Biden must resist call to appease progressives
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is trying to reprise his role as “The Biden Whisperer.”
Remember the Unity Task Forces of 2020? Those were the groups appointed by Sanders and then-presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and charged with negotiating “policy recommendations.” In other words, appease the progressive Sanders voters if you want their support.
This time, Sanders wants Biden to toe the progressive line on Israel.
Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that it will be “very hard” for most Americans, especially young people, to “be excited” about what’s going on in the world amid President Biden’s bid for re-election.
Anchor Jake Tapper asked the Democrat if Biden has “seriously damaged his standing” among young progressives who have criticized the U.S.’s position on the Israel-Hamas war.
These are the same folks who heckle Biden with shouts of “Genocide Joe,” refer to Hamas terrorists as “militants,” dismiss the Oct. 7 slaughter and mass rape of Israelis and then blame Israel for “genocide.”
These are the people Biden should appeal to?
“There is no question, it is very hard for young people, I think for most Americans, to be excited about what is going on right now. (The) president has got to change course,” Sanders said.
Sanders also called on Biden to maintain pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his concerns that “indiscriminate bombing” is taking place in Gaza, according to The Hill.
“So I would hope that the president follows through on his concerns and says to Netanyahu that this is unacceptable. ‘You’re not getting a nickel more from the United States unless you radically change course,’” Sanders added.
What would happen to Israel if the U.S. cuts and runs? Exactly what Hamas and its allies want.
If Sanders thinks “most Americans” back a progressive stance on Israel, he didn’t catch a December Gallup poll gauging Americans’ perceptions of the level of support that the U.S. gives to Israel. It found that almost four in 10 U.S. adults, 38%, say Israel receives about the right amount of support, while 36% think it gets too much and 24% too little. That’s 62% in favor of supporting Israel.
In 2020, Sanders and his followers were all in on “Medicare for All,” defunding the police, abolishing ICE, and a Green New Deal. They didn’t get everything they wanted from the more moderate Biden, but they did get him to support reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2035. The task force behind that was co-chaired by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, CNN reported.
We all know what the Infrastructure Law’s spending spree did to the economy.
Now progressives are urging Biden to dial back, or cut entirely, support for Israel, the only democracy in the region. After the Oct. 7 attacks, Biden had this to say: “… while it may not feel that way today, Israel must again be a safe place for the Jewish people. And I promise you: We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that it will be.”
Lillian Hellman summed it up best: “I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions.”
The pressure is on Biden to bend to the will of progressives. Don’t do it.