Welcome to Episode 151 of KK&F, featuring Ryan Grim discussing his new book on the secret history of the Squad. The Squad has expanded beyond its original four members to become a significant, popular entity with which the Democratic Party has been forced to contend, never more so than now as Joe Biden provides unconditional support to Israel’s war on Gaza. At times, members of the Squad have been the only in Congress, or among the only, to support single-payer healthcare, the rights of Palestinian people, ending homelessness, and more. They’ve also occasionally run afoul of their own professed values, with certain members taking votes on defense spending, problematic funding, stances on Israel, and insufficient steps to champion Medicare for All that have resulted in intense criticism from the left.
Time has told us that it isn’t good practice for progressives to uncritically stan the Squad. Nor, we’d argue, is it good practice to dismiss the contributions they’ve made to American politics, the public support they’ve amassed, or the power they’ve won within the Democratic Party, limited though it may be at the moment. The question of how progressives can effectively work within the Democratic Party — if they can at all — is one with which we’ve long been interested. Ryan’s great new book gives us the opportunity to return to it with the Squad as a fascinating case study.
You can listen to this episode of KK&F as a podcast when it’s released tomorrow on Spotify, Substack, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and more.
Episode 151 Audio: Ryan Grim