On a hack that we’ve been watching a lot lately
Over the past week Matthew Yglesias has published not one but two pro-corruption pieces calling for the return of the revolving door. Where he thinks it went we aren’t sure. But he has made it his mission to resuscitate the system of corruption and corporate influence that he feels we (as in, literally, us at Revolving Door Project) have driven to extinction.
While many recognize how much of a blowhard Matt is, he is still unfortunately considered a serious policy thinker by others. And that’s a problem given how averse he is to basic fact-checking and actually understanding the criticisms he dismisses out of hand. We believe in honest discourse. If Matt won’t do the work, we will. We hope that he will actually reflect on this and become a better, harder to refute writer for it. We’d rather have meaningful discussions on key issues than continually have arguments sailing past one another in the night. But for now, we’ll settle for showcasing the inveracity of his assertions and shallowness of his arguments.
For now, we have made it our mission to dispel his under researched, poorly reasoned screeds. Here’s a breakdown of our recent work on DC’s most polarizing wonk.
The American Prospect: What We Talk About When We Talk About the Revolving Door
By Max Moran and Henry Burke
Yglesias has spuriously claimed that progressives held up qualified nominees for no reason other than the existence of their ties to private industry. Not only does he ignore that his example (Antonio Weiss) was unqualified for the position, he insists that Wall Street and tech executives are often more qualified for government service than career civil servants. Perhaps he’ll answer how this informs his approach to the major party presidential nominees for 2024.
RDP Newsletter: Several Corporate Revolvers Got Into the Biden Admin and Made It Worse
By Kenny Stancil
The Biden administration has had many successes, but some of its corporate nominees have held back progress. This has forced us to ask how much more successful would Biden’s egalitarian redistributive program have been, one wonders, had certain appointees not been in leadership positions at key agencies? Among these corporate revolvers are:
- Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco
- Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
- And Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services Christopher Hoff
Blog: Matt Yglesias Is Wrong About Lina Khan’s Record
By KJ Boyle
A summary of why Yglesias’ faulty legal “analysis” fails to capture the record of success the Federal Trade Commission has had under commissioner Lina Khan. In reality, she’s stacked up major wins like:
- A settlement that blocked anticompetitive harms of pharma giant Amgen’s $28bn acquisition drug maker Horizon
- A trial victory blocking biopharma data provider IQVIA’s acquisition of a medical advertising firm.
- Blocking the Lockheed Martin’s acquisition of Aerojet
- And a ban on non-competes, estimated to increase wages by $400 billion
Of course, Khan has also deterred 100% of the mergers that Wall Street has NOT facilitated because of her looming presence, as even her critics have acknowledged.
Blog: Please Mr. President, Can We Have Just A Bit Of Corruption
By Henry Burke
“Joe Biden’s administration, unlike Barack Obama’s or Bill Clinton’s, hasn’t included any businesspeople in the cabinet,” according to Matt Yglesias. This was news to us, so we spent some time going through the members of the Biden cabinet with private industry experience.
Blog: When In Doubt, Pretend Everything Fits Your Preexisting Conclusions
By Henry Burke
Polling shows progressive priorities are overwhelmingly popular. Of course Matthew Yglesias would try to spin it as a case for moderation. Here’s some examples:
- Increasing the minimum wage
- Protecting and expanding social security
- Fighting corporate price gouging
Hackwatch: Don’t Let Silicon Valley Crucify Mankind On A Cross Of Blockchain
By Henry Burke
Republicans want to tie the US government to the price of bitcoin. This is stupid. So too are recommendations from centrist pundits (like Yglesias) that Democrats pursue the crypto vote by abandoning regulatory protections.
Hackwatch: Kamala Harris Must Ignore Corporate Landlord Apologists and Double Down On
By Vishal Shankar and Andrea Beaty
Joe Biden’s recent announcements about the intention to protect renters from the worst abuses of landlords are good. VP Harris should stand by them despite the criticism from the likes of Yglesias.
Hackwatch: Don’t Buy Louis DeJoy’s “Second-Act” Spin
By Vishal Shankar
Just because he isn’t capturing the headlines like he used to doesn’t mean that Louis DeJoy isn’t still wreaking havoc on the post office. Pundits like Matt calling for it to be privatized aren’t helping save this crucial public service.
While we are doubtful that the numerous fact checks and refutations will change how Yglesias approaches his work, we hope to push back on the toxic ideas he has spewed and ensure that the public is aware of his flimsy relationship to the truth.