As the jury deliberates in the People v. Trump, I wanted to share a related story about progressive pragmatism.
My friend Janos Marton was one of the progressive candidates in the Manhattan DA race, running to the left of Alvin Bragg. As the primary drew near polling showed a two-way race...
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Bragg -- who had frequently sued the Trump Administration while at the NY AG's office -- was in a tight race with the more conservative candidate, Farhadian Weinstein who had interviewed for federal judgeship under the Trump Administration.
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Polls showed that the four candidates running to the left of Bragg had little chance to win the primary. Confronting this polling, Janos decided to drop out.
He was confronted with a choice: endorse Bragg, endorse another progressive candidate unlikely to win, or abstain from any endorsement.
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He chose to endorse Bragg. Even after this endorsement, the limited polling showed a tied race with Weinstein.
Bragg eventually won the primary by 3.5%
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In is entirely possible that his endorsement of Bragg, a more moderate progressive, is a but-for cause behind the only Trump trial likely to occur before the election.
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