Corporate Dems Desperate To Stop Progress, MAGA Finds An Ally in Spineless Sellouts

Summary

IHIP News – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Corporate Dems Desperate To Stop Progress, MAGA Finds An Ally in Spineless Sellouts

Air Date: June 1, 2026
Hosts: Jennifer Welch & Angie Sullivan
Guest: Shoikat Chakrabarti (Congressional Candidate, San Francisco)

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Overview

In this fiery and unfiltered episode, Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan take on the creeping influence of corporate Democrats and their complicity in rightwing agendas, honing in on the Democratic primary race for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat in San Francisco. Special guest Shoikat Chakrabarti discusses the AIPAC lobby, Democratic hypocrisy on Gaza, and what distinguishes an authentic progressive candidate from establishment contenders. The show features candid, impassioned rhetoric and exposes the battle between grassroots activists and entrenched political influence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Republican Attacks on Voting Rights

[01:34 – 03:21]

• The hosts introduce the GOP’s efforts to limit mail-in voting, noting new USPS rules targeting it.
• Host (Jennifer) frames voter suppression as a tactic born of Republican fear:

  “The more people that vote, the more Democrats win... the whole purpose of all of this voter suppression is because the more people that vote, the more Democrats win.” – Host, [01:44]

• Shoikat Chakrabarti highlights the lack of aggressive response from Democratic leaders, calling for more vocal opposition and grassroots organizing.

2. The San Francisco Congressional Race: A Progressive Challenge

[03:21 – 05:42]

• Shoikat is running for Nancy Pelosi’s seat against State Senator Scott Wiener and Supervisor Connie Chan.
• The key divides:
  • Scott Wiener: Accused of silencing Palestinian rights advocates, equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and opposing taxing the wealthy.

    “He’s against taxing the rich... because he’s corporate funded. He’s taken money from over 400 corporations over the course of his career.” – Shoikat Chakrabarti, [04:38]

  • Connie Chan: Characterized as representing establishment interests and unwilling to challenge party leadership.
• Shoikat positions himself as the only candidate uncompromised by the Democratic Party’s establishment.

3. Gaza, AIPAC, and Democratic Hypocrisy

[05:42 – 13:24]

• The hosts and Shoikat condemn Democrats who support Israeli military actions, criticizing the disconnect between their professed progressive values and their actual conduct.

  “It really pisses me off that we have people in our party that allow American taxpayer money to kill kids.” – Host, Jennifer, [06:09]

• Shoikat emphasizes the need for “a full arms embargo on Israel,” and calls out the hypocrisy of candidates shifting public positions under pressure:

  “Try to say that we should continue sending funds to Israel has become so politically toxic that people are starting to change their position.” – Shoikat Chakrabarti, [07:38]

• He calls out Scott Wiener for only recently—and cynically—adopting the language of calling it genocide, motivated by electoral concerns, not principle.
• Discussion of “offensive vs. defensive weapons” as a patronizing and misleading distinction:

  “How stupid do these people think we are?... To me, that is such a patronizing way to treat your voters.” – Host, Jennifer, [11:14]

4. Money in Politics: AIPAC, Corporate, and Tech Influence

[09:00 – 13:24]

• Shoikat exposes the “prostitution” of Democratic politicians to special interests:

  “They’re willing to prostitute themselves out to AIPAC and to Israel and not stand on business and stand up for their constituents.” – Host, Jennifer, [09:00]

• He details super PACs—often acting as AIPAC fronts—spending heavily and the Democratic establishment’s complicity.
• Shoikat highlights his background in founding Justice Democrats and his record fighting these very lobbies.

5. The Stakes for San Francisco and Beyond

[13:24 – 16:11]

• Importance of fighting off establishment-backed candidates, especially in progressive strongholds like San Francisco:

  “San Francisco has got to be a beacon of liberal ideals or the people in these blue dots in red states are just gonna die if they elect some of these corporate do-nothing Democrats.” – Host, Jennifer, [14:16]

• Shoikat: Electing a “bought out” candidate would provide cover and set a dangerous national standard.
• The 2028 election is framed as existential—whether Democrats serve people or special interests.

6. Final Message and Call to Action

[16:11 – 16:43]

• Shoikat urges progressive listeners to support his campaign locally or remotely.
• He frames his campaign as a battle for control over the party’s soul and for democracy itself.
• Key campaign URL: saikat.us

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Memorable Quotes

• On Democratic hypocrisy:

  “People say one thing, you know, they just say whatever’s politically convenient. Like, why don’t you just look at what’s going on in Gaza and have a moral opinion about it, right? And people are tired of it.”
  — Shoikat Chakrabarti, [08:47]

• On establishment candidates:

  “APAC knows that I am actually strong on this issue... So their main goal is to make sure I don’t win this seat.”
  — Shoikat Chakrabarti, [12:28]

• On corporate money and future of the party:

  “If we can’t actually wrest control of this party back from all these influences... then we’re hosed. I mean, yeah, like, we are going to keep seeing the country go more and more in an authoritarian direction.”
  — Shoikat Chakrabarti, [13:09]

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Notable Timestamps

• Mail-in Voting Suppression Discussion: [01:34]
• Shoikat Outlines Differences with Rivals: [03:45 – 05:42]
• Democratic Party’s Role in Gaza Policy: [05:42 – 09:00]
• AIPAC and Super PAC Influence Exposed: [09:00 – 13:24]
• San Francisco’s Symbolic Importance: [14:54]
• Call to Action & Campaign Details: [16:17]

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Tone & Style

Bold, unapologetic, with a blend of humor and moral urgency. The hosts and guest mince no words in calling out both Republican and Democratic leaders for failures and hypocrisy, centering justice and true progressive values over party loyalty or political optics.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is an urgent call for progressive mobilization within the Democratic Party, especially in pivotal districts like San Francisco. Both hosts and Shoikat Chakrabarti rally against the corrosive effects of AIPAC, tech, and corporate money, demand honesty on Gaza, and reject establishment betrayals. The episode offers inspiration and actionable steps for listeners who want to see meaningful change—and a blueprint for holding Democrats as accountable as Republicans.

Transcript

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[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

In the 2020 election, Donald Trump got his feelings hurt because millions, tens of millions of Americans voted via mail in ballots and voted against him. So of course he wants to eliminate mail in voting because he cannot stomach people voting against him or the people that he's endorsed. Pop this up. Democracy docket does incredible work. The United States Postal Service is planning to radically crack down on mail voting according to a yet to be published proposed rule. And what you need to know here is that Republicans have to cheat. The whole purpose of all of this voter suppression is because the more people that vote, the more Democrats win. And to discuss this and politics on the ground and Democratic races with me is candidate for Congress in San Francisco, Shoikat Chakrabarti. Shoikat, how are you doing today?

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yes, tell me, how concerned are you about all of the meddling Republicans are doing in all of these races around the country?

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Yeah, I'm somewhat concerned. I am pretty concerned I think something that I wish that I was seeing from our Democratic leaders right now was actually putting more of a spotlight on this. I mean, the stuff you're doing. Right, because we don't want to be a surprise when we suddenly see Republicans denying election results, when we see Republicans showing up and actually taking over ballot boxes. And this has been going on for years. There have been Republicans taken overboard of elections all over the country. So I want to see our Democratic representatives actually like highlighting what's going on. But of course, the best way to actually get over whatever meddling occurs is we have to win with a big margin. We have to win. The bigger the margin is, the harder it is to throw any sort of

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

wrench until it works too big to rig. Okay, tell me about your race. You're running so my listener knows you're running for Nancy Pelosi seat, correct?

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

That's right.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

And you're, you're in the throes of a primary and it's my understanding it's a three way race right now.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Yeah, that's exactly right. There's three major candidates in the race. It's myself, State Senator Scott Weiner and Supervisor Connie Chan. And our election's coming up on June 2nd.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Oh my gosh. Okay, so who, how, how are you different from Connie and Weiner? Yeah, sorry, I have sometimes elementary, grade school.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

I don't, I don't, I can't make one of anyone's name. My name's Chakra Bar.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You know, I know, I know no disrespect to Weiner, but I just, I know that's so immature. But yeah, you know, this is a serious question.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How are you different from your two opponents?

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Well, so in this race, I'd say State Senator Scott Wiener. He's sort of the main one to beat. And he and I differ hugely when, especially when it comes to the genocide that's going on in Gaza. I mean, State Senator Weiner has long been an opponent of the Palestinian rights movement in San Francisco. He's authored multiple pieces of legislation to try to silence criticism of Israel, to try to equate criticism of Israel with anti Semitism. He's gotten people fired. I mean, he got the state, the university president, Sonoma State fired for meeting with BDS activists, activists, like years ago. And so, you know, because I'm running in this race, like he's now starting to pretend like he's gotten different on this issue and we can get more into that. But, but he's the, he's different. You know, we differ hugely on this issue. And also, he's against taxing the rich. I mean, right now, there's multiple ballot propositions to try to do a wealth tax on billionaires in California to try to do a tax on CEOs of large corporations. He's against both because he's corporate funded. He's taken money from over 400 corporations over the course of his career. He's being funded by people like Chris Larson, Gary Tan. I mean, these tech VCs, crypto billionaires, APAC. So that's the big difference with him and with Supervisor Chan. You know, the major difference I have is I am running against the establishment. Like I've said, I don't believe Hakeem Jeffrey should be the leader of the Democratic Party. And I'm not going to vote for him. Uh, I'm trying to recruit people to run all around the country to primary other corporate Democrats. I'm going in there to try to actually change this party. And, you know, Supervisor Chan's not gonna be willing to do that.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Okay, so let's talk about that. That whole notion of these Democrats that, like, I just saw recently, there was an Israel parade in New York. And this small trick, I think his name is, he's the finance minister of Israel, and he has said that 2 million. He doesn't care if 2 million Gazans starve. Really? Genocidal language, really. I mean, like, sociopathic. Like, this person is serial killer on a very large scale, in my opinion. He comes over to New York City and he's marching as his parade. And then, of course, Chuck Schumer is up there, just Israel thumping like nobody's business. And it really, for me, it really pisses me off that we have people in our party that allow American taxpayer money to kill kids. And, I mean, this has just got to stop. And it always seems like these politicians, the Schumers, I'm sure probably the Wieners, that it's running for your seat, they. They do these insidious lies to the public, like, oh, we're for gay rights. Oh, we're for women's rights. We're pro choice. But it. They always exclude a group of people, and then we just keep sending money to commit war crimes. And it's just like, where are the moral leaders in this? And is that what differentiates you from him?

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

It's what differentiates me from both my opponents, to be honest. I mean, I started this race and I've been calling it genocide in Gaza from the start. And the. If you. If something is a genocide, you can't be saying it's sending any sort of arms or any funding. Like, if this was any other country, we would not be sending any sort of aid to that country. We'd be debating what kind of sanctions to put on them. And that's why from the start of this race, I've been calling for a full arms embargo on Israel. I'm calling for sanctions on the leaders of Israel. We need to be doing everything we can to stop this genocide. But the thing that we're seeing right now from a lot of politicians, and this is what State Senator Scott Wiener has been doing as well, is they've realized that this has become such a politically toxic issue. Try to say that we should continue sending funds to Israel has become so politically toxic that people are starting to change their position. There is a debate clip that kind of went viral from early in our race where myself and my opponents, we got asked whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. And myself and Supervisor Chan said yes. And Senator Weiner, it was like a little paddle that you put up. And he just didn't answer the question. And so he got so much blowback from that that a couple days later he put out this statement saying, ah, yes, I've come around. I've decided now that it is in fact a genocide. But then there was reporting just yesterday from Ryan Grim at drop site that apparently State Senator Scott, we were still going out and talking to APAC donors, telling them that, yeah, yeah, I'm saying it's a genocide publicly, but I don't actually believe that. You know, I'm just saying that because I have to say it like, please still give me your money. So this is like the kind of ridiculous, just hypocritical, you know, politics that people are so sick of. And people say one thing, you know, they just say whatever's politically convenient. Like, why don't you just look at what's going on in Gaza and have a moral opinion about it, Right? And people are tired of it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Well, and this is just. This is kind of a crass way to put it, but this is honestly how I think of these Democrats. I think they're prostitutes. I think they're willing to themselves out to APAC and to Israel and not stand on business and stand up for their constituents. And when you have the same pimps that Donald Trump has, that Ted Cruz has and that Lindsay Graham has, how on earth can you stand up for everyday Americans when you have the exact same pimps and you prostitute yourself out the same way Ted Cruz. I mean, and so I think that as a party, we have to really call these people out, because here's what I'm concerned about. I'm concerned that there's a lot of people in these races that are lying, that are liars, that are going on camera, that are going to rallies and saying enough to say, oh, you know, we're not going to send money to Israel. And then behind closed do they're telling donors and corporate interests, oh, jk, I'm just doing that so I can get the vote. Which makes them worse than the Republican Party, in my opinion.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Yeah. And this is what they do on so many issues. I mean, the things that we actually want to do as progressives, like universal health care, you know, getting rid of corruption and politics, universal child care, taxing the rich. These are all hugely popular issues. And so you keep seeing Democrats who will come out and say they're for this stuff, but even when Democrats have power, somehow none of it gets done. And that's because the donors still control that place. You know, they, they don't want to actually piss off their donors. But, you know, in this race, like we are seeing, you know, I mentioned State Senator Wiener has continued to take money. He said he's not going to take any APAC money, by the way, but he's continued to take money from AIPAC board members, from AIPAC leaders. But we also just saw a super PAC come in in the last week that started putting about a half million dollars that, as far as we can tell, again, this is based, is a front group for apac and it's spending on behalf of my other opponent, on behalf of Connie Chan, who, you know, as far as I can tell, is actually decent on this issue. She was for, you know, the offensive weapons, but not defensive weapons thing, but she managed to move on that position. Yeah. Go ahead.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Let's talk about offensive versus defensive. How stupid do these people think we are, these candidates that say that and, and treat us in such a condescending way that they, that we would believe that Benjamin Netanyahu and Ben Gavir are going to actually be honest about what they're using offensively or defensively? Furthermore, is there such a distinction as an offensive and defensive weapon? To me, that is such a patronizing way to treat your voters. And you're telling me this is what Connie Chan is telling people? Because I think that is so patronizing to tell people that.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Yeah, that. That was her position. I will say she moved on it again, like, because we're in an election like I managed to move both my opponents on. On this issue. But this is the thing, right? Like, the. The reason APAC spends all this money is they want to have these malleable candidates that they know are movable, that they know that they can actually, you know, influence at the end of the day. I mean, Supervisor Chan's been endorsed by Nancy Pelosi in the race, by Adam Schiff. And so she's going in as part of that establishment. And the thing is, like, AIPAC knows that I am actually strong in this issue. I mean, I started just as Democrats, right? Like, I helped Rashida Tlib and Ilhan Omar get elected. I've been fighting them for years. And so their main goal is to make sure I don't win this seat. So they're trying to spend everything they can right now to keep me out of the top two tomorrow to make sure that I don't go on into general. Both because they know that I actually care about this issue and I'm going to fight them on it. But also they know that I'm the best one to actually beat Scott Wiener. Like, we already have general election polling that we did where Scott Weiner and I are basically in a dead heat. We're completely tied up. So they're doing whatever they can to keep me out. But this is the thing, I think, you know, getting rid of APAC money, AI money, crypto money, that's going to be the big fight in the Democratic Party in this election in 2028. If we can't actually wrest control of this party back from all these influences and have it be a party that actually fights for working people, then we're hosed. I mean, yeah, like, we are going to keep seeing the country go more and more in an authoritarian direction because we're not going to be able to actually make people's lives better.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I completely agree. And I think it's really stunning that both of your opponents would even participate in anything to do with apac, because it's my understanding that AIPAC creates these other groups, like Democracy for Women, and it's all a ruse because the. The policies in Israel are so horrific, criminal, sociopathic, genocidal, etc. That they can't run on them. And I cannot stand the nra. I can't stand it, but at least they run on it. Don't take our rights away. This Israel thing is so toxic that they have to lie in disguise. And I just, in your final message to the voters in your district, speak about how dishonest it is for both of these candidates to somehow be overtly taking APAC money or taking it in a, in a veiled way. And how lying to the electorate, even just during the campaign, how much worse is that going to be for your district once you have representation? And my God, let me just say this to the people of San Francisco, as a woman that came from a red state. Hold the line, man. Like I, I can tell you that if you start playing patty cake with these fascists and these corporate donors, your rights will start erod voting before you know it. I mean San Francisco has got to be a beacon of liberal ideals or the people in these blue dots and red states are just gonna die if they elect some of these corporate do nothing Democrats.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Yeah. And that's really what this seat is about, right? This is a deeply progressive seat, a deep blue sea. I mean there's a whole history and a legacy in San Francisco. Being a seat that really pushes on these issues that kind of sets up, sets the tone for the rest of the country. And so to have someone from this seat who goes to Washington and is totally bought out by the Israel lobby and the corporate lobby, they're going to provide cover for all these other Democrats. They're going to be the one that's really like setting the tone for what happens in Washington. And so right now, like we're in an election and so we're seeing these candidates move their positions and try to say they're better on this issue. But that's because of the pressure that the election's creating. So once the candidates get elected, you know, once they're actually economists, well, there's no pressure. The only pressure they're going to face is from the gobs of money that come their way. So you have to actually vote for somebody who's clear on this issue, who's not going to be bought out, who's been very clear about rejecting APAC money, corporate money, AI money, and that's what I'm presenting this race. I really think we are in an existential battle for who's going to control our society, who's going to control our future. Are we going to just hand off control to the Israel lobby, to the AI lobby, to crypto lobby? Or are we going to take control back? Are we going to have people control our future? And that's what I'm trying to fight for.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

All right, Shot. Tell our listeners how they can support you in the, you know, tail end of this race.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Yeah. So please, if you like what you hear, go to Shot us SA I k a t us. We are doing a massive get out the vote operation. So if you're in the Bay Area, sign up to volunteer. We're looking at we have about 600 volunteers signed up tomorrow to make sure people actually vote. And if you don't live in the Bay Area you can still phone bank or you could donate a few bucks our way. It all helps. Thank you so much. I appreciate any help I can get.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Thank you so much and good luck. We're pulling for you.

[Shoikat Chakrabarti]

Thank you.

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