Jamelle Bouie says it is the conservatives and moderates in the Democratic Party, not the Squad, that are to blame for the government’s unpopularity, as they are responsible for the failure of the BBB. Is he right?
Yes and no. Instead of blaming “moderates,” he should name names–just Manchin and Sinema, both of whom are better described as independents than Democrats. Everyone else is on board with the BBB, so blaming a large group of people instead of two holdouts is inappropriate. That said, the Squad is not to blame, either, because its members are more interested in expanding the welfare state than in winning culture wars. It is the Twitter left, not anyone in Congress, that must take responsibility for raising the issues that the GOP loves to discuss: “defunding the police;” misguided attacks on the Founding Fathers; and cancel culture.