Joe Biden frequently reminds us of his partnership with former President Barack Obama. He hopes that nostalgia for the Obama administration will help him get the Democratic nomination and put him in the White House.
But he has a problem: Obama’s policies are not liberal enough to win in today’s Democratic Party.
On healthcare policy, Biden has defended Obamacare, arguing that Democrats should “defend and build upon the Affordable Care Act” instead of pursuing their current obsession, “Medicare for all.” Campaigning in Iowa earlier this week, Biden characterized the latter as “totally risky.” But this defense of dated liberal policy has prompted sharp attacks from liberals.
Jeff Weaver, a lead adviser to Bernie Sanders, criticized Biden’s plan, saying it was no longer fit for today’s Democratic Party. “What Vice President Biden is proposing at one time in history might have been a big step forward, but you can’t be Rip Van Winkle and wake up this year and say what was cutting edge 12 years ago is cutting edge today,” Weaver said. Bernie Sanders himself said he was “disappointed” in Biden’s healthcare plan, and on Thursday Bernie said “He sounds like Trump.” That’s quite an insult coming from a fellow Democrat.
On other issues, Biden has recognized that Obama-era liberalism is not going to help him, and he has abandoned it. For example, in order to appease liberals, Biden ditched his support for the Hyde Amendment, which prevents taxpayer money from funding abortions. Notably, Obama never faced pressure to repeal the Hyde Amendment, and happily signed spending bills containing it.
Biden also wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $15. In 2016, Obama supported the Raise the Wage Act, which would have raised the federal minimum wage to $12. This policy of Obama’s was actually quite liberal, but alas, not liberal enough for the socialist status quo in today’s Democratic Party.
On the topic of climate change, Biden’s website says he will “sign a series of new executive orders with unprecedented reach that go well beyond the Obama-Biden Administration platform.” If you read between the lines, Biden is saying Obama did not go far enough on climate change.
These are just the positions Obama held at the end of his presidency. Obama’s older positions, such as opposition to same-sex marriage, would end any Democratic campaign at this point. Biden’s own party would crucify him.
Biden says that he asked Obama to not endorse him because he believes the winner of the Democratic nomination should “win it on their own merits.” Frankly, that’s the only choice he has. The Obama age of American liberalism is gone, and if Biden wants to secure the nomination, he’ll need to run to Obama’s left.
