What Tuesday's election results really mean
Many are describing the victories of Terry McAuliffe in Virginia and Chris Christie in New Jersey as a 'return to the center' of American politics. Reich criticizes this idea arguing that the definition of 'the center' has become distorted in recent years.
Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie reacts to shouts from the crowd as he stands with his family as they celebrate his election victory in Asbury Park, N.J., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013.
Mel Evans/AP Photo/File
Pundits who are already describing the victories of Terry McAuliffe in Virginia and Chris Christie in New Jersey as a 鈥渞eturn to the center鈥� of American politics are confusing the 鈥渃enter鈥� with big business and Wall Street.
A few decades ago McAuliffe would be viewed as a right-wing Democrat and Christie as a right-wing Republican. Both garnered their major support from corporate America, and both聽will reliably govern as fiscal conservatives who won鈥檛 raise taxes on the wealthy.
Both look moderate only by contrast with the Tea Partiers to their extreme right.聽
The biggest game-changer, though, is Bill de Blasio, the mayor-elect of New York City, who campaigned against the corporatist legacy of Michael Bloomberg 鈥� promising to raise taxes on the wealthy and use the revenues for pre-school and after-school programs for the children of New York鈥檚 burdened middle class and poor.
Those who dismiss his victory as an aberration confined to New York are overlooking three big new things:
First, the new demographic reality of America gives every swing state at least one large city whose inhabitants resemble those of New York.
Second, de Blasio won notwithstanding New York鈥檚 position as the epicenter of big business and Wall Street, whose money couldn鈥檛 stop him.
Third, Americans are catching on to the scourge of the nation鈥檚 raging inequality, and its baleful consequences for our economy and democracy.