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We're standing on the brink of a very odd political dynamic. Assuming the USPS crisis is controlled, there's a non-trivial chance Biden could win a landslide. And yet he'll have no clear policy mandate, and it's not obvious what he'd actually do with this time in office.
I've seen a fair bit of criticism that the DNC was light on policy details, but I think the real problem is that the Biden campaign had no compelling policy vision, and the party is signaling it's ok with that. https://zeeshanaleem.substack.com/p/how-the-dnc-shows-biden-has-no-mandate
The problem isn’t that that Biden doesn’t have some detailed policy proposals online — he does. The problem is that there’s not much evidence that Biden cares about them, or that the Dem electorate who helped him secure the nomination cares about them, or even knows about them.
Biden’s pitch for the presidency was based on one idea alone: that he was the only guaranteed Trump-slayer in the race. The primaries demonstrated that most Democrats bought that pitch. But where does that leave us when considering what he’d do in the White house?
Part of the reason politicians and parties really do try to follow through on their policy pledges is because of voter and donor expectations that emerge after candidates make promises. But Biden hasn’t made any very obvious or highly salient policy commitments.
There isn't an obvious, guaranteed deliverable to hold him accountable for, like Medicare-for-all or canceling student debt or a specific headline stimulus policy that Biden voters are really expecting.
In fact even on the hottest policy issue of the primary season — healthcare — there were no clear signals at the DNC this week that Biden is firmly committed to the incremental (but still hugely important) public option reform that he’s discussed in the past.
It's unclear how much voters expect the public option out of Biden, or how much obligation Biden feels to it.
As @libbycwatson pointed out, neither Sanders nor Biden mentioned the policy in their main speeches. https://newrepublic.com/article/159037/biden-public-option-health-care-2020
As @libbycwatson pointed out, neither Sanders nor Biden mentioned the policy in their main speeches. https://newrepublic.com/article/159037/biden-public-option-health-care-2020
What we did learn at the convention is that a lot of people think Biden is a nice guy who's easy to chat with and probably not racist.
There isn't an accountability mechanism built in here.
There isn't an accountability mechanism built in here.
There is no signature Biden policy, there’s just a signature political sensibility — a distinct knack for schmoozing. Biden isn’t really interested in reading policy memos as much as he’s interested in reading the energy of the room.
If he were to win, what would that energy look like? Reports keep coming out that in light of the coronavirus crisis and the recession, Biden is eyeing the most ambitious presidency since FDR. But Biden’s only mandate, the only thing he’s promised to do, is oust Trump.
What happens if Dems don’t win back the Senate? Or, even if they do, they choose to keep the filibuster intact, limiting their ability to pursue any ambitious legislation?
@dylanmatt has some great reporting on these questions, btw. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21340746/joe-biden-covid-19-coronavirus-recession-harris
@dylanmatt has some great reporting on these questions, btw. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21340746/joe-biden-covid-19-coronavirus-recession-harris
A Republican-controlled or influenced Senate would ultimately have a lot more leverage over Biden than the left, which is growing in prominence but still institutionally weak and lacking a serious presence in Congress.
My sense is we might be in for round two of a Democrat inheriting a historic crisis and squandering opportunities for once-in-a-generation changes to the American social contract as they encounter GOP recalcitrance.
Read about this and more in my latest newsletter: https://zeeshanaleem.substack.com/p/how-the-dnc-shows-biden-has-no-mandate
