The borderline evangelical zeal of many of Bernie’s supporters is heartening to witness since it’s going to require this type of passion to bring about genuine, systemic, social and political change in America in the long term. But the down side of such commitment is that some of his more diehard supporters might end up being too disgruntled if their man is not the Democratic Party’s nominee (which at this point is a very long shot) and they then might decide to sit the election out as a kind of silent protest.
But this would be a case of Bernie supporters cutting off their noses to spite their faces, which happens to be one of the problems with over-zealousness: it sometimes works against pragmatic thinking. These supporters should be able to keep in mind that beating tRump is the first and foremost priority, and indeed, if they sincerely want to usher in an age of real progressive politics in this country, they’ll help Biden (if he ends up being the nominee) get elected, in spite of any misgivings they might have over his progressive bona fides.
Even though Biden might come up a bit short in the eyes of these true progressives, Bernie’s supporters need to view the election of the former vice president as potentially the starting point of a long journey towards “progressive capitalism” — a term that is, as my friend Peter Benkendorf wisely states, more palatable than “socialism” but in reality achieves the same ends.
While what Shakespeare wrote, that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” is indeed accurate, still, the term “socialism” has been freighted down with such a negative connotation that it’s better to switch to some other less frightening term than to stubbornly keep using it. Keep in mind this is not the first time those on the far right have demonized a term used by the left: Progressives formerly (and not too long ago at that) were called “liberals”, until the word was made almost synonymous with something vaguely weak or somehow less than fully American by right wingers. It was only then that the term “progressive” came into common usage to replace it.
As for Biden, as soon as Bernie throws in the towel, he needs to immediately pivot and move in a more progressive direction to let the senator’s supporters know that he understands and will seek to act on their core issues and concerns. This is something that, if done with enough sincerity, will cause the vast majority of Bernie supporters to turn out and vote for Biden come November. You can rest assured that Bernie will attempt to get Biden to commit to bringing about the real changes he’s been fight for during their upcoming one-on-one debate.
But the simple fact is, Bernie, like every other candidate that promises wholesale changes to government, is speaking only in terms of what he would aspire to do once elected, not what he actually would be able to do upon assuming the office of the presidency. Think of political promises as more of a “wish list.”
Here’s a bit of comparative history: John F. Kennedy was a truly inspirational leader, but it took pragmatic Lyndon Johnson, who was more skilled at manipulating the levers of power in Washington, to turn Kennedy’s dreams into realities. Based on that analogy, Biden — with his insider’s experience and knowledge — probably will be able to get more done with Congress than Bernie ever could. After all, one definition of “politics” is that it’s the art of making compromises to get things accomplished (horse trading). By that measure, even if he were to be elected president, Bernie probably would not be able to do as much as Biden since he comes off a bit too rigid when it comes down to hardball negotiating.
Let’s hope Bernie’s followers are not as rigid as their leader. They should look upon Biden’s potential elevation to the presidency as potentially the beginning of the progressive era in American politics, not the fulfillment of the progressive dream. However, for that era to be ushered in the defeat of tRump has to remain in the forefront of every thinking American’s mind since the Republic will indeed be in real danger if this clownish egomaniac is somehow reelected.
