Why are “moderate” Democrats always corporate Democrats?

Surely there is a better way to be in the middle

Jason Zengerle has a good piece in the New York Times Magazine on “The Vanishing Moderate Democrat.” It is worth a full read, in essence the piece notes how woke issues have taken over the Democratic Party and driven it far to the left of most voters on a wide range of issues. This has been an area that has gotten increased attention lately, with people like David Shor and others pointing out that one of the reasons is the Democratic establishment (Congressional staffers, DNC people, etc.) are increasingly just highly educated people coming straight from elite universities armed with views that reflect those cultures - but most voters don’t have a college degree, let alone one from an elite university, and their views are somewhat different.

That is a whole piece in of itself - I recommend and interview Ezra Klein did with David Shor a few months back. But one thing that struck/annoyed me reading Zengerle’s piece is how far too often a “moderate” Democrat is one that is basically someone who advocates for corporate interests. Back in the Bush days, it was the Blue Dog (“moderate”) Democrats who supported his very pro-corporate agenda. More recently, when Trump’s corporate/rich people tax cuts were being debated, the media held up Joe Manchin as the most likely Democrat to support the the bill because he was “moderate” and from a red state. No matter that he represented one of the poorest states in the country, he had the moderate label and in their mind that meant pro-corporate. Incidentally, Manchin did not vote for the bill - but the sentiment was there because of a long history of red-state Democrats being pro-corporate.

The NYT Mag piece highlights a Pennsylvania Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild, and New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who kind of fit this mold:

She is unequivocal in her support of abortion rights and gay rights and says concerns that critical race theory is being taught in schools are, in her estimation, “completely cooked up.” But she talks about these culture-war issues only when asked. Instead, she prefers to focus on her support of business…

Wild is not unusual among moderate Democrats in promoting an economic agenda that champions the interests of industry, Wall Street and the affluent. Although Josh Gottheimer spends a lot of time jousting with the Squad, his signature issue is raising or eliminating the cap on the state and local tax deduction — not exactly a pressing concern of working-class voters. (Relatedly, Gottheimer doesn’t need to worry about appealing to small-dollar donors. A favorite of Wall Street donors, he currently has $13 million in his campaign war chest.)

Is this what they think voters want Democrats to moderate on? Be bigger advocates for corporations? My sense is that is not the case. Voters are concerned by too-woke language, critical race theory issues, trans athletes, out of control immigration, etc. I picture a “moderate” Democrat as being one who wants to get tough on the border and is maybe very pro-gun, perhaps one who supports a 15 week abortion ban but with proper exceptions, but also one who wants to raise taxes on the rich and corporations, not abase themselves before wealthy elites.

This basically describes Joe Manchin, someone Sean McElwee (in the piece) highlights as a good example of a moderate Democrat we need more of. That is not to say a Massachusetts/DC liberal like myself supports all his views. But he represents West Virginia! If we want to win other red or purple states, we need more Democrats like that. I think that makes more sense than just running back to Wall Street.