In a recently released year-end report, Voice of America correspondent Joe Simpson noted that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is weeks away from taking the White House if he wins the 2020 presidential election. At the same time, criticism of his administration’s agenda is not limited to congressional Republicans, but he will also face challenges from the far left of the Democratic Party.
It is reported that the differences between the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and the far left are almost to the extent of incompatibility. The moderate faction is particularly abhorrent to the policies proposed by the far left such as disbanding the police department and depriving it of funds, and there is a huge rift within the party. Biden, a moderate in the Democratic Party, has never fully resolved the embarrassing divisions, despite his claims that he can heal the party’s rifts.
In the November election, Simpson reported, Democrats vowed to take a dozen more congressional seats, but instead of gaining seats, they lost them, shrinking sharply from the current 232. Many moderates blamed the defeat on the poor leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who let the far-leftists off the hook, especially on the policy of “withdrawing funding for police,” which caused the Democrats to “lose seats” and scared away many middle-of-the-road voters.
The moderates also pointed out that some of the proposals put forward by the far left were “costly and unrealistic” and out of touch with voters in some areas. They believe that smaller, realistic goals, such as lowering taxes, should be set to attract Republican voters or independent voters.
But the far left has the opposite view. They believe that the Democratic Party is to engage in some “big agenda” to attract voters, such as promoting “universal health care”, increase spending to combat climate change, etc..
The analysis says that although Biden is not yet in the White House, but the “internal struggle” will bring great challenges to the future of the Biden administration.
On the issue of appointing cabinet members, Biden had previously made it clear that he wanted his cabinet to be “diverse” in terms of “race, gender and sexual orientation”. Biden also knows that he must work hand in hand with the far left of the Democratic Party, so when appointing cabinet members, he still has to take into account the far left and get their approval. But the cabinet issue ultimately depends on the Senate election results, if the Republican Party still control the Senate, then many far-left nominations will be blocked.
On the issue of governance, Biden made some promises in his campaign that favored the far left, such as expanding health care, a $2 trillion climate plan, and forgiving some student debt. But these promises fall short of the “heights” that the far left wants, and the far left has pressed Biden to respond on epidemic relief, universal health care, public housing investment, and a green new deal. They also claimed that some of them might vote against Biden’s legislation if it did not go far enough. They also warned that a “civil war” could break out within the Democratic Party if the Biden administration tries to fall back on moderate positions.
Capri Cafaro, director in residence at the American University School of Public Affairs, said, “Is this really the direction Americans want to go?” Looking at the fact that the Democrats did not gain the expected Senate seats and that they lost seats in the House of Representatives, one can conclude that the far-left platform is not as attractive as they think it is.
Even if Biden works with the far left on legislation on climate change, police reform and health care, the chances of Congress getting it through remain slim, Cafaro said.
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