‘This Is Wrong’: House Dem Throws Down With Ro Khanna For Claiming Economics Is Core DSA Issue
(Screengrab via X)
Outgoing Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) pulled no punches on Monday in criticizing Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) claim over the weekend that rising Democratic Socialists of America candidates are winning their races based on economic issues.
The Hill published a report on Khanna’s comments on Fox News Sunday titled, “Khanna argues economic concerns driving far-left primary victories.”
Goldman shared that report and replied to his House colleague, “This is wrong @RoKhanna. All three of us who lost in NYC had very progressive records (including supporting Medicare for All) and we all had the overwhelming support of actual working families — labor unions, public housing residents and immigrant communities.”
“That’s because we all have gone to battle for those communities and offered practical and meaningful solutions that could actually get passed in a system that requires bipartisanship,” added Goldman.
Khanna replied to Goldman, who lost his Democratic Party primary earlier in the summer to progressive Brad Lander.
“Dan, losing is hard. I lost twice,” Khanna wrote, adding:
I lost to Tom Lantos when I ran the first anti-Iraq war primary in the nation in 2003. I was disappointed I got 19% to Lantos’s 71% even though the district was overwhelmingly opposed to the war. Lantos said “young man unless you’re a movie star you can’t just get up and run. You need to do far more work in the community.” It’s a lesson I internalized.
Then I lost to Mike Honda in 2014. I had glowing NYT profiles & tech leaders endorsing me. Honda had the PTA moms. He said to me after the race, Ro there are far more PTA moms in the district than tech leaders. A lesson I have never forgotten, especially as I took heat supporting a California billionaire tax.
My point is why not reflect on the lesson voters were sending upset about AIPAC, about money going to foreign wars, about food and gas prices up because of Middle East conflicts.
“You have a long career ahead of you. We need everyone on the playing field. Maybe the loss will make you a voice calling for an end to the occupation or a Palestinian state. You could help make a difference,” Khanna continued, adding, “And what happened to you in not being served coffee was disgusting and wrong and I had called it out on CNN when it happened. I hope you’ll think about what voters were saying and help be part of a new generation that helps bring about a just peace.”
“Thank you Ro. I know why I lost. And it’s not because of the economic concerns of working families (which was the centerpiece of my campaign, in addition to being uniquely qualified and situated to hold Donald Trump accountable). Nor is it because of the war in Iran, which I aggressively opposed from its beginning,” Goldman hit back, adding:
I put forward a tax policy that would stop billionaires from using a massive tax avoidance loophole and would generate $30bn in revenue per year — more than enough to pay for universal childcare, which is one of the pillars of the Dad’s caucus I co-founded in 2023.
As you well know, Republicans are adamantly opposed to raising taxes, but despite that, I’ve gotten very positive feedback from many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. As you also well know, there is no way to pass any of our legislative priorities next term unless we get some Republican support.
And I know you know this since you were the very first Democrat to co-sponsor my bill, which I appreciate.
“The voters in my district prioritized a different issue, and I respect their decision. But let’s not pretend that the outcome of my race — or Adriano’s or NY-7 — was because of economic concerns of working families struggling mightily to make ends meet,” Goldman concluded, appearing to refer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been an animating issue on the left throughout this primary season.
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