His victory speech made a really big deal out of protecting universal social programs and said nice things about unions, which seems to me like a move away from recent centrist decisions to:

a)not mention them at all
b)pretend like means-testing isn't creepy

It's all just talk, and the kind of frenzied I-just-got-elected talk, no less. But Jones et al. never really even seemed to bother with this. It feels like we're seeing some genuinely talented political opportunists (Gillibrand and Booker come immediately to mind) starting to move leftward a little bit. I don't trust their principles, but I really trust their ability to read the room.

Here's a clip of his victory speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ZyLppT25g&app=desktop

I thought Mike Konczal's point about this was encouraging:

Mike Konczal
‏
Verified account

@rortybomb
12h12 hours ago

At 38 I’m of an age where when I hear a Democrat saying “Social Security and Medicare are great” I instinctively flinch, waiting for the inevitable “....BUT” to follow it demanding Tough Solutions and Grand Bargains.

Amazing if we got to where universal and bold is celebrated.