Sanders warns Biden: address working-class fears or risk losing to demogogue
In an interview with the Guardian from his home base in Burlington, Vermont, Sanders urged the Democratic president to inject more urgency into his bid for re-election. He said that unless the president was more direct in recognising the many crises faced by working-class families his Republican rival would win.
“We’ve got to see the White House move more aggressively on healthcare, on housing, on tax reform, on the high cost of prescription drugs,” Sanders said. “If we can get the president to move in that direction, he will win; if not, he’s going to lose.”
The US senator from Vermont added that he was in contact with the White House pressing that point. “We hope to make clear to the president and his team that they are not going to win this election unless they come up with a progressive agenda that speaks to the needs of the working class of this country.”
Sanders’ warning comes at a critical time in American politics. On Monday, Republicans in Iowa will gather for caucuses that mark the official start of the 2024 presidential election.
Biden faces no serious challenger in the Democratic primaries. But concern is mounting over how he would fare against Trump given a likely rematch between them in November.
I'm sure Biden and "his team" want to win, but not at any cost. Certainly not at the cost of taxing his donors and using the money to help the working class.
How would that policy be enacted even if they did? Congress certainly will not pass it.
Of course congress wouldn't pass anything like that. Ultimately they all play for the same team-- Capital. The "bully pulpit" and executive orders are largely reserved for things like supporting genocide, and antagonizing our geopolitical rivals.
Even a clearly over reaching executive order that immediately gets smacked down by the courts would relieve the pressure.
Ahh yes, the classic "there's no reason to support good policies because other people do not."
What a bunch of losers.
Lemmy is largely populated by children who lack the intellectual maturity to appreciate that democracy is about compromise and that winning elections doesn't mean that you get to do everything you want.
There's this myth that somehow Biden can just wave a magic wand and get everything he wants, but he's not doing it because in spite of being arguably the most powerful man on the planet, he's secretly in the pocket of corporate America. It's a very childish view of the world and is entirely disconnected from reality.
This is an extremely common trope from establishment Democrats who like to pretend the left is just naive children. Let me make this perfectly clear to you. Yes, we get politics. Yes, we understand that Biden can't get everything he wants. Yes, we get that Republican obstruction is a thing.
Now, here are some things for you to try and grasp. Most of the time, Biden and the Democratic establishment is leading the opposition against the left. The establishment also plays dirty to get their unpopular candidates past the primary, then blames the left when they lose in the general.
It's not generally the politically active left that doesn't vote blue. Most of us are well practiced at holding our noses at the ballot box. It's normal non-political Americans who see no point in getting engaged when neither party even speaks to their problems.
Say it louder for those in the back.
Say it loud for those in the front too.
Both parties in the US are in the pocket of corporate America to some degree (Citizens United made it legal anyways), it's just that one party actually cares about having a functioning country with a decent living standard for people and the other will happily burn it to the ground to hurt minorities and gain short-term power. What you see is the frustration in the general US population that sees the Republicans openly ruining things while the Dems have their hands tied by the underhanded tactics Republicans use and talk about "reaching across the aisle" and compromising with the fascists. Stuff gets done, but you often don't hear about it or openly see the effects of Elizabeth Warren taking corporations to account for their actions compared to the 1.3 anti-trans laws per day that Republicans tried to pass in the first 6 months of last year.
Says the immature child posting on Lemmy...
Yeah, and democracy isn't perfect.
We've seen that from the very beginning of the US.