Tom 🥥
3.3K posts
I got to chat with Austin Ahlman today. He’s the Independent candidate who just announced—two days after the primary—that he’s running for Congress in District 1 against both Mike Flood and Chris Backemeyer. And his campaign video is going viral.
Naturally, Democrats aren’t happy. Even as an Independent, he’s clearly running well to the left of center: pro-choice, Medicare for All, overturning Citizens United, and making billionaires pay their “fair share.” In a way, seems Independent in the same way that Bernie Sanders is.
But he’s also genuine—not a GOP-funded spoiler like some people are claiming. When he calls himself “Independent,” he means that he's “anti-establishment.” He represents a faction of the left that many people forget exists: a grassroots, populist counterpart to the Tea Party or Liberty wing of the Republican Party. He sees the establishment as captured by special interests and more focused on overseas wars than on kitchen-table issues that affect working people’s pocketbooks.
That’s what makes him interesting. I’ve watched the left for a while, and they’re often so uniform in their thinking that it becomes cartoonish. “Vote Blue No Matter Who.”
Ahlman is different. And in a good way. I might not agree with him on a lot of things, but he’s clearly not part of the Blue Dot machine either.
Austin Ahlman for Congress@ahlmanforne
I'm Austin Ahlman. Nebraska is my home. This is our fight. You are my people. Let’s take Nebraska back.
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I do love how genuine people launching independent candidacies where they focus on real issues instead of touting their fancy bullshit credentials is like instant rage bait for party leaders.
Independent politics is the future. The parties have lost touch with reality.
Lincoln Journal Star@JournalStarNews
A 28-year-old Norfolk native launched an independent bid for Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, drawing criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike. journalstar.com/news/state-reg…
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@JoBucks845 he’s better at
literally. every. aspect. of. playing. the. position.
this is not like a close comp. achane is SIGNIFICANTLY better.
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uhh yeah? no shit??? achane is way better lol
Daily Chiefs@Daily_Chiefs_
De’von Achane is really making $3M per year more than Kenneth Walker 👀 K9’s contract was another Veach Masterclass ✍🏾🔥
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Of course this only really works if Ahlman can get his (winning) message out.
The Democratic nominee isn’t exactly setting the world on fire money-wise (<$200K in the bank) but Austin needs to raise some money to show he’s got the juice to go the distance.
Austin isn’t taking money from corporate PACs, AIPAC, crypto, AI, etc. so if you have a few bucks to spare you can chip in here to help nudge the Democrat out of the race and put this seat on the map:
donorbox.org/ahlman-for-neb…
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TL; DR
If you’re skeptical about the possibility of a Democrat winning NE-01, well…you should be.
But a son-of-meatpackers, populist, anti-monopoly, anti-corruption, end-funding-for-foreign-wars, pro-2A, Osborn-style Independent candidate (@ahlmanforne) can win if that Democratic nominee drops out.
Adam Carlson@admcrlsn
In 2024, Trump won NE-01 by 13 pts & Dan Osborn won it by 1 pt Race raters view at least 7 redder seats as more competitive than NE-01 Why? Because a Democrat can’t win there But a new poll from @ZenithPolls finds that a populist independent candidate — Austin Ahlman — can 🧵
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@shanebacon 2 time major champion. I think he’s fine. Just because you couldn’t do it doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
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The same-length iron experiment has to go. We've seen it. We've lived it. It ain't it.
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@rahmdphd You keep saying "you all" like I'm some kind of MAGA representative, which is very odd - I can't figure out if you're sincerely unable to comprehend the events I'm describing to you, or just pretending you can't, but I did my best! Sorry you couldn't get there, have a good one
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Apropos of nothing, has enough time passed that we can all admit the Bad Bunny halftime show was pretty underwhelming, and that the mass fawning over it was one of the sillier instances of fandom politics bandwagoning in recent memory
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Since the drama llama X algorithm apparently decided to make this a whole thing (lol), I'll just offer my sober assessment of how this controversy became a controversy:
1. NFL slates a Spanish language halftime performance at a moment when immigration and deportations were a subject of extremely heated national debate.
2. MAGA folks interpret this as a dig at them/Trump (which, let's be honest, it probably was at least in part), lose their minds, organize a protest performance by Kid Rock; the halftime show is now Culture War
3. Sides are chosen accordingly: MAGA folks demand halftime fealty to Kid Rock, while "liking Bad Bunny" becomes, briefly, a central tenet of lefty ideology
4. Glowing reviews for the halftime show from liberal critics now a foregone conclusion a.k.a. the Lady Ghostbusters effect; the wave of adulation lasts 24 hours and then never mentioned again
I have absolutely no dog in this fight politically and am agnostic on Bad Bunny musically, but this did and does strike me as a pretty funny example of how the culture war sausage gets made!
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It’s one of the bigger “what ifs” in Super Bowl history...
#49ers S Ji’Ayir Brown talks about the freak injury to Dre Greenlaw in the Super Bowl vs. the #Chiefs and the impact it had on the team:
“He is the spark plug. He’s the engine. … It drained us. I think if Dre Greenlaw played that game, the Chiefs never pass the 50-yard line. Honestly.”
Ari Meirov@MySportsUpdate
🚨 “NFL Spotlight” with #49ers S Ji’Ayir Brown — a true overlooked success story: FULL VIDEO + TIMESTAMPS👇 0:22 - Intro 1:50 - Start of interview 2:39 - “Tig” nickname 4:57 - High School career 6:56 - Lackawanna College journey 11:51 - Meeting Jaquan Brisker 14:14 - Penn State experience 15:26 - Reflecting on being the 87th pick 17:29 - Joining the 49ers + welcome to the NFL moment (George Kittle) 20:50 - Becoming a rookie starter in big games 23:45 - Super Bowl INT vs. the Chiefs 25:15 - Dre Greenlaw’s Super Bowl injury 28:33 - Excitement for DC Raheem Morris 31:03 - Off-field work + “Motivation to the Trenches” foundation 34:45 - Who’s next for NFL Spotlight?
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This game better be in Denver. I enjoy Arrowhead on TV, but Broncos beat them twice, won division, should be at home.
Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
This season’s first Monday Night Football game, Sept. 14, will be the Denver Broncos vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. The game’s site still has not been determined as the NFL still is finalizing its schedule for Thursday’s release.
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Kevin Hassett is going to try to return to polite society after Trump leaves office (or he gets fired). But he should be completely shunned, because he is the worst example of someone who lies constantly on behalf of Trump
while knowing full well he's lying. He's inexcusable.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar
Hassett lies his ass off: "Almost all of the job creation that happened under President Biden was the employment of illegal aliens"
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@nafnared2 @jamesdoe1912 I'm the base and I'd be proud of a pro gun democratic party
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A pro-gun Democratic Party would find itself five to fifteen points more popular in most of America.
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@Rinston99 Cool. Meanwhile you can keep throwing marginalized people under the bus to keep losing elections.
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Liberals still don't understand there's a difference between convincing Republican voters by presenting left wing economics and moving right on social issues to try to recruit those voters.
Cabot Montana@AmanitaFugax
Current status of intra left wing politics
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Ok but good on him for realizing anti gun activism is a dead end
Sir Rottweiler 🐾 🇺🇸🏳️🌈@SireRottweiler
How it started vs. How it’s going
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@sonsofthesoil90 @nick_field90 Weird I think all of those things should be fought for. That’s the difference between us I guess
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@nick_field90 Who cares? Libs will argue it’s not politically feasible to support M4A or end funding Israel but then talk about gun control or an assault weapons ban like it’s an easy winnable issue.
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I'm sure all those parents who have lost children to gun violence will be consoled by Graham Platner's poll numbers
x.com/LeverNews/stat…
The Lever@LeverNews
Graham Platner owns AR-15s. He opposes an assault weapons ban. And he says Democrats are missing the bigger picture on gun violence. “If we really gave a shit about gun deaths… we would be dealing with this in a much more holistic fashion.”
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@Mountain_Twhick Like in California here, nobody would even object to the background check or even waiting period if we could legally have the magazines which are so easily obtainable from out of state anyway, or just a fucking suppressor to not blow out my goddamn eardrums when I shoot my REM700
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This puts the “democrats are too far left, they need to moderate” crowd in quite a bind. An Assault Weapons ban is precisely the kind of lost cause lib policy they should want to dump, so instead of criticizing him they go “I wonder what David Hogg has to say about this” 😏😏😏😏
Politics & Poll Tracker 📡@PollTracker2024
Graham Platner in interview with The Lever on assault weapons: “I gotta say assault weapons ban stuff, I mean, I know a lot of people, including a lot of Republicans who aren’t gun people who are like, ‘Yeah, it seems pretty reasonable. Maybe he should do that.’ And I’m just, like, I honestly just disagree.” “I’ve spent a lot of time in the gun world, and I just know things like safe storage, limiting access, training. I honestly think those things are so much more legitimately impactful than banning a type of gun.”
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