The press covers Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as if they were the same. Or at least close enough to be part of the same ‘lane‘ or ‘wing‘ of the Democratic Party. This assumption forms the background to discussion of the issue of whether one or the other should drop out of the race. The idea seems to be that both of them want to move the US much further to the left. Maybe there are superficial differences. And maybe, as Jacobin writers argue, there are differences of political method and approach. But there’s an underlying closeness.
For the record, I think this assumption is false. I think the differences between the two candidates are rather large. But let’s roll with it for a bit. For purposes of this post, I’ll accept that Sanders and Warren are very similar. Where does that take us?
I think for a lot of people in the broader ‘progressive’ arena, it means they need to unite to prevent a more conservative candidate like Biden, Buttigieg, or Harris from winning the nomination. Typically Biden. Maybe one of them should drop out to help make this happen. Typically Sanders.
What should we make of this? Should Sanders drop out? Should Warren? Would it help take down Biden, the worst candidate?
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