Joe Biden's First Campaign Rally Was Full of Democrats Worried the Party Is Moving Too Far Left [View all]

[babylonsister]

8 hours ago
Joe Biden’s First Campaign Rally Was Full of Democrats Worried the Party Is Moving Too Far Left
The former VP makes his moderate case in Pittsburgh.
Clint Hendler

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International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger, whose union formally endorsed Biden on Monday morning, gave the rally’s first speech, where he made the argument explicitly. “He speaks to and connects with those workers who didn’t believe the last Democratic nominee heard about them, cared about them, and felt that their historic votes for the Democratic candidate were maybe just being taken for granted,” Schaitberger argued.

“In a field of good people putting themselves forward this primary season, the most important factor that we must determine in the Democratic nomination process is who can win,” Schaitberger continued in a barb that seemed targeted at Sanders, who has long described himself as a socialist. “Let me shoot straight with you, and this might not be popular in parts of the Democratic Party, but we…can’t have a nominee that’s too far left. It’s just that simple. A candidate that has high-minded ideals, maybe honorable ideas, but little chance of winning.”

Many attendees agreed. “I’m shopping,” Pat Martin-Carr, a retired school psychologist, said, explaining that she had yet to settle on a candidate. “I’m looking for who can win. I like some people, but it’s not about who I like. It’s about who can win…I don’t want someone too progressive.”

Brandon Groves, a 38-year-old social worker from nearby Wheeling, West Virginia, said that Biden was his “early favorite” of the 2020 candidates. “I’m not a big fan of Bernie,” Groves said, citing his position on restoring voting rights to felons. “I don’t like how far left the Democratic Party is going.”

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https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/04/joe-biden-first-campaign-rally-pittsburgh-bernie-sanders/