The most obvious possibility is AOC. In that case I am sure she’ll move even further right and get totally ratfucked by the party regardless. That’s the most jokerified option, I think. At the very least, her obvious ratfucking will push many more people to the left like the Bernie campaigns did.
But the worst possibility is some rando Democratic apparatchik we’ve never heard of like Mayo Pete showing up. They take up all the aesthetics of Bernie’s campaigns, they receive the glowing endorsements of Bernie and the squad, but they seemingly refuse to outright promise anything we would call “good”, and they suspiciously receive no material push-back whatsoever from the Democratic party establishment other than some clearly bad faith grumblings about how spooky and radical this person is. Win or lose, they completely suck the energy out of leftist movements in the imperial core for a further decade.
I think AOC will most likely fill that role, but it will functionally be closer to how you imagine it to go with Buttigieg. She’s a full on DNC shill, but can still sheepdog just enough of the old Bernie coalition to be valuable. She’ll be trotted out as the “radical far left candidate” and it’ll be fine if she wins cause they know she’ll only be “the most progressive president since Biden” and will sign off on bombing everything they want.
Mayo Pete couldn’t even get regular libs excited let alone attract the peoole they need sheepdogged. I’m sure they’ll try to keep making him a thing, but i don’t see it working
The thought of Mayo Pete perennially running for president for the rest of my life…
The Buttigeig/Beto campaign set a new record this election cycle by somehow only receiving 8 votes in a national election.
The thought of watching Mayo Pete perennial fail for the rest of my life…
Bernie was at least alone in the wilderness for the 80s 90s and 00s on a lot of stuff AOC started lecturing people to not criticize lib leadership in her first term.
Yeah she’s a pure sheepdog