Joe Biden has been running as a Democratic “moderate” (relative term) since the convention. Before then, he embraced many of the radical policies of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He was actually quite nuanced in his embrace of The Green New Deal and Medicare for all, carefully separating his views from those of the radicals.
But many of the essential elements of TGND and Berniecare are right there for all to read in his platform. He just doesn’t emphasize them on the campaign trail.
So the question is just how radical Joe Biden as president might be.
It’s a fair question that, if we had a curious media that wanted to be fair, would be the main topic of an interview. How much influence will Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ilhan Omar have on a President Biden’s policies? On cabinet appointments?
There are currently 97 members of the Progressive Caucus in Congress. That number is only expected to grow as AOC acolytes and other radicals take their seats in January after winning in November. They may even come close to being half the entire Democratic caucus in the House.
Radicals like Ilhan Omar believe a tipping point is near.
“A president is only as successful as his collaboration is with Congress. And we will have a cohort of progressives that are very clear about their objectives for wanting the implementation of Medicare-for-all and a Green New Deal and raising the minimum wage and not allowing for fracking,” the “Squad” member said.
Asked if there were any cabinet positions that she believed Biden must put a progressive in, she replied that the former vice president’s cabinet should be filled with progressives.
“I would say all of the cabinet positions should be filled by progressive Democrats,” she remarked, laughing.
Omar is right. Biden is going to need the progressives to implement his agenda — especially when it comes to his mask mandate and other lockdown coronavirus measures. What kind of a price will they exact from the president to support him?
Whatever it is, they will believe it’s for the American people’s own good — even if the people oppose what radicals want.
“I think sometimes there is a disconnect really in the person that you might believe should lead and the policies you might believe should be implemented,” she explained, referencing the support for Medicare-for-all in places where Biden, who backs a public option, won the Democratic primary.
“That should signal to Joe Biden that ‘these people trusted me to lead but these were the policies that they want me to lead on,’ and act accordingly,” according to Omar.
In essence, Omar is saying people are too stupid to know what’s in their best interest.
That’s been the rallying cry of the radical left since What’s the Matter With Kansas? hit the bookshelves in 2004. Liberals assured themselves it wasn’t their fault people weren’t voting for them. It was the voters’ fault for not recognizing what their own best interests were.
Every election the left dust off that argument, gussies it up a bit, and tries to convince themselves a majority of Americans really do want the government to run the healthcare system and other radical notions.
If Biden is elected, we may see the left take it as a mandate to run roughshod over people’s lives and liberty.
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