Did appeals to democratic socialism and defunding the police by progressive candidates cost Democrats twelve seats in the November election? David Remnick speaks with Abigail Spanberger, a centrist congresswoman from Virginia whose caustic comments about progressive rhetoric were leaked to the press, and with Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts, one of the group of four congresswomen known as the Squad, who insists that impact rather than compromise is the way to sway voters. Plus, two men convicted of a crime and caught in an impossible choice: Should they continue maintaining their innocence, or express remorse for the crime in order to be freed on parole?
Abigail Spanberger on the Democratic Rift
The Virginia Democrat has said that left-leaning rhetoric about democratic socialism and defunding the police cost the Party seats in the November election.
Ayanna Pressley on the Democratic Rift
The Massachusetts Democrat argues that centrists overestimate the efficacy of bipartisan dealmaking. “The ultimate persuasion tool,” she says, “is impact.”
The Times Square Two Fight to Clear Their Names
For decades, Eric Smokes and David Warren said that they were innocent of the charges on which they were convicted. But in order to be freed on parole they had to take responsibility for the crime.
