The truce Progressives, Centrists, and the future of the Democratic Party

Joe Biden has forged a fractious but productive relationship with the left wing of the Democratic Party, according to this canny political investigation. Journalists Walker (The Breach) and Luppen spotlight milestones in the development of present-day Democratic politics, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's rise to progressive stardom; Sen. Bernie Sanders's 2020 Democratic primary loss to Joe Biden, who then gave Sanders and other lefties significant influence over his platform to promote party unity; the friction between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and AOC and her squad of progressive congresswomen of color; and the cooperation between President Biden and House progressives led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who compromised on left initiatives to help Biden's landmark American Rescue Act and Inflation Reduction Act get past the concerns of centrist senator Joe Manchin. The authors probe stubborn fissures remaining in the Democratic Party as well, including the infighting between progressive and centrist congressional candidates in New York State in the 2020 midterm elections, which helped the Democrats lose three seats to Republicans. Drawing on dozens of interviews with pols and staffers, Walker and Luppen combine shrewd political analysis with lively, deeply reported scenes of backroom deal brokering and campaign horse race drama. The result is a revealing look at a seminal party transformation that has birthed the most potent left-wing politics in decades. (Jan.)

A journalistic account of the uneasy alliance between the progressive and establishment wings of the Democratic Party. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with party insiders, reporters Walker and Luppen trace the origins of the modern progressive movement and the strategizing that has brought it to the fore. That movement didn't flourish under the Obama presidency; Obama, inherently cautious, held to a centrist policy, and even though Joe Biden foresaw Hillary Clinton's loss in 2016, Obama backed her. For his part, Biden also recognized that the Obama coalition of voters was fragile, and he's been notably open to the work of building alliances between those with left and centrist tendencies. Even so, the authors write, "The party continues to feud over whether to present a transformative progressive message tuned to their base or a moderate one designed to cater to independents and have a broader appeal." Interestingly, some of that bridge-building owes to Obama, who, learning a lesson from Clinton's loss, "wanted to ensure [that] the two factions of the party could build a solid alliance to take on Trump." Whether the bridges will endure remains to be seen, but the approach has shown results. For example, the failure of the "red wave" in the 2022 midterm elections was one sign, even if a Democratic bulwark--namely, the state of New York--lost four seats to Republicans, owing to the factors that have kept Democrats from winning elsewhere: "internecine disputes, influxes of Republican megadonor cash, and the steady barrage of right-leaning media machinery." The authors close with a gimlet-eyed analysis of where matters stand, with Bernie Sanders voicing particular concern that the party stands at a crossroads of representing the working class or staying "a corporately controlled party beholden to your wealthy campaign contributors." A good choice for politics watchers, especially as the 2024 presidential race heats up. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.