Biden’s energy policies hurting US, Europe: Here’s the fix
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Vice President Joe Biden is running as a centrist in a race that is shaping up as a battle between moderates and liberals against an ascendant progressive wing, one that he will soon find he needs on his side.
It is a challenge he and the Democratic Party have been largely unable to meet so far as he has struggled to capture over 20 percent of support in one-on-one polling.
So while he is making a final push to clinch the nomination outright, his challenge over the course of the campaign will be how to build a progressive coalition without alienating those who have backed him.
Biden, the former junior senator of Delaware, is under pressure from supporters of progressive causes such as gay marriage and single-payer healthcare to avoid being perceived as a progressive.
He is also likely to be pressured by the Democratic establishment if he fails to become the establishment candidate. He needs to show he can win over more than one of those factions – and also build on what is seen as his most successful campaign to date.
On his campaign website, he lays out his plan to tackle inequality and reduce the cost of healthcare, but he has largely avoided talking about Medicare for All, a non-starter in his home state of Delaware, and a plank in his policy vision that has drawn condemnation from some progressives and centrist Democrats.
In recent weeks, however, Biden has adopted the more liberal stances on Medicare for All and climate change. He has also begun to talk more about infrastructure and health care.
Now that he is becoming a more direct challenger to the Democratic leader in the Senate, he can expect to be confronted with new problems such as his support for Medicare for All and his opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade deal, both of which are favored by the progressive wing of the party.
Biden, like other Republicans hoping to challenge for the presidency, faces a primary
