Presidential debate brings clarity to race
On Sunday, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont debated one-on-one, presenting Democratic primary voters with two distinct options for the future of their party and perhaps the future of America. Whether the Democratic challenger to President Trump will be a moderate with a record likely to displease progressives, or a democratic socialist likely to displease centrists, is up for grabs.
While neither Biden nor Sanders are especially appealing from a limited government or fiscally conservative perspective, Biden’s vision of government is more constrained than Sanders.
Biden, who currently leads the delegate count, has received the most votes and has won a majority of contests to date, positioned himself as the practical choice who has a record of actually getting things done.
“What’s the revolution going to do? Disrupt everything,” said Biden.
Indeed, Biden’s relatively moderate, center-left approach to government is much more likely to yield results that build out the federal government at a pace consistent with what we’ve seen in recent decades.
Sanders’ approach to government has been made perfectly clear over the course of two presidential campaigns now.
His is a vision in favor of an expansive federal government which both takes a combative stance against the economically successful and well-off while at the same time relying on proposals to highly tax the economically successful and well-off to finance a litany of redistributionist schemes.
Obviously, Sanders has a dedicated base of support and as he did against Hillary Clinton proved willing to hold Biden’s record against him and holding his own contemporaneous votes as illustrative of better judgment.
“I voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. You voted for it,” Sanders said. “I voted against the bankruptcy bill. You voted for it. I voted against the war in Iraq, which was also a tough vote. You voted for. I voted against disastrous trade agreements like NAFTA ...which costs this country over four million good paying jobs. You voted for it.”
Indeed, one can imagine progressive supporters of Sanders taking to heart the reality that Biden has always been more of a centrist and that one many major issues, including the Iraq war, Biden has simply been on the wrong side of history.
Underwhelming liberal and progressive enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton, who happened to have a similar record to Biden’s on many issues when they served together in the Senate likely to turn away ardent progressives and civil libertarians, sank her presidential prospects.
Whether Sanders’ attacks on Biden’s record have a similar impact remains to be seen.
Odds are though, for Democratic primary voters who have placed a high value on ousting President Trump, Biden’s posturing as the candidate with achievable objectives is likely to put an end to Sanders’ lackluster call for “political revolution.”
Sanders’ approach to government has been made perfectly clear over the course of two presidential campaigns now.