Bernie and Biden: The Debate
Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden in 2019
W.J. Astore
In last night's debate, Joe Biden ran away from his own record. Suddenly, Biden is against fracking. He's for Elizabeth Warren's education plan. He's against subsidies for fossil fuels. He's for a $15 minimum wage. He's against Super PACs and for public funding of elections. He's never tried to cut social security. Just about the only progressive policy he remains against is Medicare for All, which he says is simply too expensive to countenance.
Biden also wanted to drive the narrative by saying he was picking a woman as vice president and a black female as the next justice to the Supreme Court (Anita Hill, perhaps?). I'm not sure why Biden thought a female VP-candidate was such a big deal; Walter Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and of course Hillary Clinton ran for president in 2016. Months ago, I foresaw Biden/Kamala Harris as the DNC dream ticket. Older white guy, younger black woman, perfect! Except that they're both establishment tools whose views are safely unprogressive.
Joe Biden was so eager to claim he agreed with Bernie Sanders that my wife quipped, "He's a #MeToo candidate!" Along with his new "me too" tactic, Biden also likes to say, "I'm the guy," as in "I'm the guy who supported gay marriage publicly" or "I'm the guy who engineered the Paris Climate Accords." To Biden, being present at or near the creation of something means that he created it.
Biden's new strategy was obvious; it was essentially the same one Hillary adopted in 2016 to neutralize Bernie. FAKE LEFT, RUN RIGHT.
Biden is now faking that he's sensitive to progressive concerns. But like Hillary he'll run to the right if he wins the nomination. And, like Hillary, he'll lose to Trump.
Of course, much of the debate focused on the coronavirus and the government's response to it, and both men said reasonable things. Watching as much of the CNN post-debate coverage I could stomach (not much), all the "journalists" on the panel saluted Joe Biden for his fine performance. Indeed, there wasn't a single progressive on the panel. No one took Bernie's side.
Naturally, there was no discussion in this debate of America's wars or its colossal military budget. The military-industrial complex went unnoticed and unchallenged. Indeed, Biden suggested that the military is somehow going to ride to the rescue by erecting tent cities during the coronavirus crisis.
Biden kept mentioning all the time he'd spent in the White House Situation Room, so much so that "Situation Room Biden" could be his new handle. All talk of Biden's "gaffes," i.e. signs of cognitive decline, was banished, but of course CNN reminded its viewers that Bernie had recently suffered a mild heart attack. Biden, naturally, asserted he had a clean bill of health.
And so it went. Overall, by running away from his own record and lying consistently through his blindingly white teeth, Joe Biden probably fooled enough people to vote for him while handing the Democratic establishment the victory they crave most of all: keeping the progressive base powerless and firmly in its place.