Article: The Ball is in Joe Biden's Court

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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Jake Jacobs Social Media Pages:

NYC school teacher, education reporter at The Progressive, podcast at NYupdate.org

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The Ball is in Joe Biden's Court

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5 people are discussing this page, with 5 comments

j dial

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(Member since Nov 9, 2009), 27 fans, 31 articles, 53 quicklinks, 416 comments (How many times has this commenter been recommended?)

Comment by j dial:

You said it yourself:

"Though I myself will vote for a Dem nominee even if it was a brain in a jar..."

Any seasoned politician knows that party members with that mindset require zero returned balls.

Submitted on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2020 at 3:16:09 AM

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Jake Jacobs

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(Member since Jul 21, 2011), 1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 comments (How many times has this commenter been recommended?)

Reply to j dial:

Oh I get it, the ball is in Biden's court, but agreeing to vote for him against Trump in the general election means he will not concede any more policies.

Good point, there is a school of thought that progs should all say we are Bernie-or-Bust unless Biden and the party move left if it's a bluff (I know many who mean it though).

Yeah I might actually agree with that for the time being, but the centrists and the MSM have been able to paint Busters as "uncorked" by blaming them for vitriolic comments on the internet. So there's the right thing to do, and then there is the perception of everyday Americans, and I fear the narrative has been working, giving Bernie even less leverage over time

Submitted on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2020 at 5:40:13 PM

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Dennis Kaiser

(Member since Jan 22, 2008), 40 fans, 71 articles, 575 quicklinks, 6318 comments, 48 diaries (How many times has this commenter been recommended?)

The Dems are showing us what they stand for in this pandemic we're going through. They are being more "right" than their GOP co-partners in Congress. They are doing their d*mndest to make certain they don't show any "socialism" for the citizens while pouring it all out for the corporations.

They have already given close to $3 Trillion to Wall Street and the financial sector. They are talking about $1000 per person under several different scenarios and that is a one-time payment. They could give every man, woman, and child $1000 a month for 9 months to equal what Wall Street has already received, but they don't have money for that. With corporations, it only takes turning on the printing presses, but when it comes to the people it takes days of deliberation and looking to Social Security, Medicare, Food Stamps, and other programs designed to help people to pay for what they decide the people should receive.

Hopefully, this pandemic is opening the eyes of more Americans so we can come together to votes these corporate wh*r*s off their gravy train. We need to stop allowing the wedges they have designed to keep us apart. The only way to beat them is to vote them out.

Submitted on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2020 at 11:20:14 PM

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Gustav Wynn

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(Member since Oct 6, 2006), 23 fans, 167 articles, 116 quicklinks, 1196 comments, 5 diaries (How many times has this commenter been recommended?)

This virus crisis is the perfect example of short-sightedness - it takes a while before people feel sick, so they are unconcerned about spreading it. It takes a few weeks before hospitals get overwhelmed, so the governors don't shut anything down.

It's amazing to see Congress making another bill to swindle the taxpayer and completely balloon the deficit while people are getting sick and dying.

I'm sure Russia is thrilled to see so many American institutions breaking down, including our democratic elections.

Submitted on Wednesday, Mar 25, 2020 at 1:49:51 AM

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gentry cooper

(Member since Jul 7, 2008), 2 fans, 304 comments (How many times has this commenter been recommended?)

I'm not voting for Biden. Trump neither. But Biden is just not going to happen for me. I've had it with centrist, moderate Democrats and their crap.

Submitted on Thursday, Mar 26, 2020 at 3:49:08 AM

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