NY Mag column declares ‘death’ of ‘Democrats’ domestic ambitions:’ A ‘catastrophe’ with ‘a thousand fathers’

New York Magazine's Intelligencer published an opinion piece Friday that argued the Biden administration and Democrat-controlled Congress' failures are due to more than Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who many left-wing Democrats view as being too centrist. Instead, NY Mag's Jonathan Chait argued that Biden's failure to enact an "FDR-size domestic-reform agenda" was a result of him missing his political moment.

While Chait acknowledged that "it would be unfair to measure the Democrats against the full-bloom version of their most ambitious measure" because "razor-tight margins of control in both chambers of Congress always meant compromise would be necessary," he said even by lowered standards Biden and the Democrat Congress have not achieved enough of their own left-wing agenda. 

"At the same time, by realistic or even minimal standards of performance, this two-year term, almost certain to be the last period of Democratic-controlled government for the foreseeable future, has been a failure," he wrote. "The ramifications of this defeat — political, economic, and ecological — will reverberate." 

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Chait wrote that Manchin, who has been described as a ‘nemisis’ by some in liberal media, is not solely to blame.

"The official cause of death for the Democrats’ domestic ambitions was a decision by Joe Manchin to back away from measures he had previously supported, citing rising prices," Chait wrote. "But Manchin is merely the most prominent author of a catastrophe that has a thousand fathers."

He wrote that Biden's decision to hold off on "enduring social reforms" was a miscalculation. 

"The theory, which seemed logical to many of us at the time, was to first ensure a prosperous economy and then leverage the political benefit of that prosperity to pass permanent social-welfare measures," he wrote. "Instead, the American Jobs Plan overshot, injecting more demand into an already heating economy. It did not cause high inflation, but it exacerbated it," he continued. 

"And thus, rather than producing a prosperous economy that gave Democrats more confidence to pass Biden’s domestic agenda, it led to a sour inflationary economy that had them running for cover," he continued.

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The piece also blasted Democrats for not raising taxes on the rich. "The persistence of Democratic opposition to raising taxes on plutocrats remains the party’s most damaging political liability," Chait wrote. "The party’s political and policy agenda hinges on taxing the wealthy," he continued.

"The proceeds from those taxes allow Democrats to spend money on other popular causes," he wrote. "In theory, this method can only work for so long, until you run out of efficient and productive ways to raise taxes on the affluent. In practice, the American tax system is nowhere near that point."

According to Chait, "Donald Trump was able to unite his party behind an unpopular tax cut for the rich. Biden was unable to unite his party behind a popular reversal of that bill, or even a partial reversal." 

President Trump's tax cuts contributed to an economic boom that resulted in rising median wages, economic growth, and low rates of unemployment.

"The wealthy hold a disproportionate influence on both the elite in parties, pulling Democrats to the left of their voters on social issues, and Republicans to the right of their voters on economic issues," Chait wrote.

"Stripped of their ability to run on taxing the rich, Democrats lose the backbone of their populist connection to Americans of modest means," he said.

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Democrats are expected to endure heavy political losses in the 2022 midterm elections.