Is The Democratic Party Gearing Up To Nominate Another Candidate Who Doesn't Embrace Change?

Joe Biden-- Status Quo by Nancy Ohanian

Change Research is the best polling firm for the 2020 cycle, at least so far. You should follow them. They just released a pre-convention poll of California voters. Among Democrats, there are just five serious contenders for the nomination, at least at this point-- pre-debate, remember:

Beyond the top line, though, we learn that Bernie has a strong lead (40%) among 18 to 34 year old voters although the older voters are, the more they gravitate towards Status Quo Joe. Among 35 to 49 year old voters, Biden leads Bernie by one point, 25% to 24%. but past 50, it's all Biden's-- among voters older than 65, Biden has a strong 42% lead. Harris isn't as much of a factor as out-of-state pundits who don't know any better thought she'd be. Until this presidential race, many California Democrats barely recognized her name. She has never been an especially popular elected official in California and it's still historically questionable if she even really won her first race for Attorney General.

In the national poll Change Research released this week, they found Biden and Bernie neck and neck among white Democrats-- 25-24%-- and with Biden ahead among black voters and Bernie ahead among Latinx voters. (Nationally, Kamala sinks down into the single digits below Elizabeth Warren (15%) and McKinsey Pete (9%). But back to California, all those old Biden supporters must be wondering why he avoided the state Democratic Party convention this past weekend. Was it because the party refused too re-endorse his top California surrogate, Dianne Feinstein, when she ran for reelection last year? And, remember, as conservative as Feinstein is, she was always to the left of Biden on every issue under the sun.

Writing for Common Dreams Monday, Norman Solomon endeavored to answer the question for them about why Status Quo Joe avoided the Golden State and only comes here to access the golden ATM card of dullard film people who don't understand the difference between a progressive and a conservative. "Biden’s glaring absence from the California Democratic Party convention," he wrote, "has thrown a national spotlight on his eagerness to detour around the party’s progressive base. While dodging an overt clash for now, Biden is on a collision course with grassroots Democrats across the country who are learning more about his actual record and don’t like it." Imagine if film people read another other than scripts and celebrity gossip! Biden would have no campaign cash except what he gets from Wall Street!

Inside the statewide convention in San Francisco over the weekend, I spoke with hundreds of delegates about Biden while leafletting with information on his record. I was struck by the frequent intensity of distrust and even animosity; within seconds, after glancing at his name and photo at the top of the flyer, many delegates launched into some form of denunciation.

I often heard delegates bring up shameful milestones in Biden’s political history-- especially his opposition to busing for school desegregation, treatment of Anita Hill in the Clarence Thomas hearings, leading role in passage of the 1994 crime bill, career-long services to corporate elites, and powerful support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

It may have been a dumb tactical move for Biden to stay away from the convention. Its 3,400 delegates included core Democratic activists and leaders from around the state. Even some of the pro-Biden delegates said they were miffed that he wasn’t showing up-- in contrast to the 14 presidential candidates who accepted invitations to address the convention. (Biden chose to be in Ohio instead, speaking at a Human Rights Campaign gala in support of LGBTQ rights.)

Nationwide, Biden generated headlines like this one in USA Today: “Biden Faces Stiff Criticism from Democrats for Skipping California Convention.” Interviewed for that news story, I said: “He was not going to be very popular at this convention, but his refusal to show up only reinforces the idea that he’s an elitist and he is more interested in collecting big checks in California than being in genuine touch with grassroots activists and people who care about the Democratic Party’s future.”

Yet if Biden had shown up, it’s quite likely he would have been met with a storm of protest on the convention floor. That’s because so many of the state’s Democratic delegates are vocally opposed to the root causes and effects of institutionalized racism, war, systemic assaults on the environment and overall corporate power.

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Looking ahead, Biden will strive to avoid, as much as possible, any uncontrolled situation that could disrupt his pose as an advocate for the middle class and the poor. He least needs wide circulation of accurate information about his political record.

I worked with a few other delegates to blanket the convention with a RootsAction flyer that included some revealing quotes from Biden and facts about his record. We got some pushback from people who didn’t like seeing distribution of such critical material. But many more said that they appreciated it.

Polls show that Biden has little support among young people. Many share the basic outlook of a 19-year-old Sanders supporter at the convention, Yvette Flores, who told Bloomberg News: “Everything he stands for is against the interests of the working class and young Democrats.”

While a dozen of the presidential contenders who spoke were unimpressive or worse, two were far and away the progressive standouts.

Bernie Sanders (whom I actively support) delivered a cogent and fiery speech on Sunday. “There is a debate among presidential candidates who have spoken to you here in this room-- and those who have chosen for whatever reason not to be in this room-- about the best way forward," he said. “In my view, we will not defeat Donald Trump unless we bring excitement and energy into the campaign, and unless we give millions of working people and young people a reason to vote and a reason to believe that politics is relevant to their lives.” And: “We have got to make it clear that when the future of the planet is at stake there is no middle ground.”

The other great speech came from Elizabeth Warren, who also deftly skewered Biden along the way. “Big problems call for big solutions,” she said. “And some Democrats in Washington believe the only changes we can get are tweaks and nudges. If they dream, they dream small. Some say if we all just calm down, the Republicans will come to their senses.” Warren added: “Here’s the thing. When a candidate tells you about all the things that aren't possible, about how political calculations come first . . . they’re telling you something very important—they are telling you that they will not fight for you.”

Her reference to the distant Joe Biden was crystal clear.

Usually if you want to list the most vile and repulsive Clintonistas who have sold out most completely and gone over to Fox, Mark Penn, Dick Morris, Doug Schoen, Pat Caddell, Bob Beckel... come to mind first. Yesterday, one of the worst of them, Schoen did a Biden propaganda piece for Fox. Schoen is excited that Biden opposes impeaching Trump-- and will likely pardon him and his family if he has the opportunity-- are is completely turned on by his anti-progressive approach. "Biden's decision to skip California last weekend,' he wrote, "is indicative of his strategy-- while 14 other Democratic candidates took the stage in a solidly blue state to speak to fellow Democrats, Biden spoke in a swing-state that President Trump won by 8 points in 2016, though was won by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Put simply, this is the best-- and only-- strategy for the Biden campaign. Since Biden entered the race, Bernie has spent more time in Ohio than Biden has spent in every single state he's visited combined. As usual, Schoen's analysis is devoid of any concessions to reality at all. No wonder he's still writing for Fox! And, again, substituting "moderate" for "conservative," Schoen blathered on...

Biden stands out as one of the most moderate candidates in an overwhelmingly progressive Democratic field and has the challenge of appealing to a progressive electorate, many of whom criticize Biden for his middle-of-the-road stances on issues such as health care.

To be sure, as the campaign season progresses, the progressive further left candidates will use Joe Biden's moderate stances and his reluctance to uncritically embrace a radical agenda as a primary attack point against him.

The few moderate Democrats that did go to California, including former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, were immediately booed for merely warning that the Democratic Party was moving too far left.

Further, several progressive candidates in California took veiled shots at Biden to the joy of the California crowds.

"Some Democrats in Washington believe the only changes we can get are tweaks and nudges … the time for small ideas is over," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

"We cannot go back to the old ways. We have got to go forward with a new and progressive agenda," said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who trails Biden in second-place by a wide double-digit margin in most polls.

Biden rarely, if at all, responds to attacks from other Democratic contenders, and has focused much of his energy on developing a compelling, empathetic, center-left narrative that stands as a persuasive alternative to President Trump's.

Further, Biden's solidified status as a frontrunner not only enables him to streamline his focus to the general election but also allows him to focus on high-dollar fundraising, which he clearly appears to be doing successfully.

While the Warren and Sanders campaigns have dismissed high-dollar fundraising on the principle that money in politics is intrinsically evil, there is nothing inherently wrong or foolish with courting high dollar donors-- the problem only arises when candidates rely heavily on special interest money, and the two should not be conflated.

Biden's fundraising has allowed him to spend a considerable amount of money on social media campaigns-- so much so that he is outspending President Trump $1.2 million to $900,000.

Although it is early in the campaign season and the first Democratic debate is still weeks away, Biden's candidacy thus far has been encouraging to me as a moderate Democrat. His inclusive, center-left agenda and clear ability to go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump makes him the strongest Democratic candidate to come out of the gate.

However, only time will tell whether the former vice president has the ability to appeal to enough of the Democratic primary electorate in order to emerge the ultimate victor.