“Voting isn’t about who you like. It’s about who you prefer,” junior Zac Wohl said.
As the 2020 election neared, many young progressives were trying to figure out what Joe Biden’s positions were, and if they were willing to support him. Although some felt that Biden was not liberal enough on key issues they cared about, they also believe that anyone is better than Trump.
“I feel, to be ‘progressive enough,’ you just have to be more progressive than Trump,” senior Chris Odondi said.
Even though Biden has not adopted all the policy positions that they would like, some young progressives still feel that he is moving in the right direction and trying to move toward newer progressive policies.
“He seems to be trying to adapt to the change. He’s had moments where he hasn’t completely caught up with the times,” Odondi said.
WhileWohl hopes that Biden will adopt more progressive policies after becoming president, he doesn’t think that he will.
“It feels kind of silly hoping Biden will adopt more progressive policies, after he started appealing to the moderate vote,” Wohl said.
Other liberals, like senior Oona McCaughan, hope that Biden will adopt more specific progressive policies as well, specifically regarding the environment.
“I hope he will adopt a stance that is more anti-fracking,” McCaughan said in an email, “and be in more support of more radical and effective climate legislation.”
Climate change is something that stands out to many young progressives. Many support policies like the Green New Deal, a sweeping environmental bill which was introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts.
With the protests by Greta Thunberg and climate marches around the world, to many young Democrats, climate change is a pressing issue.
“Scientists believe that the damage to the earth due to climate change will be irreversible,” Odondi said. “And a lot of those dates are coming fast, some of them within the next 10 to 15 years.”
Young progressives are disappointed in some of Biden’s plans: for instance, that he has not adopted policies like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. Still, they believe that it is important to elect Biden in order to be able to at least start working on these policies, and to address the urgent problems facing the country.
Insaard hopes that Biden will adopt a better COVID response than Trump.
“This is a life or death issue at this point,” Insaard said. “So many Americans have died from COVID, so many people’s lives are at risk right now.”
Even though Biden may not be as progressive as some students would like, they believe he’s the best shot for enacting their ideal plans.
“His proposed plans are just much better, much more suited for the American people and much more inclusive, than Trump’s,” Insaard said.
Many believe that a protest vote for a third party candidate, because Biden hasn’t adopted all of their preferred policies, would be a waste of their vote – or a vote for Trump.
They still remember the progressive “Bernie or Bust” voters from 2016 who didn’t like Hillary Clinton and didn’t vote for her. Some young progressives are upset that people did this in 2016, and are upset that people might have done this in 2020.
“I would never not vote just because I was mad that my preferred candidate did not get the nomination,” McCaughan wrote.
Odondi noted that it’s not likely for there to ever be a perfect candidate who fulfills everyone’s ideals.
“Because, when it comes to government,” Odondi said, “it’s very rare that someone ever gets everything they want.”
Their views on Biden’s past policies, though, are mixed. The 1994 Crime Bill is one negative aspect of Biden’s record that stands out to young progressives.
“The Crime Bill criminalized people of color and their communities,” Odondi said, “specifically the Black community, and it led to a lot of mass incarceration.”
McCaughan also believes that Biden’s past actions toward the Black community, specifically his support for the War on Drugs, was a mistake.
“In the 80s, Biden was a supporter and leader of the War on Drugs campaign, which heavily discriminated against Black drug users,” she wrote. “Therefore, he supported an extremely racist campaign that was targeted against Black people.”
But some also see parts they agree with in Biden’s record and believe that he is trying to do better. Odondi noted that Biden said he will set up a commission to investigate systemic racism.
McCaughan agrees with Biden’s past measures to support the LGBTQ+ community, his opposition to capital punishment and his support for gun control measures.
But even if progressives don’t like his current or past thinking, they still have hope that he will become a more appealing candidate for them.
“Just show that he’s improved in his thinking,” Insaard said. “[Show that] he’s a more progressive candidate, politician than he was before.”
Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
