One theory has it that it was the failure of Congress to pass Biden’s infrastructure and human capital bills that killed McAuliffe in Virginia. If that theory is correct, both the progressives and the moderates have a case against each other, although the progressives, unlike the moderates, patently lack the leverage to get what they want. A second theory is that McAuliffe lost because the GOP successfully ramped up the culture war on schools. If that was the case, any blame rests with woke activists in local government and on the internet, not on anyone in Congress, as there are no real left-wing culture warriors in any position of power in Washington. Finally, a third line of thought has it that McAuliffe’s failure was personal; he didn’t inspire anyone with his repeated attempts to tie Youngkin to Trump. There is probably some truth to that.
The bottom line is that blame cannot realistically be attached to any single grouping in Congress, as two of these scenarios don’t involve Congress at all, and responsibility for gridlock on the infrastructure and human capital bills rests with both factions. The best thing the Democrats can do is pass the two bills in some form and find a better way to deal with the culture war issues. I will be discussing their options next week.