In 2011, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., seriously considered a primary challenge against then-President Barack Obama for the 2012 election. After Obama’s campaign team got wind of Sanders’ intentions and reportedly began to panic, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had to talk to Sanders twice to persuade him to call off the challenge.
A little over a decade later, another establishment-Democrat president — once the vice president of the man Sanders wanted to take on — is seeking re-election. But this time the socialist firebrand is eagerly siding with the president instead of daring to primary him.
The senator’s decision reflects a broader truth: how Biden has neutralized the left wing of the Democratic Party.
“The last thing this country needs is a Donald Trump or some other right-wing demagogue who is going to try to undermine American democracy or take away a woman’s right to choose, or not address the crisis of gun violence, or racism, sexism or homophobia,” Sanders told The Associated Press on Tuesday, after Biden announced he was running for re-election. “So, I’m in to do what I can to make sure that the president is reelected.”
It would be easy to ascribe Sanders’ decision to individual factors, such as avoiding another stressful primary after suffering a heart attack during the last campaign. But the senator’s decision reflects a broader truth: how Biden has neutralized the left wing of the Democratic Party.
One factor in that neutralization, including Sanders’ acquiescence, is that the establishment changed. Biden has governed further to the left than anyone expected, particularly on economic policy. Biden developed a close rapport with Sanders and made what appeared to be a substantial effort to get his input on policy ideas through a unity task force in 2020. The president surprised progressives with his positions on social spending, climate policy, manufacturing and labor. From this perspective, Biden has mollified the left…
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