see the [Epstein] files,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said, expressing optimism that Trump won’t be able to hide what’s in there forever.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) laid out his vision for the future of Democratic foreign policy. “President Biden mishandled Gaza. He was wrong,” Khanna said. Enough of the word salads, enough of the platitudes. We need to be a party of moral courage.
(Connor Studios / Crooked Media)
