The Biden Political Revolution
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State of the US labor market
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) July 7, 2023
1. The unemployment rate is a whisker off its 60-year low
2. The employment rate for women 25-54 set a new record high
3. Since 2020, real wages have surged for the low-income, wiping out a quarter of the 40-year increase in inequality pic.twitter.com/6zsCUYkjQu
Starting in 2015, we were promised a political revolution.
A socialist revolution, to be more specific. For the past 8 years, the Far Left has yearned, nay, begged for this to happen. It's why they were invested not once but twice in a mercurial politician from Burlington, Vermont whom they saw as their savior. This man and this man alone was the one who could lead the charge and usher in a new era of equality. After all, he'd been speaking about this very issue for the duration of his 35 years in elected office. Clearly, he knew what he was talking about. All he needed to make this happen was the boots on the ground to swoop in and demand change, causing our entire system of government to bend to the will of the people. Bernie Sanders was the one, the only one, who could make this happen.
Flash forward 8 years and it is Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. who actually is making this happen.
And the defining silence on the Far Left couldn't be more telling.
Because as the above tweet demonstrates, this is the exact revolution that Bernie Sanders had promised. Real wages for the low-income have surged meaning those who have faced systemic barriers to entering the middle are now finally being given a lifeline to make their way in. The policies of the Biden-Harris Administration are working and are providing opportunities for those who for so long have been denied the ability to fully utilize their time and talents. The fact that our most vulnerable community members are now finally being given a chance to fulfill their potential is something that should be celebrated across the land, especially from those whose candidate campaigned not once, but twice, on this very issue.
So why aren't they celebrating?
Believe it or not, the political revolution was never intended for those currently being helped by the Biden-Harris Administration. After all, anyone who attended a Bernie Sanders rally at any point from 2015 to 2020 saw that the demographics of the rally failed to represent the demographics of the country as a whole. Sanders' rallies were White enclaves in some of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country as rallygoers would gleefully leave their suburban and/or gentrified neighborhoods to see him speak while those right next door to the rally chose not to attend. Rather than question why this was, the Sanders campaign chose to continue this strategy for nearly five years until South Carolina happened and Black voters once and for all told Sanders they were tired of his Whitecentric campaign that time and time again insulted them and did not take them seriously as voters. Once that happened, once Black voters rejected Bernie Sanders for a second time, it became clear that he did not have what it would take to win the Democratic nomination. Sanders voters were "stuck" with Joe Biden, someone who they felt did not have their best interests at heart and someone who they saw as an impediment to their revolution.
You see, for the Far Left, their revolution was never about helping the other. It was always about helping themselves. That's why so many prominent Sanders supporters have gone full MAGA over the past two years. It is the Horseshoe Theory in action. They didn't want student loan forgiveness for low-income people of color, they wanted it for themselves. It's why there was hardly a peep from the Far Left about the end of affirmative action because secretly, deep down inside, they were happy that a potential spot at an Ivy League school would open up for their children. They've always prioritized their own concerns over those of others. It's why they see intersectionality as a distraction rather than a critical point of understanding for any true Democratic politician. Where the Far Left and Far Right merge on the horseshoe is a desire for an authoritarian figure to whisk in and inject policies that help themselves right away. Anything given to those outside the majority is seen as superfluous and unnecessary for society's well-being.
The truth is that the Far Left was never going to celebrate anything that the Biden-Harris Administration accomplished, regardless of how impactful it was. They've embraced the Far Right's grievance politics in that whatever Biden does, it will never be enough. Climate change. Student loan forgiveness. Income inequality. They're too far down the rabbit hole to realize that Joe Biden is putting into action practically everything that Bernie Sanders campaigned on. But because Biden makes compromises along the way, understanding this is how true governance works, he's seen as a sellout. While communities of color in this country are making record advancements, helping to reject 240+ years of systemic inequality, the Far Left is convinced that Joe Biden is Donald Trump incarnate and is unwilling to fight for what he campaigned on. They are convinced that Biden still has to do more to "earn their vote" or else they will vote third party or not vote at all in 2024. Meanwhile, our most vulnerable citizens are receiving unprecedented opportunities thanks to an "establishment" politician who utilized 50 years of experience in Washington to enact some of the most meaningful legislation in our nation's history to help our communities of color. The Far Left isn't celebrating because this is not the revolution they wanted.
Fortunately for all of us, this was the revolution they got.