The Democratic Center Holds

Democratic moderates and party leaders have managed to fend off Bernie Sanders. Will the Democratic Party hold in November?

Former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden speaking with attendees at the Moving America Forward Forum hosted by United for Infrastructure at the Student Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. February 16, 2020. (photo: Gage Skidmore)

For better or worse, whatever happens between now and November, the Democratic Party has selected its champion.

Former Vice President Joe Biden never looked like the front-runner; until he was. This is thanks largely in part to a number of high-profile endorsements from well-respected members of the Democratic Party, including Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and political strategist James Carville.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, long declared unsuitable by the Democratic Party powers-that-be, seems doomed to failure. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Biden has managed to secure an almost runaway lead in delegates over Sanders.

Sanders, it is being reported, is taking some time to evaluate his campaign. This is usually a sign that the end is near.

Liberal progressives in the Democratic Party aren’t too happy about this turn of events.

They blame a number of party machinations, from a coordinated effort by party leaders to stop Sanders by throwing their support behind Biden to more serious accusations of voter suppression.

Many Sanders supporters have said, mostly on social media, that they will not “vote blue no matter who”, as Democrats hope they will. More than a few will be leaving the Democratic Party forever over this.

Joe Biden is a tough sell for progressives, and it isn’t hard to understand why.

“I voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. You [Joe Biden] voted for it. I voted against the bankruptcy bill. You voted for it. I voted against the war in Iraq, which was also a tough vote. You voted for it. I voted against disastrous trade agreements like NAFTA and PNTR with China, which cost this country over four million good-paying jobs. You voted for it. I voted against the Hyde amendment, which denies low-income women the right to get an abortion. You have consistently voted for it.” — Sen. Bernie Sanders, during his late debate with Joe Biden. March 15, 2020.

Progressives are worried- perhaps rightly- that the Democratic Party has stuck them with yet another weak candidate with a strong name; one who will lose to Donald…