Sanders Sets Up Biden to Exit Stage Left

Sanders Sets Up Biden to Exit Stage Left

Exit Stage Left is theatrical jargon for an actor leaving the stage quietly so as not to distract the audience. Thanks to Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden is likely to exit stage left in November.

Sanders’ campaigns in both 2016 and 2020 were marked by a near-fanatic cohort of believers in a socialist revolution. Recent statements from a sampling of his youthful supporters make this clear: “We are not Democrats. We have never been Democrats and probably never will be. Voting for Mr. Biden would surrender every principle we have.”

But Sanders failed to grow beyond this core group. He won both Iowa and New Hampshire primaries with about a quarter of the Democratic vote. After some candidates dropped out, he won Nevada with a third of the vote.

But as the field continued to narrow, Sanders continued to only get about a third of Democratic voters. Those who had supported others shifted their votes to Joe Biden.

Bottom line: the Sanders revolution doesn’t play well with the majority of Democratic voters who rejected Sanders-style massive structural change in government and society.

A Washington Post, primary voter exit poll, showed that 78 percent of Democratic voters consider themselves conservative, moderate or somewhat liberal. Only 10 percent of Democratic voters in the 18-29 age group preferred Sanders over Biden.

Biden campaigned as a moderate alternative to Sanders, promising to continue the Obama legacy. But he now faces a dilemma: to win in November, he’ll need independents, disaffected Trump voters, suburban women, blue-collar workers, and more. But at the same time, he can’t afford to lose one-third of Democrats who were deeply committed to Sanders.

As a result, negotiations have begun between the Biden and Sanders camps. Together they’ve formed six task forces that will draft a united party platform: economy, education, criminal justice, immigration, climate change, and health care.

True to form, Sanders is taking no prisoners as he drags Biden and the Democratic Party farther toward the extreme left. Sanders’ campaign manager says there are no “shrinking violets” among its task force participants and that Biden’s team has been very “receptive” to their suggestions.

In addition to policy questions, these discussions include who would be appointed to cabinet and other key positions in a Biden administration. A vote for Biden is likely to be a vote for a radical makeover in parts of his administration.

Exploiting their leverage over the Biden campaign, eight progressive groups banded together in an open letter to the Biden campaign saying a “return to normalcy” won’t cut it. A key demand: a Biden commitment to “Medicare for All.”

But that’s not all. Their letter calls for Biden’s endorsement of the Green New Deal, a 50 percent reduction in prison populations, a wealth tax, cancellation of student debt, free undergraduate tuition in public institutions, abolishing the filibuster, packing the Supreme Court, federal gun licensing, and abortion subsidized by federal taxpayers.

So far, Biden has backed free undergraduate tuition and lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60. But keep your eyes peeled and your hands on your wallets as further concessions are hammered out. The fact that Sanders has endorsed Biden may be an indicator that Biden’s camp is caving to leftist demands.

In more normal circumstances once candidates have tied up the nomination they usually pivot back toward the center. But Biden finds himself straddling two canoes with Sanders paddling one of them furiously to the left.

Here’s a conspiracy theory that might explain why the Democratic leadership is resigned to Biden. Absent a charismatic electable candidate, Biden’s 36 years in the Senate and eight years as Vice President can be seen as giving him the right of succession usually ascribed to an oldest son or daughter.

This is hauntingly reminiscent of the failed candidacies of Bob Dole in 1996 and John McCain in 2008. It’s certainly possible that the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are willing to suffer a loss this year in the hope of finding a shining star to run against a new Republican face in 2024.

Like Bob Dole and John McCain before him, Joe Biden is well known and generally acceptable but hasn’t fired up Democrats. An ABC/Washington Post poll shows that only 24 percent of his supporters are enthusiastic about him, the lowest of any Democratic candidate in the poll’s 20-year history.

That lack of enthusiasm could find Biden exiting stage left come November.

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