Psaki Says the Quiet Part in Plain English
During MSNOW coverage of the Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor, Jen Psaki made a comment that will not fit neatly on a “save democracy” bumper sticker. According to the clip shared by The Vigilant Fox, Psaki said, “We both remember well when party leadership really selected the nominees.” She added, “Now, you would never say it that way exactly, but they would. Now we can [say it]. We’re free!” She explained that leaders did it by putting money behind candidates and endorsing them. That is not exactly a civics class fairy tale about grassroots voters rising as one. It sounds more like the party machine doing what party machines do, then asking everyone to admire the wallpaper.
The Clip Making the Rounds
The remark drew attention because Democrats have spent years presenting themselves as the guardians of “democracy,” often with the volume turned up to eleven. Psaki’s point was that party leaders once had more open influence over nominations, while now their support can even hurt a candidate. That may be true, but it also raises an obvious question: if leaders once “selected” nominees through money and endorsements, how much power did regular voters really have in the process? The word “selected” is doing a lot of work here, and none of it is wearing a hard hat.
Polling Trouble in Wisconsin
On the same show, Psaki also reacted to the state of the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary polling. According to the Overton News clip, she said most polls before election day showed Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong with a “VERY safe double digit lead.” Yet with a little more than half the vote in, Psaki noted that Hong was trailing establishment-backed candidate David Crowley. She said that was “not where most people expected this to sit,” with 51 percent of the vote in. Polling can be useful, but every election cycle reminds us that the crystal ball industry still has a return policy problem.
Early Votes Added Another Twist
Psaki also pointed to another wrinkle in the race: more than 100,000 people had voted in July through early voting and vote by mail. She said that was during a period when Crowley was “in and out of the race.” That detail matters because early voting can lock in choices before late campaign shifts are fully clear to voters. None of this proves some grand scheme by itself, but it does show how messy modern primaries have become. Party leaders, polls, endorsements, early votes, and media expectations all crowd the stage, while the voter is still told he is the star of the show. Technically, yes. Spiritually, please hold for the next consultant memo.
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