The closer we move toward the 2020 presidential election, the more heated discussions become over whether to vote for Biden. On one side, there’s ‘vote blue no matter who.’ And on the other side, there’s…something. It’s not entirely clear, which composes part of the problem. As Joe Biden moves closer to accepting the nomination at the Democratic convention, the debate moves toward its height. Or toward its nadir, depending on one’s take on it.
And so, should we – as leftists – vote for Biden? How does one hold Biden accountable in an era where not being Trump is good enough for many Democrats? And if we do vote for Biden, what price should we expect in return? My three answers to these questions: No, One can’t, and Medicare for All, respectively.
Is Biden the Lesser Evil?
Insofar as we talk about these things as leftists, we start by thinking about whether Biden is the ‘lesser evil.’ Or some variation thereof. Some of us frame this in terms of harm reduction.
That’s fine, and I’ve written about those things before. I linked the posts in the previous paragraph. My own take, in brief, is that Biden is probably a slightly lesser evil than Trump but that Biden will probably leave the world worse off in 2025 than he will find it in 2021. Readers interested in those issues can click those links, but this post is about something else. The next step, as it were.
As a result, I’m setting those issues aside here.
The Left and the Democrats
Leftists and Democrats play for different teams, but one side doesn’t know it. And that’s our side – the left. When they need our votes, Democrats trot out the ‘we’ language to include us, but it ain’t so. The sine qua non of leftism is anti-capitalism, and Democrats aren’t anti-capitalist. They support capitalism not only against the specter of socialism, but also against the specter of social democracy.
Due to this confusion, leftists get disappointed when Democrats cross them: rejecting Bernie Sanders, rejecting Medicare for All, sticking with racist immigration policies, embracing a hawkish foreign policy, only embracing labor interests when they coincide with those of capital, et al.
Leftists think Democrats don’t really want to do these things, it’s just that they’re weak-willed cowards. Maybe they are cowards, but they also believe in these very non-leftist policies. And this is true of the Democratic Party – from Joe Manchin on the right to Elizabeth Warren on the ‘left.’
None of this means we can’t work with Democrats. We can work with them on lots of things. But we have to get that the Democratic Party isn’t a leftist party and isn’t going to be a leftist party. We can work with non-leftists. But we can’t work with non-leftists we falsely believe are leftists.
Medicare for All, Harm, and the ‘Vote for Biden’ Movement
This brings us to Biden. Biden was one of the most conservative candidates running for the Democratic nomination. And one of the worst candidates. But if Biden has one redeeming quality, it’s this: most leftists know he’s not a leftist. Oh, a few think they can convert him. Sadly enough. Most leftists, though, haven’t been fooled.
As leftists, we lack any established procedures for making a collective decision about this situation. Sometimes we hear from leftist stars or Twitter pundits on the topic. But we have little in the way of careful, democratic deliberation. In such an environment, we have to come to decisions on our own. Armed with the knowledge that Biden isn’t on our team, we can do a better job.
My proposal: we vote for Biden if – and only if – he campaigns hard on Medicare for All. And I’m talking here about the Pramila Jayapal-Bernie Sanders legislation with all its features: no deductibles, no copays, dental and vision included, no profit motive in the insurance industry, et al. Biden can’t get away with advocating to expand the current Medicare program to everyone. That’s not Medicare for All.
Why Medicare for All?
I don’t choose Medicare for All arbitrarily. It’s the centerpiece of a social democratic legislative program. And preference for a social democratic platform in the short-term forms a key point of differences between leftists and liberals. Biden campaigning on Medicare for All would be a huge concession to the left.
Lots of leftist Biden defenders justify their bad decision on the grounds the left must vote strategically. We can’t think of electoral politics as a consumer choice. Rather, we have to map out our strategy and make the best move. I agree. We should. But the best strategic move ain’t writing a blank check to Biden and the Democrats.
If Biden can give us support for Medicare for All, I’ll give him a vote. If he can’t, I won’t. I’d recommend other leftists demand the same. Why? Because if we don’t have standards for candidates, we’ll never have good candidates.
Medicare for All is the price for Joe Biden. If Biden won’t pay it, then he can pound sand.
