Where this was said
2028 and the Dream of a Socialist on the Debate Stage
At 28:03 · chapter starts 27:20
The episode closes with Rohmer laying out the DSA's presidential ambitions in the clearest terms yet [1] — Megan Rohmer "The DSA's 2028 presidential ambitions aren't solely about winning. They want a democratic socialist on the debate stage holding other candi…" 27:20 . She frames it as a two-tiered goal: winning the presidency would obviously be the ideal outcome, but the minimum viable outcome is having a democratic socialist voice in the debates — someone who can hold other candidates accountable and force them to take positions. She cites Bernie Sanders as the proof of concept: his uncompromising advocacy for Medicare for All during the 2016 and 2020 primaries pushed other candidates to sign Medicare for All pledges. For Rohmer, that's not a consolation prize — it's a genuine mechanism for moving the party. She also credits Sanders with normalizing the word 'socialist' in American politics, breaking 'the dam' on the big scary S-word and giving a generation of activists permission to say it out loud.
The DSA's 2028 presidential ambitions aren't solely about winning. They want a democratic socialist on the debate stage holding other candidates to account — the same way Bernie Sanders forced rivals to sign Medicare for All pledges in 2016 and 2020.
DSA co-chair Megan Rohmer credited Bernie Sanders as the first politician to openly say 'I am a Democratic socialist' on a national debate stage, breaking a cultural dam.
