Are We Winning A New Political Era?

A few weeks ago, The Daily Poster noted that the exclusion of a $15 minimum wage from the American Rescue Plan was a missed opportunity and a tragic failure. Then again, our reporting also pointed out same bill’s direct aid to millions of people was an enormous victory and a huge success for a grassroots movement that has so changed politics that even a former longtime austerian like Joe Biden ended up signing legislation that included those investments.  On this podcast, I talked to author Anand Giridharadas about the idea of losing and winning — and whether or not we are finally moving out of the Reagan Era and into a new epoch of positive change. He is the author of the fantastic book Winners Take All and has a great newsletter called The Ink.  During the discussion, we talked about how to simultaneously remember the awful and unforgivable parts of Biden’s senate record, remain circumspect about his commitment to progressive change, criticize his ongoing capitulations, but also acknowledge some of the victories that are being won during the early weeks of his presidency.  As you listen to this podcast, please know: I’ve spent a lot of my life standing up to Biden. As a young person, I was ostracized by powerful Democrats for daring to criticize his bankruptcy bill. As a reporter, I wrote one of the definitive pieces exposing his pernicious role in the student debt crisis. As a campaign staffer, I spotlighted his efforts to cut Social Security. And now as the founder of The Daily Poster, I’ve been leading a team of reporters that has continued to scrutinize his actions. The point is: I’m under no illusions about who Biden is. But I also know that politics is much bigger than any one politician — and that the best reporting is the kind that focuses on the policy. I hope you’ll listen to this whole podcast because it delves into lots of issues that so many Daily Poster subscribers have raised over the last few weeks. Rock the boat, Sirota Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.