When it appeared that Vermont’s socialist independent senator, Bernie Sanders, might actually capture the nomination of the Democratic Party for president, the party establishment closed ranks behind former Vice President Joe Biden. The Democratic Party establishment clearly feared that Sanders’ open socialistic beliefs and kind words about foreign communist dictators could lead the party to not only a crushing defeat in the presidential election, but the loss of the House of Representatives and the loss of other races across the country.
One by one, Democrats considered more moderate than Sanders dropped out, which allowed Biden to collect all the “moderate” opposition to Sanders. In short order, Biden won the South Carolina primary, then went on to score more victories over Sanders on “Super Tuesday” — the string of primaries all held on the same day in early March.
Biden has even moved into a lead in most polls over President Donald Trump in general election matchups, all based on this moderate image.
But is Biden really a moderate? The reality is that Biden’s stated positions today would place him somewhat to the Left of Senator George McGovern’s stated positions of 1972 — positions that were then considered so far to the Left that it led to McGovern being buried in a 49-state landslide victory by then-Republican President Richard Nixon. (The loss was so complete that McGovern only carried about 130 counties in the entire United States).
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A glaring example that would dispute Biden’s moderate image is his full-throated support for abortion on demand. The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List certainly does not think Biden is any sort of moderate on abortion. SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser minced no words in denouncing Biden after Sanders exited the race.
“Today it is all but official that presumptive nominee Joe Biden will face President Trump in the general election,” Dannenfelser said in response to Sanders’ suspension of his campaign. “But it has long been clear that the Democratic Party nominee would be as extreme as they come on abortion, no matter what.”
“Biden, who now favors forcing taxpayers to pay for abortion on demand through birth — a significant political liability with the majority of Americans, even within his own party — represents the total capitulation of Democratic Party leadership to the radical abortion lobby. President Trump, in stark contrast, has governed as the most pro-life president in history,” Dannenfelser added.
Dannenfelser asserted that the American people have a clear choice for November on the issue of abortion. “This is a moment of rare clarity, when life will be the defining issue in the most consequential election of our time for unborn children and their mothers. SBA List’s canvassing team will be working relentlessly through Election Day to educate millions of battleground-state voters, including pro-life Democrats and Independents, to expose Biden’s extreme record, and to re-elect President Trump and our pro-life Senate majority.”
SBA List released polling last year that found a majority of voters were less likely to support Biden following his announcement that he supported taxpayer-funded abortions. Biden’s announcement reversed his decades-long opposition to taxpayer-funded abortion. Fifty-five percent of Independent voters said they would be less likely to support Biden because of that issue.
A Marist Poll from earlier this year confirms the SBA List poll. It found that 44 percent of rank-and-file Democrats and 62 percent of Independents want a more common-ground candidate on the abortion issue than one who favors forcing taxpayers to fund abortion on demand.
But Biden’s support for taxpayer-funded abortion on demand is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Biden’s liberal views. Biden may have a more moderate image than radicals such as Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), but the facts do not support his centrist reputation. After all, Biden not only opposes Second Amendment protection for ownership of certain types of firearms, he tapped former Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) as his point man on gun control. Readers might recall that O’Rourke, who also ran for president but dropped out early, proclaimed, “Hell, yes” he was going to come after AR-15s and AK-47s.
Biden announced in early 2012 that he favored legalizing same-sex marriage, even before President Barack Obama publicly announced that he, too, favored same-sex marriage. Biden may not publicly favor the Green New Deal as espoused by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, but he favors draconian restrictions on the economy to combat so-called global climate change.
When one gets past Biden’s gaffes, which justifiably cause lots of laughter, and the moderate image that the media has crafted for him, the truth is that Joe Biden is no moderate. Hopefully, the mainstream media will not be able to keep that truth from the American public much longer.
Photo: AP Images
Steve Byas is a university instructor in history and government, and the author of History’s Greatest Libels, a challenge to some of the greatest lies of history. He may be contacted at [email protected].
