

I agree. The author presents a thesis that Democrats have tracked left, and then presents two issues where they have (abortion, job guarantees), one issue where they have returned to where they were in 1990 and the working class has tracked right (healthcare), and then just an identity question (liberal) which is not actually an issue. It’s far from a comprehensive data analysis.
The author misses out on a huge area where Democrats (and the left in general) have consistently gotten worse at: communication and persuasion. Part of this is the failure of the Democrats to identify, push, and promote charismatic candidates (find a single human being who feels more excited about left ideas after hearing Pelosi, Jeffries, or Schumer talk). The other big part is the concentration of media power in fewer organizations and more ideologically right owners. Even more, the party of the young whiffed on social media entirely which could have lessened the impact of the latter part.

How would this hand over taxpayer dollars? The 50% stake would come from a one-time tax on stock that hands over that stake; it doesn’t call for forcing the companies to sell to the government.