Why Biden Will Lose to Trump
Going into the Democratic convention in 2016, Hillary Clinton had momentum. Nationwide, pundits and party elders declared she would be the Democratic nominee who would beat Donald Trump.
Fast forward to 2020: Joe Biden has momentum. Nationwide, pundits and party elders declare he will be the Democratic nominee who will beat Donald Trump.
The pundits were wrong in 2016. Is it possible they are wrong again?
Unfortunately, yes. The idea that a centrist, establishment candidate will beat Trump is misguided. “Status Quo Joe” is even less electable than Clinton, more vulnerable to Trump’s attacks, and almost certain to lose.
But with so many parts of the Democratic machine swinging into gear on behalf of Biden, it’s likely he’ll become the nominee. Here’s why that’s a terrible idea.
His favorable coverage from mainstream press will end soon. Perhaps because of his goofball “Uncle Joe” personality, Biden has gotten kid-glove treatment. Eventually, the traditional press will focus on his diminished capacity to speak coherently, as well as his predilection to distort his own record. The right-wing press will attack him viciously on his record, and add whatever the White House offers in terms of damaging conspiracy theories.
Meanwhile, Biden’s support of NAFTA and TPA will cost him votes in the Midwest. His record of pushing cuts to Medicare and Social Security will hurt him everywhere.
His lifelong record on the wrong side of civil rights, once it becomes widely known, will cut into support from voters who believe, because he was Obama’s VP, he must be okay. Biden was against busing in the 70s; he stood against Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition in the 80s; he stood with the southern, deeply conservative, Democratic Leadership Council in the 90s; the list goes on.
Perhaps most deplorably, Biden watched Anita Hill get beaten down by his own committee. Today he remains unapologetic, offering only “his regret for what she endured.”
Then there’s his misguided foreign policy. He led the campaign to make the Iraq War happen. As Obama’s VP, he was part of the vast expansion of US military engagements worldwide, as well as the massive increase in drone strikes.
Trump will claim, correctly, he is the only president since Jimmy Carter who did not lead the country into a new war. He will claim he is getting us out of Afghanistan. Obama (and Biden) had eight years to get out of Afghanistan. They didn’t.
For Democrats, the only winning path in 2020 is to nominate a progressive. I’m proud to have voted for Elizabeth Warren. In lieu of her — and I’m still hopeful she’ll emerge as the nominee in a brokered convention — I support Bernie.
Senator Sanders is everything Biden is not. He led the movement against the Iraq war. He stood with Jesse Jackson in the 80s. He energizes younger voters. Unlike Biden, he is largely impervious to Trump’s disinformation machine. Trump will talk trash about health care for all, free college, better jobs, and strong environmental protections under a Green New Deal. All those policies are deeply popular with the American public. When people come to understand that Social Security and Medicare are “socialism,” even better.
So wake up, pundits! Biden will be beaten by Trump in debates. He will be dominated by Trump in the media. And once again, dirty tricksters will unload all kinds of unsavory distractions onto airwaves and into social media streams.
Who wants to watch that happen? Not this progressive voter — and I’m not alone.
