The Myth of Joe Biden The Moderate

If you're shocked at what Joe Biden is doing in his first week in office, then you simply haven't been paying attention.

Many people insisted over the past two years that Joe Biden was a career Washington insider. An "establishment Democrat" if you will. Biden was attacked from the right and the left throughout the 2020 presidential campaign as someone who was out-of-touch with everyday Americans. As someone who was senile and in hiding. As someone who could not win a primary with so much up-and-coming talent on the Democratic side. Biden was seen as a relic from a bygone era. Someone who couldn't relate to the hyper-partisan atmosphere that existed in Washington, DC. Someone who didn't have his finger on the pulse of the Democratic Party. Many people, especially those in the media, simply could not believe that a candidate could enter the race leading in the polls and sustain that lead for an entire eighteen months without making a series of critical errors, especially someone at such an "advanced" age like Joe Biden. In the end, a Joe Biden victory was the most inevitable surprise in modern American political history.

And it was a surprise because the overwhelming majority of Democratic voters were, in fact, "establishment Democrats."

Lost in the shuffle of the Trump years were the actual forgotten voters: Democrats who proudly voted for Barack Obama twice, Hillary Clinton, and who would proudly cast their vote for Joe Biden. These were folks who were soundly in-step with the Democratic Party but who didn't want to blow up the party and party policy for any sort of political revolution. They believed in maintaining and expanding the ACA as a realistic way to move toward universal health coverage rather than being forced to suddenly enact Medicare-For-All. They believed in climate change and wanted realistic plans to address it rather than the vague outline that the Green New Deal provided. They believed in a living wage and working with localities to find ways to gradually move the minimum wage toward $15/hour. They believed in immigrants', voting, and LGBT rights. Above all, they believed that the person who took up the mantle and served as the Democratic nominee should be the candidate who could most likely bring together the Obama coalition that was ignited by proud and passionate voters of color, especially Black women who were recognized as the true base of the Democratic Party.

Enter Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

Joe Biden entered the race as was immediately labeled as the "moderate" candidate. Yet the label was lazy and was done solely as a way for our media to paint the race as an epic battle between the moderate and progressive wings of the party. It was going to be a no-holds-barred battle between Joe Biden/Pete Buttigieg/Amy Klobuchar/Michael Bloomberg in the moderate corner and Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren in the progressive corner. Other candidates like Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, and Andrew Yang would have to somehow squeeze into one of these two lanes or somehow create their own. In the media's minds, this was the key story of the 2020 Democratic primary and whoever emerged would have to successfully navigate this path. When it came to the general election, the big question would then be how to bring together such a wide range of candidates and viewpoints under the big tent banner of the Democratic Party. 

But Joe Biden ignored all the noise. His "moderate" stance would actually place him as one of the most progressive major party candidates in American history. Yet because the media already had their preconceived idea of who Joe Biden was and what lane he was supposed to be in, they completely ignored the more progressive parts of his record. They ignored his advocacy in passing the Violence Against Women Act. They ignored his advocacy in the job creation and manufacturing associated with passing the Recovery Act. They ignored his tireless advocacy to pass and whip votes for the Affordable Care Act. And they ignored his pro-marriage equality stance that ultimately pushed the Obama Administration to become public in their support, making them the first administration in American history to openly support marriage equality.

Time and time again, Joe Biden refused to take the bait and get looped into the unpopular stances of the Sanders/Warren wing. His staunch support and defense of the ACA greatly appealed to the Obama voters. His support for specific environmental policies rather than the vague Green New Deal may have angered faux allies like the Sunrise Movement but it was a smart political play to advocate for specific policies rather than the Green New Deal, which the GOP was all too excited to use as a wedge issue.  Biden also was able to closely align himself with Barack Obama while other candidates went so far as to taking cheap shots against Obama to try and score political points. As someone who proudly served as the number two to the nation's first Black president, Joe Biden held a special place in the hearts of voters of color. Any attack against the Obama-Biden administration was seen as an attack against the integrity of voters of color. Alienating the Democratic base quickly became a death blow to any candidate that dared choose that route. 

Joe Biden knew all of this. His veteran team, consisting largely of Obama era holdovers, did not campaign by Twitter but instead campaigned by building alliances and allegiances. When James Clyburn shared his wisdom, Biden upped his game and handily won the South Carolina primary. That win was the turning point for any and all "moderate" Democratic voters who above all wanted a candidate who could reassemble the Obama coalition. With Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg proceeding to put their party ahead of their egos, Joe Biden easily won Super Tuesday and the rest, as they say, is history. While the Regressive Left bitched and moaned about a Biden nomination, Joe Biden was, in fact, laying the groundwork for what would become the most diverse coalition in American political history. His promise to add a woman to the ticket and his selection of Kamala Harris fired up voters of color. By the time early voting came around, it became apparent that voters were coming out and they were coming out in record numbers to vote for Joe Biden.

So it should come as no surprise that Joe Biden is governing as if he has a mandate from the American people and he is doing everything in his power to fulfill his campaign promises. Biden's 63% approval rating reflects how in line he is with the American population. From ending the Muslim ban to rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement to ending the transgender ban to supporting an increased minimum wage to ending private prisons to proposing a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, Joe Biden is already legislating as a true progressive. While those on the far-left refuse to acknowledge it, Joe Biden has essentially outflanked Bernie Sanders on a number of issues. With a Democratic Senate and House, Biden will continue to push a progressive agenda including learning from Barack Obama's mistake to not fill judicial seats when he had the chance. While a select group of Professional Leftists will continue to be dumbfounded by Biden's "sudden" progressiveness, the rest of us will nod and smile because this is exactly the candidate we knew we were voting for in 2020. 

Joe Biden is no fool. He is a veteran of the United States Senate and spent 8 years serving with President Barack Obama. He doesn't need to do an internal poll to understand whether or not a policy is popular, he already knows whether it is or not. He also knows the Republican playbook to stonewall him at every turn. He saw firsthand how President Obama's first two-years were criticized by the media for not jumpstarting the economy fast enough and how Democrats were subsequently destroyed in the 2010 midterm elections. Biden knows he has to act and act fast. He knows he can pass COVID relief through reconciliation but he also knows Republicans will harp on any legislation passed without Republican support as being "partisan" and "not in the spirit of unity." He will continue to take the high road by publicly asking for their support but deep down he knows what needs to be done to move on legislation that is important for him and his administration. At the end of the day, Joe Biden will do whatever it takes to help the American people and in doing so, he will be the figurehead of the most progressive administration in American history. 

Not too bad for a "moderate" Democrat from Delaware.