Damn, that's an amazingly accurate examination of the Bernie or bust movement, if a little moderate-biased.
Can Biden unify the Democratic Party?
The significance of this story to Warren’s narrative about her own political trajectory is one reason Sanders supporters have been so frustrated by her reluctance to endorse Sanders as part of a last-ditch effort to block a Biden nomination. The former vice president is very literally the central Democratic Party villain in her own official account of why she got involved in politics, so to stand aside and let him secure the nomination when his opponent is someone with whom she has only minor policy disagreements seems outrageous.
At the same time, politics isn't beanbag.
Sanders’s odds of winning the nomination are extremely low no matter what Warren does, and while Biden was certainly Warren’s antagonist on bankruptcy everyone with an adult understanding of politics sees that this was a question of Delaware home state stuff rather than ideological fanaticism on his part.
Biden is a very old-fashioned transactional politician, and if he’s willing to endorse her proposal on her signature issue in exchange for neutrality then that seems like a good deal to take. The biggest question facing Warren’s team at this point isn’t who will win the nomination, it’s how can they best position themselves to wield influence in a Biden administration — perhaps even securing the vice presidency — now that primary polling and ailing economy make one look likely.
But even as Biden is taking dramatic steps to unify the Democratic Party, this whole saga is a case study in why it’ll be difficult. He can shift his policy positions in favor of more progressive stances, and that will win him the affection of people like Warren who are very into policy details. But Biden’s big problem isn’t progressive policy wonks, it’s 20-something Sanders voters who have low propensity to vote and whose thinking about politics is heavily influenced by pro-Sanders media figures who are extremely hostile to the institutional Democratic Party.
Many of these figures aren’t very interested in transactional politics or concrete policy concessions, and their fundamental critique of mainstream Democratic Party politicians is that they are bad people who can’t be trusted. Warren can say nice things about Biden’s agenda, but she can’t retract the core claim that Biden was an instrumental actor in a corrupt legislative process that screwed the middle class on behalf of the wealthy and powerful.
To people disinclined to trust mainstream politicians, Sanders is a rare hero. It’s very hard for someone with decades of experience exhibiting both the flaws and the virtues of mainstream politics to gain the trust and confidence that Sanders has won. The horse-trading that seems to have led Biden to reverse himself on bankruptcy doesn’t change that.
Damn, that's an amazingly accurate examination of the Bernie or bust movement, if a little moderate-biased.
I can't see this as anything but a win for Warren, and maybe eventually for people in debt. I'm glad Biden has not only downplayed his old position but changed his mind. Don't accuse your opponent...
I can't see this as anything but a win for Warren, and maybe eventually for people in debt. I'm glad Biden has not only downplayed his old position but changed his mind. Don't accuse your opponent of flip-flopping or inconsistency when you're winning.
Most of former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent public remarks have focused on the coronavirus pandemic, but he did take time ahead of the March 15 debate to address the topic of federal bankruptcy law, saying that he now endorses a bankruptcy reform plan that Sen. Elizabeth Warren rolled out in January.
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Biden was a major proponent of a 2005 bankruptcy reform bill that was heavily supported by the credit card industry, a major industry in Biden’s home state of Delaware. Warren’s plan would have been rolled back the main provisions.
For him to adopt her view of the matter, in other words, is a major policy win for Warren on a topic that could not be nearer or dearer to her heart.
Damn, that's an amazingly accurate examination of the Bernie or bust movement, if a little moderate-biased.
I can't see this as anything but a win for Warren, and maybe eventually for people in debt. I'm glad Biden has not only downplayed his old position but changed his mind. Don't accuse your opponent of flip-flopping or inconsistency when you're winning.
From the article:
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