Biden is betting on impossible promises to progressives

Amid calls for President Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee following his disastrous debate performance last month, he has turned to an unlikely set of allies for support: progressives.

Biden has long billed himself as a moderate. In the 2020 Democratic primary, he positioned himself as the pragmatic and less polarizing choice than the more progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Throughout his first term, Biden has often clashed with the more leftist elements of the party on issues ranging from immigration to Israel, even though he’s also found common ground with them on the Inflation Reduction Act and advanced progressive ideas like a billionaire tax.

Now Biden is again seeking their help — and they’re willingly offering it.

Just as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) publicly urged Biden to step aside Wednesday, the New Yorker published an interview with Sanders where he threw his support behind Biden’s candidacy. This comes after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a member of the progressive so-called “Squad,” left no room for doubt that Biden should be the nominee and said, “I support him and making sure that we win in November.”

Biden’s need for allies — wherever he can get them — may have created an opportunity for progressives to negotiate with him on policy. AOC made this explicit in her comments earlier this month, saying that Biden should “lean in” to a bolder economic agenda “and move further towards the working class.”

That seems to be what’s happening. Biden is suddenly pushing progressive priorities from Supreme Court reforms to capping rents. He has also renewed his calls for an assault weapons ban following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally last weekend. 

Two questions loom over this push from Biden. One, are these proposals actually achievable — especially since, if he wins the presidency, he likely won’t have the congressional majorities needed to enact his agenda? And two, can this late push help him politically? 

Biden’s new progressive priorities

The progressive policies Biden is pushing have little chance of becoming law, even though they might be popular among Democratic base voters, not just those on the left flank. 

Biden is reportedly weighing legislation that would impose term limits on Supreme Court justices who currently serve for life (or until they decide to retire), and introduce a new ethics code in the wake of several scandals involving conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Such legislation would likely be dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled House, and would struggle in a Senate full of members hesitant to fiddle with institutional rules. 

He is also reportedly considering a constitutional amendment that would roll back the recent Supreme Court decision providing broad presidential immunity from prosecution for official actions. As any amendment requires the approval of 38 states — a tall order that hasn’t been fulfilled in decades — this constitutional change seems unlikely. That said, endorsing such policies would mark a big shift for a president who was previously reluctant to touch the Supreme Court amid leftist calls to pack the court with more justices, sometimes referred to as Democrats’ nuclear option.

On Tuesday, Biden revived his calls for a national assault weapons ban. The shooter who attempted to assassinate Trump used an AR-style assault weapon, which he said has “killed so many others, including children.” The president’s last effort on this front failed due to a lack of congressional interest; though there have been a number of high-profile shootings since then, little has changed with Congress’s willingness to engage with gun reform.

Also on Tuesday, Biden proposed legislation to limit rent increases in an environment in which housing inflation has remained higher than overall inflation figures for the year. 

Biden would prevent landlords who raise rent by more than 5 percent annually from obtaining tax credits starting in 2024 and for the next two years. More than 20 million rentals would be affected under the plan, which applies only to landlords who own more than 50 units and would exempt newly constructed or renovated properties. 

There is disagreement among economists and housing advocates as to whether this would help renters. Even setting that aside, this proposal, like the others, isn’t likely to be passed by Congress before the November election. 

And even if Biden wins a second term, his current performance in the polls is now endangering down-ballot Democrats who would need to win overwhelmingly to get the numbers in Congress required to pass such ambitious legislation.

What is Biden’s strategy?

All of that raises the question: What exactly is Biden’s game plan here? These proposals are unrealistic even in the best of times for Democrats, and right now is definitely not the best of times for Democrats.

These policies might shore up support for Biden among Democratic base voters at a moment when his candidacy is in doubt. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats now want Biden to withdraw from the race, according to a recent  AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

But less than four months from the election is not a time when a candidate should have to worry about drumming up support in any wing of their party. In a normal election, a nominee’s position would be secure; They could spend their time courting swing voters who are especially likely to identify as moderate and whose support they also need to win. 

That appears to be what Trump is doing. His former rivals in the Republican primary have largely rallied around him. The message the former president is pushing at the Republican National Convention (however disingenuous) is one of unity in a divided America. 

Biden, however, is still seeking to negotiate with his own party for support — a perilous place to be.