Progressives settle for less with Biden at the helm

[JoeOtterbein]

Politico

A draft of the Democratic platform gives a nod to Medicare for All, but the left says it's better than nothing.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

07/22/2020 05:16 PM EDT

Progressives hate incrementalism, but they’re learning to take what they can get from Joe Biden.

After failing earlier this month to persuade a Biden "unity" task force to endorse Medicare for All — not to mention the Green New Deal, a federal jobs guarantee and pot legalization — aides to Bernie Sanders won an explicit nod to the single-payer movement in a draft 80-page Democratic Party platform obtained by POLITICO. They also successfully lobbied for a somewhat less hawkish foreign policy than Democrats had in their platform four years ago.

The drafting of the document in recent weeks was the latest front in a tug-of-war between moderates and progressives over the direction and breadth of the party's agenda. It demonstrates that progressives are continuing to make step-by-step progress in pushing Biden and the party left. At the same time, it shows the limited sway of the left, with the paper largely reflecting Biden's centrist vision for the country, with promises to build on the Affordable Care Act and provide military aid to Israel.

The Democratic National Committee’s platform committee is set to take up the proposal on Monday.

snip

more great reporting at link

[Merlot]

1. And that's why E Warren won't be vice president, though she should be.

[JoeOtterbein]

10. +1 nt

[Peacetrain]

2. What utter bullsh*t

Seriously....bullsh*t.. Biden is not a less than.. we had a number of good people run.. He won. Because the voter wanted Joe Biden and his ability to come in and start picking up the pieces. What we are going to have to do is try and save this country from full destruction after this current resident slinks back to his golf courses..

[JoeOtterbein]

11. Please note the headline was changed. Also, that I always use the original headline in my re-posts.

I'm sure you already know that the editors write the headlines, and sometimes they write them without good reason. Thus, the change.

[ismnotwasm]

3. Jesus fucking Christ

The country is nearly burning from a lack of social justice with black men being shot in the street. And this whiny little dig at Biden is what’s important enough to write about?

[JoeOtterbein]

9. Thanks for reading! nt

[JI7]

29. And they wonder why They lost once the primaries started to become much more diverse

[BannonsLiver]

4. Bahahahaha

[JoeOtterbein]

21. Excuse me.

I don't get it.

[blogslut]

5. I'm still voting for him

[JoeOtterbein]

13. Yea.

Me too.

[padah513]

6. The primaries are over dude

I thought this sort of thing was against the rules

[JoeOtterbein]

15. Thanks for reading. Please let me know the specific reason for your question.

I will try to answer.

[elleng]

7. Lotsa baloney here, methinks,

and others too, Joe. Holly's a good thinker, but this is off the mark, imo.

[JoeOtterbein]

8. I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean by "baloney". (BTW, I'm much more of a Mortadella fan!)

So what specifically about the article "is off the mark" for you?

[JHB]

23. Let me answer this since you just agreed with my other post...

First, lets get this out for the way: nobody cares about your (or anybody else's) favored lunch meats. Unless you're allergic, the Lunch Protein Of the Gods is peanut butter. End discussion.

As for the article, it uses a divisive framing for click-bait purposes. It's not framed as a tale of political compromise, it's framed as the progressives getting the sort end of the stick.

That's needlessly divisive and shoddy journalism, but it'll piss off progressives reading the headline and get them to click and read more.

[JoeOtterbein]

24. I'm sorry. What would they read that makes it...

...a lunchmeat? A clip you don't like would be very helpful!

[JHB]

12. Gosh, people came together to negotiate some points, and the parties got some things...

...but not other things, and they still agreed that they could support the compromise.

Film at fu**ing eleven.

[JoeOtterbein]

17. +1000! nt

[highplainsdem]

14. I guess "Progressives grateful for liberal candidate destroying Trump in the polls" wouldn't have

been a catchy enough story. LOL.

[JoeOtterbein]

18. True.

They changed it since. See the article now.

[SlogginThroughIt]

16. FML... Seriously Bernie got destroyed Deal with it.

The voters loudly rejected him. A quote from Hamilton.... You ain’t got the votes!


It is incredibly easy to sit and and spout off about pie in the sky when there is no will to pass your agenda. And I applaud the effort to push the dialogue left. But in the end that is all you are good for if you don’t have the votes. And if that is all you can do because thats the route you have chosen then don’t whine when thats what you achieve. Meanwhile getting legislation passed that actually helps people should not be pissed on. We have people being beaten and murdered in the streets by a bunch of authoritarian thugs and we are complaining that the people that are garnering actual votes are our candidates???? are you fucking kidding me?

[JoeOtterbein]

19. Thanks for the applause! nt

[ChoppinBroccoli]

20. I'll Take, "Articles Written Specifically To Try To Get Liberal Voters To Not Vote" For $500, Alex

Could the intention behind writing this article be ANY more obvious? And if that wasn't the intention, then it's wildly irresponsible.

[JoeOtterbein]

22. I'm sorry...

...I don't understand.

[Happy Hoosier]

25. The title, at least...

Seems to be framed to emphasize the “settling” aspect of compromise. It could have, for example, emphasized that the platform is likely to be the most progressive in history. Even Bernie Sanders on MSNBC that Joe Biden is likely to be the most Progressive President in U.S. history. But that article, and the headline in particular, emphasizes what they give up, rather than what they gain.

[BGBD]

26. GND?

"after failing earlier this month to persuade a Biden "unity" task force to endorse Medicare for All — not to mention the Green New Deal"

Didn't Biden just come out with a revised plan to cut carbon emissions to 0 in 15 years? Isn't that even more aggressive than the plan Bernie called for just a couple of years ago?

[NNadir]

27. It's really not an appropriate time in history to whine like this.

I understand that so called "progressives" love to whine and whine and whine and whine about how nobody gives a shit about their shit, but for christ's sake, people are dying.

How "progressive" is it, exactly to be whining that the Democratic candidate doesn't meet their stupid selfish visions of their own ersatz holiness when people are dying, getting their heads split open by secret police, children are in cages.

Do they care?

Do they give a rat's ass.

Maybe they should follow an asphalt road out into the wilderness and howl at a wind turbine...

[JI7]

28. Still Bitter Biden easily Beat him in the Primary

[JI7]

30. lol, Progressives hate incrementalism ? They seem fine with someone being in office for decades

and only having named a couple of post offices.

[Renew Deal]

31. Good point. "Progressives" are better off with Trump

[mvd]

32. Well..

I was a Sanders supporter and wish he could be President. Also, his positions polled well in states. But a lot of people didn’t want to take a chance this year. It certainly doesn’t mean progressives are failing. We have some good young progressives in Congress, and the electorate will be changing demographically. I for one am excited about Biden because I am excited to have sanity back in the WH. And he sounds open to listening.