I just may never understand political strategy. > From: Noelle <noelle> > Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2024 16:35:27 -0700 (PDT) > > C.C. in Los Angeles, CA, asks: I'm curious about your thoughts as to > why progressive members of Congress like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) > and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have become Joe Biden's > biggest cheerleaders. > > My own hunch is that they figure if Biden hangs on and manages to > win, he'll be more indebted to them than ever. And if Trump wins, > beating whomever is the Democratic nominee, they'll be in a great > position to lead the opposition and discredit the moderate, > "establishment" wing of the party. > > (V) & (Z) answer: We must disagree with your two theses. First, > Biden is limited by what is possible, not by what he's willing to > do. So, additional leverage over him wouldn't do much for the > lefties. Second, if Biden wins this election, progressives are going > to get the blame, with the notion being that they did not get to the > polls or that they voted for protest candidates like Cornel West. > This will not give the lefties more leverage. > > Our explanation would be that Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are both > very savvy, and recognize that the kind of president who can do the > most for them is a president who looks and feels like a moderate, > but basically governs like a progressive. That's Joe Biden.