4.17.25 The Joe Mangiacotti Show - Thursday

The Joe Mangiacotti Show airing Thursday, April 17th, 2025

From the center of the dial, the center of New England, and the center of information—this is The Joe Mangiacotti Show, and I’m Joe Mangiacotti. Common sense conversation for the common sense citizen.

It’s Thursday, April 17th, 2025—1:00 PM on your dial, AM 830 WCRN Radio Central—and as always, we are broadcasting from high above Worcester, reaching out to all six New England states and streaming coast to coast, across the fruited plain, via WCRNradio.com.

All right folks, let’s get into it.

We’ve got a lot on the table today—some of it predictable, some of it, frankly, jaw-dropping—but all of it deserves a good old-fashioned dose of common sense. And we’ll start with this: The Democratic Party, or at least a loud and restless part of it, is once again eating its own.

Now if you haven’t heard, David Hogg—yes, that David Hogg, the 25-year-old Parkland survivor turned activist—who’s somehow now the Vice Chair of the DNC—is actively working to primary sitting Democratic House members in 2026. His group, “Leaders We Deserve”—which honestly sounds more like a college poetry club than a political machine—is pledging 20 million dollars to challenge entrenched Democrats in safe blue districts.

Let that sink in. The Vice Chair of the DNC is funding attacks... on Democrats.

Now look, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t mind watching the left implode—who doesn't love a good circular firing squad? But this isn’t just political in-fighting, this is generational warfare. This is ideological purification.

Hogg’s not going after purple-district moderates. He’s not trying to flip seats red to blue. No, no—he’s targeting his own side, the ones who aren't progressive enough for his tastes. Why? Because in his words, too many Democrats are “asleep at the wheel, out-of-touch, and ineffective.”

Now, I’d agree with him if we were talking about Joe Biden’s presidency—but he’s not. He’s talking about fellow progressives who just aren’t “progressive enough.”

And folks, this isn’t just a strategy problem. It’s a worldview problem. This is what happens when politics becomes about activism rather than governance. When emotion outweighs experience. When ideology trumps logic.

You know, it reminds me of that old saying—“the revolution eats its own.” And make no mistake, that’s exactly what we’re watching.

Now, speaking of progressive darlings and ideological purists—guess who Nate Silver, the so-called data wizard, says is the frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential ticket?

Nope, not Gavin Newsom, not Kamala Harris—although she’s still hanging around like a guest who won’t leave the party. Not even Josh Shapiro, the moderate governor from Pennsylvania. Nope.

According to Silver and his sidekick over on Substack, the number one draft pick for 2028 is... wait for it... Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

That’s right. AOC. The Congresswoman from Twitter. The queen of the hashtag revolution. The woman who brought us the Green New Deal, supported defunding the police, and once livestreamed her cooking dinner while explaining modern monetary theory—incorrectly, I might add.

Now, let me be clear: AOC is charismatic. She’s savvy. She knows how to manipulate media and mobilize young voters. But presidential material? That’s a whole different ballgame.

Silver says she has broad appeal and fervent support—and sure, a