Great essay written by a billionaire Dem

[JHan]

160. I agree that Rubin and Summers were wrong on somethings..

and they admitted to it , especially Summers in recent times.

There was the belief that some ideas would help spread prosperity to working-class Americans, there are legitimate criticisms to be made about their assumptions there but the point I'm making is that there never was a halcyon moment for Democrats where you could find nothing problematic. Democrats, post civil rights, had to deal with backlash against Civil Rights and trying to hold on to white voters for the most part.

Any claim that there was some perfect moment in the past, under FDR for example, is to ignore a lot of history. Even Johnson with his Great Society and healthcare reforms pushed for increased Vietnam intervention, something Martin Luther King criticized him for. This doesn't deny Johnson's greatness but it's a lesson in the dangers of idealizing any politician. We should honestly assess the challenges our Leaders have faced, note the flaws, understand the political realities.

This is why the current trend of some progressives to lionize FDR in order to shame modern democrats is so shameless and disingenuous. They always conveniently forget facts which challenge their claims.