Bernie And His Political Agenda

By Jones William

**This article was written and published on March 14, 2020. A lot has happened since then. Senator Sanders has since endorsed Joe Biden.

Doing The Math

Bernie Sanders has committed to remaining in the presidential race, despite big losses to Joe Biden. I have not heard him say that staying in the race means going all the way to the convention. I strongly believe that he will stay in the race long enough to carry out two goals. First, he will want to reach the point at which there is no obvious way forward in the eyes of 80–90% of his supporters. Once they can see for themselves that the math does not support staying in the race, I believe they will be more amenable to Sanders’ endorsing Biden.

Unity Building

Secondly, any endorsement will be contingent upon Joe Biden publicly committing to incorporate Bernie’s pet progressive planks into the Democratic party platform. To me, that seems reasonable, for a man with millions of supporters.  By cutting it short somewhere in the near future, and not dragging the fight all the way to the convention, Joe Biden can then focus on building party unity. By embracing the Sander’s progressive faction in some measurable way, before the primary contests are over both Bernie  and Biden get something they want.

Goal Directed

With these goals in mind, Sanders will take part in Sunday’s one-on-one debate with Biden in Washington, DC. I think he’ll ask for everyone who supports any part of his movement’s agenda in Florida, Ohio, Illinois, and Arizona to turn out in a big way. A showing so large that the movement’s goals cannot be ignored. If polling in these states is as close to true as it turned out to be in Michigan, Biden will improve on his current delegate lead. This will allow Sanders to turn his supporters to Biden and party unity, even as he leverages the incorporation of the movement’s goals into Biden’s platform.

Changing Dynamics

I could also be completely wrong. Heck, I thought that Sanders would be in the lead now based on what happened in Nevada. Things have changed quickly. Sanders also is not a conventional guy, nor is he a Democrat. He may have very different ideas about how to turn his minority into policy in the general election than the one I have suggested.  But he has said that defeating Trump is his most important goal.

2016 Democratic Convention

In 2016, Bernie went all the way to the convention, where things got really nasty and divisive.  In the end, Hillary Clinton, a uniquely polarizing individual became the Democratic nominee. We then watched Clinton lose to Trump in the Electoral College. It has been suggested that Bernie voters, still mad about the process, stayed home rather than vote for Clinton. Is this something he wants to risk having happen again?

Social Justice Platform

Hopefully, Sanders can appreciate that going forward his best bargaining position with both Biden and his base will probably come right after the primaries in Florida, Ohio, Illinois, and Arizona. He knows that he has a huge amount of support and that his support is more than just for himself, as a candidate. He and his supporters enthusiastically and rightfully believe that they are fighting for justice of all types in America. Racial justice, economic justice, environmental justice, LGBTQ justice, justice for immigrants. Bernie Sanders has made it clear he is not just another guy running for President for himself.

The ‘Overton Window’

Bernie represents something more, something bigger, and he knows it. Sanders knows (though he won’t directly address it) that Joe Biden appears to be rapidly and frighteningly slipping into senility in front of our eyes. The attacks against Biden’s competence have already begun. I see no realistic chance to beat Trump. I expect Trump will brutalize and mock Biden relentlessly.

Long Time Policy Positions

Joe Biden’s record and longtime policy positions are damaging ones to the majority of the working class and poor Americans. Bernie Sanders wants to offer an alternative to as many Americans as possible, while at the same time force the *’Overton Window’ to the political left, even if he is not the nominee. Bernie Sanders rolling over early will not accomplish that.

Still Miffed

Yes, I’ll back Joe Biden if he wins the nomination but I won’t be happy about him being the nominee. I agree he is more fit for office than Donald Trump and at least under him, the Republicans won’t be able to get away with as much mischief as they have under Trump. The Affordable Care Act will be safe under his watch. Hopefully he’ll keep his promise of a public option healthcare plan. Which is still better than nothing in my opinion. I’ll remain miffed that Democrats chose him over Bernie Sanders the very same way I’m still miffed that they chose Hillary Clinton over Bernie.

Joe Biden

All I can say at this point is that Biden BETTER beat Trump in the general election if he wins the nomination. America can’t take 4 more years of Trump. The rest of the world can’t take it either. At least with Biden, the US and international affairs would return to some sense of normalcy. The majority of Bernie’s supporters would vote for Biden over Trump. Many of them would do so begrudgingly and without enthusiasm, but they would do it. A minority would lose interest in the election and stay home, and a few (perhaps 5%) may even vote for Trump.

Increasing Enthusiasm

To increase support among Bernie’s crowd, Biden would need to woo them by adopting some of Bernie’s agenda, securing a strong personal endorsement by Bernie, and choosing a progressive person as his Vice President. Hopefully the VP nominee will at least be a progressive person of color, and under 60 years of age. In my opinion, Hillary Clinton made a huge mistake in 2016 by picking centrist Tim Kaine as her running mate.  That choice probably cost her the election.

Victory, Or Defeat

Biden will have to avoid the same mistake and select someone who can excite progressive and liberal voters. If Biden makes the right moves, he can get up to 95% of Bernie’s supporters on his side. If he sticks with the status quo, however, and makes a boring establishment VP pick, he is likely to get only 70–80% of Bernie’s voters to cast their ballots for him on election day. This is likely to be the difference between victory and defeat.

To Conclude

Yes, I’ll back Joe Biden if he wins the nomination but I won’t be happy about him being the nominee. Biden is more fit for office than Donald Trump, and at least under him, the Republicans won’t be able to get away with as much mischief as they have under Trump. The Affordable Care Act will be safe under Biden’s watch. Hopefully, he’ll keep his promise for a public option healthcare plan, which is still better than nothing. I’ll remain miffed that Democrats chose him over Bernie Sanders the very same way I’m still miffed that the party centrists chose Hillary Clinton. All I can say at this point is that Joe Biden had BETTER beat Trump in the general election if he wins the nomination. America can’t take 4 more years of Trump.

*The Overton window is the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time.