How Biden ‘erased’ progress and insulted the left before the election
At his first rally of the year, Joe Biden stood in front of a massive “Restore Roe” banner in Manassas, Virginia, to advocate for abortion rights. This topic was central to the Democratic platform in the upcoming election.
However, the widespread support that Biden had hoped for was not forthcoming. Protesters rose from their seats at least a dozen times during his 22-minute speech to yell out demands for an end to the fighting in Gaza. A shocking turn of events exposed a president who is facing accusations of betraying his left-wing allies and is now in danger of alienating a key member of his coalition.
Even more disheartening is the fact that Biden shocked many early on in his presidency by signing historic bills to address the climate crisis and poverty, much to the delight of his progressive supporters. But his detractors claim that, with an election on the horizon, he is reverting to his centrist footing, and that his silence on the need for a Gaza truce has incited especially strong feelings of anger.
Usamah Andrabi, the communications director of the progressive group Justice Democrats, spoke about how the progressives in the movement were pleased to see President Biden prioritize several domestic progressive issues that they had been advocating for. His unwavering backing for the slaughter perpetrated by a far-right Israeli government has, without a doubt, undone much of that progress.
Before becoming Vice President Obama’s running mate, 81-year-old Biden represented Delaware in the Senate for 36 years, where he was widely considered a moderate. In 1994, he helped draft a crime bill that led to mass incarceration and came under fire for his cozy ties with the banking industry. During Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court, he failed to safeguard witness Anita Hill.
But Biden surprised everyone once he became office in 2021 by being far more aggressive than anyone had anticipated. He made history by appointing a diverse group of progressives to office, including the first Black woman, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court, as well as several justices of colour. By finally removing American forces from Afghanistan after twenty years, he solidified his standing on the anti-war left.
He was invited to transform a catastrophe into an opportunity by the coronavirus outbreak. The domestic manufacturing sector, infrastructure investment, and climate change mitigation efforts will all receive trillions of dollars in funding thanks to Biden. The fact that he had always been an ardent union supporter became apparent. “Joe Biden Is Bernie Sanders.” was the headline of a Wall Street Journal piece that said that Biden will essentially seek re-election in 2024 under the banner of democratic socialism.
However, dissatisfaction did sprout. After the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s plan to dramatically reduce student loan debt, some analysts said the former president could have achieved his goal with alternate strategies. It was disappointing that he didn’t make better use of his platform to urge Congress to approve voting rights and police reform laws. Biden was criticized for his embrace of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, who sanctioned the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist for the Washington Post, in 2018.
His opponents point out that even on climate change, his track record is contradictory. For example, author and campaigner Bill McKibben called last month’s president’s decision to halt exports of liquefied natural gas “a watershed moment” and the Inflation Reduction Act allocates $394 billion to renewable energy, the largest investment of its kind in history.
Still, Biden gave his stamp of approval to an oil drilling project in northern Alaska’s isolated Willow region. Compared to Trump at the same point in his presidency, he has approved more licenses for oil and gas drilling on federal territory. Last year, oil production in the US hit a record high.
Joe Biden is likely to lose the election and millions of votes among young people based on his current behaviour.
Sunrise Movement spokeswoman Stevie O’Hanlon
In a statement issued by Sunrise Movement’s Stevie O’Hanlon, a youth organization concerned with climate change, the candidate warned that Joe Biden risks alienating millions of young voters and ultimately losing the race if his current behaviour persists for the next nine months.
A lot of the younger generation is upset with Biden because he has greenlit more fossil fuel projects. For example, about air pollution, his administration has implemented significant changes to the regulations set out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But amid all this progress, he’s also making some very noticeable retreats, and the result has been to further disillusion many young people with him.
The choice by Biden to retaliate against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, was denounced by progressives last month. They said he betrayed his pledge to keep the United States out of unwinnable conflicts in the Middle East and broke the Constitution by not first obtaining approval from Congress.
At the same time, breaking with a campaign pledge, the president lent his support to a bipartisan Senate package that would increase border security, limit asylum, and send military aid to Ukraine and Israel. As a candidate, Biden even used Republican rhetoric, pledging to “shut down the border” if given the power.
The bill was crafted by Biden with the help of mostly Republicans and Kyrsten Sinema, who has since left the Democratic party, but there were no Hispanic caucus members or border state Democrats. As a result, the bill was an anti-immigration measure reminiscent of Trump’s, which Republicans were never going to support, according to Andrabi of the Justice Democrats.
If so, to what end? Perhaps, in exchange for military funds, he would be ready to treat migrant families similarly to Trump. That won’t cut it. I don’t see that as progressive. Even among Democrats, that is not fundamental.
But nothing has done more to widen a wedge between Biden and the left than the war in Gaza initiated by Hamas’s strikes in Israel on 7 October that left 1,200 people dead and more than 240 held captive. He championed Israel’s right to defend itself and only gradually raised worries about its rightwing government’s catastrophic war assault that has killed more than 27,000 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled region.
Voters under the age of 35 had mixed feelings on Biden’s war policies, with 70% disapproving and 15% in favour, according to a recent NBC News survey. At three separate events—a political meeting in Columbia, South Carolina, a United Auto Workers rally in Washington, and Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina—protesters interrupted the president’s speech in which he spoke out against racism. This sharp divide emerges as the president prepares for a contentious reelection campaign, on top of the age-related worries that have long dogged him.
It “gut punches” a lot of Democrats and independents, according to RootsAction.org director and national spokesperson Norman Solomon. It will be crucial for Biden’s re-election in autumn because he has completely lost contact with his base. Some of the demonstrators in Gaza are young people, and they are more politically active and energetic than ever before. They’re just disgusted with Biden and it didn’t have to be this way.”
For instance, in Dearborn, Michigan, activists are calling on voters to demand that Biden back a ceasefire and stop funding the war in Gaza by casting an “Uncommitted” vote in the 27th of February Democratic primary. A group of 33 Michigan state legislators have publicly pledged to cast ballots with the “Uncommitted” option.
In light of Biden’s support for Netanyahu’s war, the president’s pledge to oppose dictatorship and stand up for democracy is laughable.
American-Palestinian activist Layla Elabed
“Biden and his administration and the Democratic party have abandoned us, the pro-ceasefire and anti-war voters and constituency, and they have abandoned humanitarian politics,” said campaign manager Layla Elabed, an American Palestinian activist. Joe Biden and the Democrats are out of touch with the current reality.
“The Democratic Party as an institution has failed to deliver; it has strayed from the people’s agenda. There is blood on their hands and cash in their pockets. Biden’s support for Netanyahu’s war betrays his campaign promises to oppose dictatorship and stand up for democracy.
Not because progressives will abandon Biden for Trump in large numbers, but because a small percentage of them might decide to boycott the election or support a third party, like Cornel West, which could be enough to sway the electoral college in Michigan and other swing states. This casts doubt on Biden’s re-election prospects.
New York history professor Jeremy Varon speculated that Biden may have given up on reassembling the Obama coalition and instead decided to compensate for the support they lost among young people and progressives by appealing to moderates, independents, and Republicans like [Nikki] Haley.
He may avoid appealing to the base because there is no significant primary. All of it points to a campaign in which he will campaign for the centre, leaving progressives feeling marginalized.
The Democratic leadership and the Biden administration must pay attention to the voters who are yelling at rallies.
Justice Democratic Party member Usamah Andrabi
A vote for anyone other than the Democratic nominee would be a vote for Trump, who has demonized immigrants, promised to immediately close the border, and resume construction of a wall, according to progressives, who have heard this argument for three consecutive elections. He would never advise Israel to be careful in Gaza, as far as anyone can tell.
In addition, Varon stated: “Leftists like me who are worried about Trump’s re-election are attempting to make a case for you to put your morals aside and vote for Biden, even if you believe his Gaza policy is wrong.
This is the clearest example of progressives struggling to reconcile their morals with the practical need to stop the worst possible candidate from becoming president. This is nothing new for the American left; it dates back decades. Should we cast our ballots for the Democrat?
Yes, according to Elaine Kamarck, a former official in the Clinton administration. An amazing thing about Donald Trump, she remarked, is the way he brings the Democratic party together. It would be foolish to vote against Biden since everyone knows how dangerous he is to democracy and ideals held by both the centre and the extreme left.
A gradual dilution of the initial enthusiasm for Biden’s progressive policies might have been anticipated given the proximity of the presidential race. After the 2022 midterm elections, when Republicans took control of the House, the door to comprehensive legislation was sealed. Much energy and attention have been poured into the conflict in Ukraine. Disagreements between Biden and the younger generation on Israel had been simmering for some time, but the assault by Hamas exposed them.
According to Third Way’s executive vice president and centrist think tank member Matt Bennett, Biden is a compromise-minded moderate. “The way he ran for president, the way he has always portrayed himself—someone who is at the centre of the Democratic electorate—has been fulfilled in his governance,” he remarked.
He does not identify as a conservative Democrat or a member of the liberal extreme. He has a knack for finding his way to the exact centre of the party every time. Famously, he identified the party’s direction on marriage equality and has guided it well as president, which is why he was there before Obama did. Even though he won’t always have his supporters’ approval, Democrats should recognize his outstanding performance.
However, Justice Democrats’ Andrabi is less optimistic. He expresses concern that Biden may face consequences for disregarding the wishes of the people who elected him.
He made the following statement: “The Biden administration and Democratic leadership must listen to those voters who are screaming at the top of their lungs in rallies, in meetings, everywhere they go that the current state of the Biden administration’s policies in Gaza, on immigration, on climate change is insufficient for core bases of their voters.” These voters were instrumental in electing President Biden, building a Democratic majority in the Senate, and will play a pivotal role in helping the Democrats win back the House.
Lip service won’t alter anything when the other side is showing us nearly 30,000 dead Palestinians, not to mention the ongoing existential crisis of climate change or a dysfunctional immigration system, and their solution is to criminalize more people. They aren’t listening, though. Democratic voters at large do not favour any of these.
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