WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is breaking with progressives on some hot-button issues ahead of his expected re-election campaign launch, laying the groundwork to try and neutralize politically thorny issues that have pushed Republicans expect to harm them.
The president has said he will sign legislation to overturn a new D.C. criminology law that slashed mandatory sentences and penalties, drawing a backlash from progressives who said the law was sensible — and that interfering with DC’s sovereignty will be reduced.
Last week, NBC News reported that the Biden administration is considering reintroducing family custody for immigrants entering the US Illegal, which drew heavy criticism from immigration advocates who are already upset with Biden for adopting tougher asylum policies that they say mirror Trump-era rules.
And on Monday, Biden’s administration greenlit a major oil drilling project in Alaska, facing pushback from environmentalists and Democrats who want to phase out fossil fuels.
Biden’s breaking with the left has a common thread: He’s doing so mostly on cultural issues where his party is politically weak, with key swing voters seeking to block ways to form the GOP. Instead, Biden is trying to shift his focus to economic issues facing the middle class, where Democrats have advantages such as lowering drug prices and preserving Social Security.
In the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats lost voters who named immigration as their top issue by a margin of 48 points and lost voters who cited crime as their top issue by a margin of 16 points , exit polls showed. Voters trust Republicans more than they trust Democrats on immigration (by 6 points) and on crime (by 9 points).
Sen. Bob Menendez, Dn.J. Said, “I would remind the administration that they are the ones who ended family detention.” “It would be a terrible policy to reinstate. It would be an vindication of Stephen Miller and his politics. And I think there are better ways to deal with the challenges we have at the border, including with families.
Asked whether reviving family detention would affect his support for Biden in 2024, Menendez said: “We’ll see how the administration plays out and then we can make all kinds of decisions about that.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Speaker The Congressional Progressive Caucus said in an interview that its members are “very disappointed” with Biden’s position on the GOP-led DC crime rollback “because it feels like a betrayal of a core principle of DC governance.” She said that on immigration, a Trump-like asylum action would be “deceiving our base of immigrants”. Jayapal said she has been talking directly to officials and is concerned that “there are people within the administration who are giving the president very bad advice”.
Nevertheless, she said she would continue to support Biden for re-election, even as she called for “better policies” from him in some areas.
Jayapal said, “I still believe that in most areas he has been brilliant. And he is the most progressive president.” “So it doesn’t change my view — at this point, anyway. I still believe he’s done extraordinary things for this country. … I literally sometimes just sit and can’t believe that.” That’s the kind of change that we’ve made.”
White House defends Biden’s stance
Asked about progressive criticism of Biden’s recent actions, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said the party remains united behind him and cited victories that include Democrats, ranging from new judges to gun regulations. From climate change to Medicare.
“President Biden’s values and agenda unify the entire spectrum of the party as well as the country more broadly — and are consistent with what he has driven and fought for for many years,” Bates said. “These same principles drove Democrats when President Biden won the most votes of any candidate in history, when he led to the best midterm results for a new president in decades, and now.”
Republicans see political motivation for Biden to take his recent positions on the DC crime bill and immigration. Some see a parallel to Bill Clinton’s efforts to triangulate against the left wing of his party after the 1994 midterms.
“Well, he said he is running for re-election. It looks like a guy who is running for re-election,” said Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
During her first campaign, Clinton popularized the term “Sister Souljah moment” after aggressively dismissing the hip-hop artist’s controversial comments on race. But Biden appears to be taking a quiet, policy-focused path to his independence.
On the offense, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.S.C., said Biden was “just following common sense,” and added: “I think it shows that, one, he’s probably running; And two, it’s trying to find a way to protect its members more in the middle.
Graham said, “Now that he’s lost the House, he’s trying to do a triangular job, which makes sense.” Biden’s “first two years were unintentionally very progressive, very liberal. And now you see him making adjustments.”
progressives give space to biden
For the time being, the left is willing to give Biden some room to position himself against a possible return, without imposing a strict litmus test by former President Donald Trump.
Many of Biden’s former progressive rivals or skeptics are supporting his re-election bid — including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Dn.Y. Despite his recent moves, they are pleased with his actions on issues such as student loan relief, pandemic aid, safety-net expansion and firearms regulations.
Some Biden allies are rolling their eyes at left-leaning commentators lobbing criticism at him, seeing parallels to those who wrote him off as an out-of-touch remnant in the 2020 Democratic primary before he took to the field in a variety of centre-left positions. ,
Still, it’s a high-wire act for Biden to simultaneously rally the Democratic base and court swing voters. Going too far from the party’s core voters may discourage some of them.
“I think successful presidential candidates always clash with party conservatives,” said a senior congressional progressive aide, citing Trump’s spat on trade, Barack Obama’s early resistance to health care individual mandates and the Medicare prescription drug program. Support for George W. Bush.
Trump can “get his mojo back” by deviating from Republican conservatism, the progressive aide said, adding that “Biden needs to maintain his credibility” on the crime issue after breaking with elements of his party in 2020.
