Can Bernie Sanders Still Put His Stamp on Bidens Agenda?
As Bernie Sanders endorsed former primary rival Joe Biden in April of last year, he promised to work to move Joe and his campaign in a more progressive direction. In many ways, he has succeeded: Biden ran his general election campaign against Donald Trump not only on a call for national unity, but on a legitimately ambitious agenda. The new administration quickly began to carry it out, including with the passage of its bold COVID-19 relief package, which it got through without any GOP support. More recently, however, the progressive push has hit some speed bumps. Republicansvirtually all of whom are pulling in the same illiberal directionhave often forced their counterparts to focus on defending the central tenets of democracy rather than on advancing specific policies. And the centrist and conservative flanks of the Democratic party have used their influence to hold up or alter big-ticket items. As Axios reported over the weekend, a growing number of Democrats are raising the alarm that the partys focus on progressive tenants is alienating much of America. This is embodied by Eric Adams, who won the Democratic primary and will likely be New York Citys next mayor, and who ran on a message of promoting public safety rather than defunding the NYPD. Adams will reportedly meet with Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland at the White House on Monday. All this has frustrated many on the left, who want to see more concrete action from the White House, and who have turned up the pressure on Sanders, now helping to lead a party where he was once an outsider. Its absolutely imperative if democracy is to survive that we do everything that we can to say, Yes, we hear your pain and we are going to respond to your needs, Sanders told the New York Times Maureen Dowd over eggs and toast at a Vermont diner. Thats really what this is about.  Sanders was discussing intra-party negotiations over Democrats soft infrastructure plan, the latest frontline in the battle between progressives and moderates. Sanders, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, wants $6 trillion for programs aimed at helping families, social services, and the climate. But centrists like Mark Warner are pushing for a plan with a lower price tag, uneasy about progressives more ambitious proposals that would raise taxes on corporations. As Axios reported Sunday, that will likely put the starting point for negotiations somewhere in the $3.5 trillion rangea number that could be pulled lower by conservative and moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin and Jon Tester as the party works to advance the legislation before lawmakers recess in August. That $3.5 trillion wouldnt be anything to sneeze at; while its far lower than the $6 trillion Sanders has identified as his preferred starting point, it would still check every box on the White House priority list and could go a long way toward delivering real gains for everyday Americans. But it wont have the sweep of Sanderss original proposal, and may prove unsatisfactory to both him and the rest of the progressive caucus. A lot of work has gone into the effort and much more work needs to be done, a Sanders spokesperson told Axios. Senator Sanders wrote a $6 trillion proposal to address the desperate needs of working people and the existential threat of climate change, and hes confident that Democrats will come together around a reconciliation bill that does just that.  Doing so could be difficult. A single Democratic defection would doom the package, giving Manchin and others who would prefer a smaller bill a good amount of leverage. But Sanders told Dowd that a two-to-three trillion bill would be much too low for him to support, saying that lawmakers have an opportunity now to address concerns progressives have had for decades. Sanders has made clear he doesnt want to squander that opportunity. But he has also sought to build bridges between the progressive movement and the White Houseand even between his coalition and the white working class, whom he suggested to Dowd could be pulled away from Trumpism if the Democratic party better met their needs. Weve got to take it to them, he said. I intend...to start going into Trumpworld and start talking to people.  If we dont do that, I fear very much that conspiracy theories and big lies and the drift toward authoritarianism is going to continue, he added. Sanders, then, sits at the axis of three political coalitions: a progressive movement concerned hes not doing enough to pull Biden to the left; a faction of Democratic centrists seeking to temper his plans; and a Republican base he wants to save from the MAGA cult but who have been trained to regard the democratic socialism he embodies as an existential threat. In some ways, his position underscores the extent to which his progressive politics have gained influence within the Democratic establishment  the one-time insurgent now a senior leader with a friendly ear in the White House. But the infrastructure negotiations could also illustrate the limits to his power. You know politics, he told Dowd. Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.