Thursday, September 30, 2021

Socialist India Walton Won Her Primary for Buffalo Mayor. Now She Has to Beat the Machine.

 


Subscribe on Patreon for $5 for an extra episode each week: https://www.patreon.com/badfaithpodcast This week, Briahna Joy Gray interviewed socialist mayoral candidate India Walton, who made history in June by defeating four term incumbent mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic primary for mayor of Buffalo, New York. Walton won fair and square, but in a move that's becoming all too familiar, the Democratic establishment is putting up a fight. After trying and failing to get on the ballot by starting a new party, Brown is waging a write in campaign against Walton -- accepting right-wing money in support of his challenge. So this week, Brie asked Walton to discuss the stakes of the ongoing contest, to detail how she won, to explain what other left candidates can learn from her success, and to explore whether the lack of support she's received from the Democratic establishment makes her skeptical about the potential of electoralism. The two also discuss the squandered potential of the George Floyd protests, how the failing American healthcare system is generating sympathy for socialism, and how left purity politics hurt the movement