Bill Press: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders differ only on how to achieve reform
By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
Last month, when the Democratic presidential primary field was jam-packed, "xanar" posted his or her idea of a candidate unity pledge on Daily Kos. Most of the oath works just as well for voters.
"Never have the choices been more stark; never have the stakes been so high," goes the gist of the pledge. "Winning the White House and taking both chambers of Congress in 2020 is far more important than the ambitions of any one person; 'e pluribus unum' must be our motto against all who seek to divide us. Benjamin Franklin is often quoted as saying that we 'have a republic, if you can keep it.' He also said 'We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.'
"...Vote Blue, no matter who. Cast aside any differences you may have had with the nominees. Vote as if your life depends on it — because it does and so does the continued existence of the United States as the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave."
Our unions depends on it, too. So does our labor movement.
It's now Joe Biden versus Bernie Sanders. Biden romped again last night, lengthening his delegate lead.
"The one thing Sanders and Biden supporters agree on almost universally: Trump has to go," Amber Phillips wrote in today's Washington Post. "Biden seems to be taking that direction with Sanders’s fans now."
She quoted Biden from last night: “I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion. We share a common goal. And together, we will defeat the Donald Trump. … We need you, we want you, and there’s a place in our campaign for each of you.”
Doubtless, Sanders would have rolled out the welcome mat to Biden backers if he was the big winner in the latest round of primaries.
Sanders told the press this morning that he is staying in the race. He challenged "my friend Joe Biden" over policies on which they disagree, including as Medicare-for-all; he is looking forward to their Sunday night debate.
But tellingly, Sanders focused most of his fire on Trump.
"Donald Trump is the most dangerous president in the modern history of our country and he must be defeated," Sanders said.
Trump, according to Sanders, is a corrupt "pathological liar" who thinks he's "above the law." The president "is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe and a religious bigot," he added. "He must be defeated, and I will do everything in my power to make that happen."
Sanders touched on what, to him, must be the one of the most--if not the most--frustrating factor in his second bid for the presidency: "I cannot tell you how many people our campaign has spoken to who have said, and I quote, 'I like what your campaign stands for. I agree with what you campaign stands for but I'm going to vote for Joe Biden because I think Joe is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump,' end of quote. We have heard that statement all over this country."
I've heard the same thing, time and again, in my neck of the western Kentucky woods.
Sanders also said that polls show him beating Biden among young voters and reveal "that a strong majority of the American people support our progressive agenda," notably Medicare-for-all. I've seen the same polls.
Even so, at the risk of gettin slammed by Bernie Bros and Anybody-But-Bernie ConservaDems, I have said all along that more unites Biden and Sanders than divides them. They're both good on union issues. Click here and here to see their 2020 labor platform planks.
"They’ll never not admit it, but Biden and Sanders actually agree on far more than they disagree," Bill Press recently wrote yesterday in The Hill online. Press hosts “The Bill Press Pod” and he wrote From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.
The author added, "Both champion universal health care, raising the minimum wage, raising taxes on the wealthy, wiping out student debt, making college affordable, if not free, and leading the fight against climate change. They differ only on how to get there. For Sanders, it’s revolution, or sudden change. For Biden, it’s evolution, or gradual change. Democrats must decide how far and how fast they want to go.
"But here’s what’s more important: Whatever they choose, revolution or evolution, they’re both paths to the same progressive goals. And those goals were first set by Sanders in 2016. That’s why I argue that Sanders has already won the Democratic primary."
Meanwhile, Trump claims he's for us. Baloney. Trump is the most anti-union president since Herbert Hoover. Click here, here, here, here and here.
Mitch McConnell is Trump's chief enabler in Congress. The majority leader has stood in the front ranks of Senate union-busters since 1985 when he was first sworn in. He has voted the union position on legislation just 11 percent of the time, according to the AFL-CIO's Legislative Scorecard.
Charles Booker, Mike Broihier and Amy McGrath are the three main Democrats running in Kentucky's May 19 Senate primary. All three enjoy labor support. All three are solid on labor issues. Hence, the Kentucky State AFL-CIO hasn't endorsed anybody. (Nor has the national AFL-CIO endorsed a presidential candidate, although some international unions and many union members are for Biden or Sanders.)
A word on endorsements: Neither the national nor state AFL-CIO endorse candidates based on the party label. Both bodies back candidates who back labor. Labor mostly endorses pro-labor Democrats because pro-labor Republicans are rare these days.