Score one for Joe Biden
An age-old problem that we have to deal with in just about every election (typically it’s just in presidential election years), is a group of voters critical of the Democratic nominee “but from the Left.” These people will act as though the Democrat running for president will have to earn their vote, while claiming that they have failed to deliver on whatever happens to be their own personal cause, yet has no qualms about voting for a third party candidate that few people have heard of and probably has no experience in public office.
Generally, you might argue in good faith to convince these people to vote your way by saying “I’m not the biggest fan of Hillary (or Biden, Obama, John Kerry, etc.,) but…” This is always a mistake. Very few critics “from the Left” are actually undecided when you speak to them – and this kind of rhetoric only makes people who are genuinely on the fence worried about who to vote for, as it demonstrates you lack confidence in your nominee – that’s why we need to abandon any “lesser of two evils” rhetoric entirely.
While there are those acting in bad faith criticizing President Biden from the left, he’s actually the most progressive president we’ve had in a long time and his actions on Tuesday are one prime reason why this is. The Biden-Harris administration announced drug price negotiations for ten major pharmaceutical prescriptions – due to provisions first introduced under the Inflation Reduction Act, which not a single Republican voted for, even though they’ll almost certainly take the credit for its effects. With just a 50-50 Senate, President Biden has successfully accomplished something that Democrats have had on their agenda for decades and will save the government tens of billions of dollars as well as the taxpayer, regardless of what arguments right-wingers will make against it.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making