
Biden leads in delegates following IL, MI, AZ primaries but has yet to win over young voters and other factions demanding an end to politics-as-usual
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If it seems Joe Biden has been quiet lately it's likely because he is trying to negotiate an end to the primary with Bernie Sanders, who laid out his policy preferences publicly after his losses in Michigan and other key states.
Before the last debate, Biden did agree to a college-tuition plan based on Bernie's policy, but unlike Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden is expected to go much farther.
But then there's the billionaires. They speak through well-funded organizations like Center for American progress or Third Way, trying to put a populist Democratic face on a bunch of manipulative oligarchs.
The trick for them is to get a candidate elected who will not raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy, who will keep campaign finance as is, and keep the juicy profits in banking, fossil fuels, real estate and military contracts.
Case in point, this statement:
"We're quickly coming to the point where we all have to be all-in for Biden and not inadvertently create permission structures for people to make it harder for him to win," said Robby Mook, who served as Mrs. Clinton's campaign manager.
Notice how he debuted a new focus-tested phrase for progressives to shut up and sit down?
Though I myself will vote for a Dem nominee even if it was a brain in a jar, I speak to many a Bernie-or-Buster and even some Bernie-to-Trump voters. I see they are eminently waiting and ready to repeat history and boycott Biden if the Dems do not learn the lesson of 2016 when the party made little effort to unite with the younger, progressive factions.
What I don't get are the Biden supporters online (including former Pete, Amy, Warren folks) telling Bernie to drop out, and telling Bernie supporters to give up and pipe down. I ask them why they aren't instead pressuring Biden to improve... and especially since the pandemic outbreak... to pivot to the policies people need that have only been magnified lately. It's time to tell the Wall Street donors, sorry but we need to actually win this time.
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NYC school teacher, education reporter at The Progressive, podcast at NYupdate.org

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