Recently, former Vice President Joe Biden officially announced his run for president in 2020. There's been a big mix of emotions over his candidacy from the left—some love the idea, some hate it, and others are somewhere in between.
Here's my take: Biden is not the Democratic President that we need. His campaign so far looks to be running on a platform of only two main things:
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1. Defeating Trump.
2. Helping out labor unions.
While both of these are obviously important to Democrats, many of the other candidates are focusing on a much wider array of issues, and are willing to take much more progressive stances than Biden. Bernie Sanders, for example, is running again; and while his candidacy faces the same age-related issue as Biden's (Sanders is 77 and Biden is 76), he still holds a much more liberal agenda than does Biden. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Tulsi Gabbard, and Beto O'Rourke, among others, are other candidates who have platforms that are more progressive.
It's also impossible to ignore the case involving Anita Hill, where Biden completely mishandled her trial, to say the least. Hill was testifying against judge Clarence Thomas, claiming he had sexually harassed her when they worked together in the 1980s. While presiding over the hearings for this trial, Biden allowed members of the committee to attack Hill and didn't do a decent job calling forth witnesses that could have helped Hill's case; in summary, Hill did not receive what many of us would deem a fair trial. Biden, to this day, has not issued her the adequate apology that she deserves. We can claim that this is "nothing" compared to the stacks of sexual assault/harassment accusations that our current President has stacked against him. If you ask me, though, I'd like to finally see a President that actively condemns anything involving sexual misconduct and the way it's so commonly mishandled in our country.
Granted, it's easiest to picture Biden winning the presidency and getting Trump out of office, which is a big priority for Democrats and even some Republicans. Biden's been vocal about his disdain towards the Trump presidency and about his goal to get Trump out of office, which is definitely an effort that I and many others on the left appreciate. Additionally, his centrist-leaning views, appeal to the working class, and his focus on the morality on our country could definitely help him win the Republican votes he'll need to get Trump out of office.
However, the question becomes this: Is it enough just to kick Trump out of the White House? It's certainly a very important first step in getting this country on track, but there's so much more to address once that actually happens. There's so much more, not just on Democrats' agenda, but on the country's agenda. What is the next President going to do to combat climate change? Where will they stand on Medicare? Are low-income families going to get the assistance that they need? Will student-loan debt continues to skyrocket, or will our next President finally help us broke college students out? These are issues that many of the other Democratic candidates have discussed as some of their main party platforms; meanwhile, Biden has yet to touch on these.
The campaign season has yet to begin, so candidates have yet to fully develop their platforms, and it's still early to see who's going to come out on top. I don't know yet which Democrat I'll be giving my vote to, but I know that out of the 20 runnings so far, my vote won't be going to another old white man with a moderate agenda. We need someone young and progressive to make a change, and in my opinion, Biden just won't cut it.
