Sanders said “it’s no great secret” that he and Biden have differed on policy and they’re not going to ignore it.
A person familiar with Sanders’ thinking said that while Biden has moved a bit left with his new proposal to lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60, the Vermont senator will continue to continue to urge him to adopt more liberal health care policies.
„Because of the mutual respect, he understands who Bernie is,“ the source said of Biden. „He’s not expecting him to [say], ‘Okay, he’s lowering the age to 60 and then that’s fine and we’ll just support that.’ No, we’ll continue to push for Medicare for All.”
Biden pledged to have “the most progressive administration since [Franklin Delano] Roosevelt.”
“What is important about these task forces is that it really represents an openness on the part of Vice President Biden and his campaign to bring the progressive wing of the party to the table and that’s something very new,” said Jeff Weaver, Sanders‘ adviser. “It is important that there is this kind of representation in these policy circles, which has not always been the case, which is part of the frustration of the progressive part of the party, which provides all the energy and volunteers and foot soldiers in the elections and then sometimes is left out after the campaign is won.“
Not everyone from the Sanders campaign is on board, though.
Sanders former National Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray tweeted that she has “the utmost respect for Bernie Sanders, who is an incredible human being & a genuine inspiration, I don’t endorse Joe Biden. I supported Bernie Sanders because he backed ideas like #MedicareForAll, canceling ALL student debt, & a wealth tax. Biden supports none of those.”
Sanders adviser David Sirota was more circumspect, saying he would vote for Biden but noting in a blog post that progressives want to know the answer to two questions: “Are we getting the retrograde triangulating Joe Biden?” and “Are we getting a new and evolved Joe Biden?”
Before bringing on Sanders as a surprise guest Monday, the former vice president already sounded more like Sanders by ditching his usual promises to simply bring America back and instead focusing on the structural inequities that existed prior to the pandemic.
“When this crisis has receded, we can’t just talk about, think about, building back to the way things were before,” Biden said. “We need to build better for the future.”
When asked if he had some final words, Sanders briefly referenced the chess board behind him.
“I thought we’d play some chess,” he joked. “We’ll bore everybody for a few hours.”
Biden laughed.
“You and I have been friends. We’ve disagreed. But we’ve been friends,” Biden said. “I appreciate your friendship. And I promise you I won’t let you down.”
Source: politico.com
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