Thread by @awprokop

There's a lot that's smart about this @ezraklein column but the assumed connection between passing a lot of progressive policies and subsequent electoral success does not seem evident to me

nytimes.com/2021/01/21/opi…

For instance Bill Clinton was least popular when he was trying to pass his health care bill, most popular when Republicans controlled Congress, the economy was good, and not much was happening policywise.

GOP governors in blue states w/ Dem legislatures are incredibly popular

Obviously policies that help people are worth pursuing because... they help people!

But the idea that electoral success will likely follow, and that the only thing holding Dems back from success is their inability to pass more stuff, smacks of wishful thinking to me.

The question I think is whether one views going for a big bold progressive agenda as radically different than the 2009 strategy, or essentially similar and likely to end up the same way politically.

https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1352305711686926336

For instance a lot of Ezra's column dwells on how things could be done differently than in 2009

In '09, there was much talk on how things could be done differently than in '93-'94. Dems thought they had the answers, which worked for passing a bill, but not for avoiding backlash

But really I think that if you buy the premise that Dem defeat in 2022 would be a “catastrophe” for democracy, it’s worth some grappling with the commonality of expansive legislative agendas and subsequent midterm backlash that started Clinton, Obama, and Trump’s terms.