Opinion: Despite Accusations, Biden is Not a Socialist

In the midst of a pandemic, wildfires and protests, exhausted Americans across the country tiredly follow a tumultuous election. Former Vice President Joe Biden emerged from the crowded field as the Democratic nominee through a campaign based on a “return to normalcy.” Despite Biden’s own claim to occupy the centrist lane, President Donald Trump continually accuses Biden of being a “Trojan horse” for socialism in his rallies. It’s worth examining Biden’s past record and current positions to see if there’s any truth to these accusations on two fronts: healthcare and criminal justice reform.

At the beginning of the first presidential debate, questions about COVID-19 naturally led to inquiries regarding healthcare plans. Biden adamantly denied accusations that he wanted to implement “socialized medicine,” just as he did throughout the primary as Senator Bernie Sanders’ Medicare For All bill became a line in the sand among the Democratic candidates, according to political reporter Danielle Kurtzleben for NPR. The former vice president’s position remains clear: he does not support “socialized medicine” and he never has. In fact, he’s even gone so far as to suggest in an interview that he would veto Sanders’ bill if it somehow passed through Congress.

For the majority of Democratic voters who support “socialized medicine,” according to exit polls, Biden’s current position on this issue may disappoint. For actual socialists, calling attention to Biden’s historic reliance on the healthcare industry makes his current position against a single-payer system especially egregious. In an article for Jacobin, a leftist magazine, Branko Marcetic argues that socialists should interrogate Biden support of a public option position because of his close relationships with pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare lobby during his two terms in Obama administration. 

Socialists, like the Democratic-Socialists of America, seek to dismantle the for-profit healthcare system by instituting one single-payer system that purports to provide every U.S. resident with equal medical services and treatment financed through tax contributions. The key difference between socialists and Biden is that socialists advocate for universal coverage while Biden advocates for universal coverage accessibility. While it may seem like a minuscule difference in semantics, these are very different positions on healthcare with Biden fighting a very different fight than the leftists.

A second issue raised in the debate in regards to Biden’s alleged allegiance with radical leftism was his position on “law and order.” In the debate Trump hounded Biden for his refusal to give a strong position on “defunding the police,” a cause largely pushed by leftists activists associated with Black Lives Matter. Biden responded saying he wholeheartedly does not support defunding the police, but instead stood by his position to “reimagine” the police. With some historical context, Biden’s record on “law and order” reveals itself to be much more nuanced and, at times, contradictory.

Amid a wave of repositioning toward a hardened stance on crime, Biden drafted what would eventually become the 1994 Crime Bill. According to Atlantic staff writer Todd Purdum, this bill actually funded the police more than it had ever been before. Between $30 billion additional dollars and thousands of new officers, Biden’s record shows that one could reasonably argue he was possibly the most pro-law enforcement senator at the time. Black Lives Matter cofounder Alecia Garza said that despite Biden’s public support for their cause, the fact that he has not done enough to rectify the consequences of the legislation he helped architect proves that he’s not the right candidate for this moment.

By taking a closer look at Biden’s current position and past record on the two primary issues through which many have accused Biden of entertaining socialism, one can see how off-base these accusations are. 

Biden’s candidacy discouraged many leftists and socialists rather than encouraged them when one takes a closer look at his current position and his record. While Biden seems like their obvious choice simply because the alternative is so hostile to the socialist worldview, that does not necessarily mean Biden is likely to advocate for their interests.

Austin Gaebe is an Opinion Writer. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinGaebe.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *