Opinion | Biden’s slim victory is a wake-up call for Democratic leadership
Max Mulderrig, junior film studies major
Watching the results of the 2020 election roll in, I expected a wave of relief to wash over me in what I assumed would be landslide victories for Democrats across the board. President Donald Trump and the Republican Party botched their response to the coronavirus pandemic, leading to a 14.7% unemployment rate this April. I was certain the votes would reflect a collective rejection of the current leadership; however, as I saw the returns that night, I could not help but think the opposite was coming true.
Sure, after a few days, the final vote totals showed a Biden victory, but even with a myriad of public health and economic issues the current administration has yet to overcome, the Democrats could not take a strong enough electoral lead to inspire confidence in a blue victory. Although President-elect Joe Biden won the race Nov. 7, everything progressives have been warning about with Biden as their nominee was beginning to manifest.
He stood for nothing during his campaign, spouted vague platitudes and offered no substantial policies that would have an immediate impact on an average person’s life. He campaigned as “not Trump,” and it turned out to be good enough. But it shouldn’t have been.
Back in July, members of the Democratic National Committee voted against including the legalization of marijuana and “Medicare for All” on their 2020 platform, two significant policies that hold a strong majority of support among registered Democrats. I suspect they did this because they believed the key to their victory would not be in the young, progressive wing of the Democratic Party, but instead with moderate Republicans. While Biden did win, I don’t believe this to be the case in the slightest.
Trump’s approval rating among Republicans was as high as ever, at 95% as of the period between Oct. 16 to Oct. 27. I hope young people like ourselves realize that the Democratic Party would rather cater to Republicans than push progressive and broadly favored policies. Had they done this, I believe Biden’s lead would have been much wider than the current 3% The Associated Press reported Nov. 8.
A few days before Nov. 3, Biden campaign staffers were beginning to worry about a lack of turnout in Black and Latino communities in key battleground states. This comes only about six months after the digital organizing director of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign claimed that the Biden campaign did not see Latinos as “part of their path to victory.”
Meanwhile, Trump has gained support from Black and Hispanic voters since 2016. When the Democratic Party offers no real and substantial alternative to the pain many communities are experiencing right now, due to COVID-19 and rampant police brutality, it’s really no surprise to see that people are beginning to walk away.
The Democrats' refusal to recognize progressive goals, and instead favor the agenda of corporations and the wealthy elite, leaves room for far-right populism to rear its ugly head yet again. Trump won in 2016 because then-President Obama and his administration failed to acknowledge people’s struggles after the 2008 recession, resulting in the decline of their material conditions.
Trump weaponized those people’s anger and discontent, and became a disastrous president. If Biden and his cabinet fail to address the pain that Americans are feeling in these next four years, I fear that a neo-fascist even worse than Donald Trump could be around the corner in 2024. It is our job to challenge the Biden administration on day one to make sure his successor is nothing like this.