Running for Congress as a Progressive Democrat During the Covid Pandemic

This episode is part of our ongoing Covid-19 special coverage, which consists of real-time updated interviews, op-eds, & “punchlines” as the situation evolves…

Alp Basaran is a Congressional candidate for the NJ-09 district. If elected, he would be the 5th Muslim American, 3rd formerly undocumented, and 1st Turkish American Congressman in U.S. history. In this episode, Alp discusses his values and main policy proposals – universal healthcare, free education, immigration amnesty, and fair economy for all. Why does he believe that those would be the most needed solutions to the current set of societal problems? How does he justify the potential economic costs of his plans? And how would he build the political coalition to back those progressive policies?

Alp and Tiger go deep in discussing contemporary politics and the rise of progressive Democrats in recent years. Why did Bernie fail to inspire "millions of young voters" to turn out for him, and why did Warren fail to unite the centrist and progressive Democrats as promised? How can progressive Democrats bring forth sensible policies and make legislation happen in reality, rather than merely contributing to the shift of the overtone window of political discourse? How should progressive Democrats treat and seek to convince the majority of the voters who disagree with them?

Lastly, Alp also gives a frontline view on what it's like to run a campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. Are Zoom town-halls effective? How can political candidates think of new ways to connect with voters?

To learn more about Alp's campaign, visit alpbasaran.com/.

Alp Basaran