Both sides in the post-election infighting that's plagued Democrats in 2017 have featured a covertly shared premise: the idea that populist economic policy is a message that is appropriate, if it's appropriate anywhere, in red-trending working-class states and congressional districts, while an electoral emphasis on the college-educated professionals who are trending blue requires drastic sail-trimming.
The contrast played out in Rob Quist's populist approach in Montana versus Jon Ossoff's vague platitudes about wasteful spending in Georgia, with both factions not only having their own champions but seemingly accepting that the choice of electoral terrain dictated the choice of policy platforms. Progressives criticizing Ossoff's message tended to attribute it to an allegedly doomed strategy of seeking votes in educated suburbs rather than returning to the rust belt.
