It’s good to see Bernie Sanders’s “revolution” crushed, even if it’s by a sympathetic escapee from Madam Tussauds who doesn’t have his heart in it. Of course I’m talking about Joe Biden. His motto ought to be the skin is too damn tight. As it is, his motto seems to be: no enemies to the left. It is the motto that served Alexander Kerensky so poorly in connection with the revolution that inspires Sanders.
Sander’s humiliation by Biden is thus offset or counterbalanced by the gravitational effect he has exerted on Biden in “Who is Biden, really? Give him a couple weeks for a definitive answer.” Byron chronicles Biden’s Great Leap Leftward (okay, that should be “hop” rather than “leap”):
(1) “As the Nevada vote neared, Biden promised that if he became president, he would not deport anyone — no one, under any circumstances — during his first 100 days in office. After that, Biden said, he would deport only those who have committed felonies in the United States.”
(2) “Biden announced he was adopting some of Sanders’ positions on free college for all.” Byron quotes the campaign statement: “Today, Biden is adding to his agenda by adopting Sen. Sanders’ proposal to make public colleges and universities tuition-free for all students whose family incomes are below $125,000.”
Byron adds: “Biden’s proposal was modeled on a bill Sanders offered in 2017, and that was also part of Sanders’ 2016 battle with Hillary Clinton. Sanders has since moved on — he now proposes free tuition for everyone, regardless of income. Accordingly, Sanders rejected Biden’s move.”
(3) “Back in the 2000s, Biden, then a senator, fought with Elizabeth Warren, then a Harvard professor, over the issue of bankruptcy. She wanted to make it less wearing on those who have to declare bankruptcy by, among other things, allowing them to include student debt in their bankruptcy filing. Biden opposed the idea. Years later, Warren made a similar plan part of her presidential campaign before dropping out after the Super Tuesday primaries earlier this month. Now…Biden is moving Warren’s way.”
Biden’s Great Leap Leftward reflects the company he keeps in the mainstream of the Democratic Party. Biden’s patina of “moderation” is about as convincing as the youth projected by Biden’s plastic surgery.
Consider Biden’s full-on commitment to the identity politics at the heart of the party. It is explicit in his commitment to select a woman as his running mate and to name a black woman to the Supreme Court. These commitments might be termed capitulation if Biden had ever demonstrated the slightest inclination to resist. On the contrary, however, he has played the Democrats’ identity politics game for 30-plus years.
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