The Biggest Reason Democrats Will Fail in 2022…

The Build Back Better Act is officially dead after Senator Joe Manchin lied to President Biden about agreeing to support the bill if it was cut in half, and separated from the infrastructure bill passed earlier this year that heavily benefited Manchin’s personal and political interests - which is exactly what Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said was going to happen, after moderate Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Biden, agreed to take Manchin at his word without any leverage to back them up. Basically, Manchin got everything he wanted, and is giving up nothing in return -

he’s even saying that Democrats should start rewriting the Build Back Better Act from scratch, and maybe, if he feels like it, he’ll vote for it - as long as it doesn’t contain a Child Tax Credit, which parents will just spend on drugs. Seriously, that’s what he said.

The worst part of all this, is that Moderate Democrats who hold the most power have spent this entire battle fighting against AOC and the Progressive wing, instead of fighting against right-wing Democrats who are committed to destroying Joe Biden’s first and probably only term.

Earlier this year, Progressives had a workable plan to keep the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the same vote as the Build Back Better Act - which would have given fossil-fuel friendly Joe Manchin, and the rest of the Republican Party a big windfall among their billionaire mega-donors, while also requiring them to vote for a bill that would help everyday people, including their own constituents. On every possible political level it was a win-win, everybody would get what they wanted while making a necessary sacrifice to the other side. 

But Manchin said no. He threatened to vote against both bills unless the social spending one was detached and cut down - which almost certainly was a bluff, considering that it was unlikely, or at least very painful for him to vote against the infrastructure bill that he personally negotiated and would directly benefit from.

So Progressives, seeing this obvious political ploy, also said no - they wouldn’t vote for a split bill. And instead of backing them up, and seeing the situation for what it was - moderate Democrats - very specifically Nancy Pelosi, decided to negotiate with Manchin and pressure Progressives to give up their leverage. At the time, AOC unambiguously said that Manchin was going to screw them even though Pelosi and Biden had his word. 

And hey, she was absolutely right. The thing is, there is a fundamental problem with the Democratic Party, which is made up of two distinct factions: Moderates and Progressives. Moderates, like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Manchin have been in office for decades and explicitly represent the concerns and politics of a very particular class of voters - those who are older, white, upper middle class, and resistant to change.

Not coincidentally, this is also the basic demographic that is mostly captured by the Republican Party, and so Moderate Democrats very often capitulate to Republican ideals, like a misguided sense of fiscal responsibility that only applies to social funding, but not an unlimited military budget, or a means tested welfare system that intentionally limits access to those who need it the most. 

Even policies that have mainstream appeal, like universal healthcare and forgiving student loan debt are unimaginably difficult for Moderate Democrats to agree to, because their demographic has private insurance and already went to college in the 70s and 80s. Play clip of pelosi saying “”suppose your family…”

Meanwhile, Progressives represent a totally different demographic: younger, working class, people of color who are eager to effect positive change in light of easily identifiable social and economic inequality that clearly benefits the older, white, upper middle class.

And what is perhaps the most infuriating aspect of this division is that Moderates are explicitly anti-Progressive, while Progressive do all the groundwork to get Moderates elected. Progressive voters who reluctantly turned out in unprecedented numbers for Joe Biden likely won Democrats the 2020 election. Yet, in the immediate aftermath of the election, Moderates who lost seats in Congress explicitly blamed Progressives for pushing policies that had mass appeal, like medicare for all, as the reason they lost, instead of looking inward at their own policy failures - especially as Progressives swept local elections throughout the country, and primaried a number of incumbent Moderates. 

The basic truth is that Progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders represent the most politically educated and growing class of voters, while Moderates like Joe Biden and Joe Manchin represent a petulant, ineffective, and divided form of political advocacy that only works to weaken the Democratic Party, and grants endless concessions to Republicans for absolutely nothing in return.

Joe Biden just said he won’t unilaterally forgive student loan debt even though he can. Nancy Pelosi just said that congressional insider trading is just free market economics. Moderate Democrats blew up the Build Back Better Act with nothing to show for it, and are still somehow blaming Progressives for not doing everything they can to keep Joe Manchin happy.

The reality is that Progressive Democrats represent working class Americans, while Moderate Democrats represent… well, white Independents who mostly vote Republican. So this would be a good time for AOC to drop a quick: I told ya so, and for Moderates to listen.