ENDS JUSTIFY BIDEN’S PANDERING
In recent months, the Biden administration has unveiled new positions and policies that clearly pander to core constituencies in the run-up to a November election in which the stakes, for both President Biden and the country as a whole, are as high as they have ever been. The problem is that some of these policies are, objectively, quite bad — even dangerous.
The implicit rationale is that the ends — denying former President Donald Trump another four years in office — justify the means. To say as much is to restate the eternal dilemma of those who seek political power. How should we think about it in this case?
Of course, one person’s pandering is another’s strategic persuasion. Sometimes that means saying and doing things that go against a politician’s professed principles.
Case in point: Biden’s decision to delay — for a second time — a ban on menthol cigarettes, which has been under consideration by the Food and Drug Administration for years.
In pure policy terms, the ban is a no-brainer. Flavored cigarettes entice people to start smoking and make it harder to stop, which is why the government banned fruit and chocolate flavors in 2009, leaving only menthol.
The FDA estimates that a ban on menthols could prevent around 255,000 premature deaths over the next 40 years.
In health equity terms, this would be huge progress, since menthol smokers are disproportionately Black. In the long run, a ban on menthols could save tens of thousands of Black lives. In political terms, however, a ban might anger the 25% of usually Democratic Black voters who oppose the ban and whom Biden can ill afford to alienate in this close election.
According to a March survey in seven swing states, around 30% of Black men said they definitely or probably will vote for Trump. To be sure, few voters of any race are likely to choose based on the menthol ban alone.
Then there’s the kind of pandering that is less obviously dangerous but still violates common sense and principle.
Months after Japan’s Nippon Steel agreed to buy U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion in December, Biden expressed opposition to the deal, saying it was vital for the company to remain “domestically owned and operated.” This was a straight-out sop to the United Steelworkers union.
At an April meeting with its members, Biden — sounding very much like the jingoistic Trump — said the company “should remain totally American.”
Of course, Japan isn’t some random country, much less a U.S. adversary. It is a close ally and a democracy. Nippon Steel, a private firm, made a better offer for U.S. Steel than any U.S.-based competitor.
It also pledged to honor all existing union contracts. The notion that the government should bar U.S. Steel from making such a favorable transaction for the sake of what amounts to “vibes” defies reason. That isn’t surprising, since it’s essentially Trump’s position on the issue, too.
To repeat, Trump’s re-election is the kind of nightmare scenario any responsible politician would go to great lengths to prevent. But there have to be limits.
Our final point about the menthol ban delay and other such policy gambits: At least they’re reversible. The FDA could revisit the ban after the election, and the ultimate decision on the U.S. Steel sale awaits input from regulators.
On the other hand, a Trump victory could eliminate any chances of a good policy outcome in either case. So trim your principles, Democrats, and pander away. Just remember: The only thing worse than playing Machiavelli for a good cause is playing Machiavelli for a good cause and losing.