He’s just not Sanders-pure. And we can hope that, with time, people will recognize that and get on board. A Biden administration will be the most progressive administration in our country’s history. It will not only be a huge improvement over Trump (of course), it will also be a huge improvement over all.
Is Biden going to get on board with Medicare for All? Nope. That’s not going to happen. But does that mean nothing will change, or that Biden isn’t progressive? Of course not. His own plan has a much better chance of passing, will not upend the entire system with potential catastrophic results, and will bring relief to people faster than M4A, even if M4A were possible. Under Biden’s plan, we get a public option, opportunity for coverage under that option even for those with employer-provided insurance, expansion to States that rejected Medicaid, and more. Under Biden, health care coverage in the Untied States will make huge and progressive leaps forward.
Is Biden going to get on board with the Green New Deal? Nope. That’s not going to happen. But does that mean nothing will change, or that Biden isn’t progressive? Of course not. Can we remember, though, that Joe Biden passed the first climate change legislation in our history, way back in 1987? He has his own plan, and it will be a huge improvement on what we have now. Frankly, the Green New Deal was never anything more than a purity bludgeon. It was so larded up with other progressive dream issues, from workplace requirements to Native American property issues, that it wasn’t ever going to pass. It wasn’t an environmental bill, it was a progressive wish-list. Biden’s plan is focused on the issue at hand, and under Biden, climate change in the United States will make huge and progressive leaps forward.
Is Biden going to get on board with free college for all and cancellation of everybody’s student debt? Nope. That’s not going to happen. But does that mean nothing will change, or that Biden isn’t progressive? Of course not. He has his own plan, and it starts with debt-free community college for everybody. It includes a huge investment in workforce training, expansion of Pell grants and more, making college affordable. Jill Biden is a Ph.D. educator. Do you really think the Bidens will ignore education? Of course they won’t. Biden’s plan can pass, addresses the issue head-on, and under Biden post-high school education in the United States will make huge and progressive leaps forward.
On guns, one of the most important issues of our time, I don’t think there’s any doubt Biden is progressive, even the most progressive in the race. Under President Biden (from my fingers to God’s ear, as my grandmother would say), on guns, the Untied States will make huge and progressive leaps forward.
I could do this all day, but my point is a relatively simple one. Joe Biden will be the most progressive President in the history of the United States, but only if we all get behind him.
I understand many are disappointed that their candidate did not prevail. I also understand that many think their candidate had the best answers. Where I hope we can all, eventually, after the dust has settled, agree, is that Biden may not be Sanders-pure, or Warren-pure, or anybody-else-pure, but that he is progressive, that he has an (imperfect, like all of them) history as a leading progressive, and that the next Democratic administration will address the issues that matter to all of us in ways that will move us forward, together.