Why does Biden claim he has "the most progressive record of anyone running"?

[karynnj]

81. I so agree with you on these labels

Kerry through his career was clearly a liberal, but on trade he was never a protectionist. He was someone willing to listen to the economists and saw that globalization and automation were the issue. Trade deals needed provisions that protected workers rights and the environment.

He was good on issues that dealt with helping people in need. He was the sponsor for several Congresses of a bill that in (I think) 2007 or 2008, helped fund additional affordable housing. He was always strongly supporting things like food stamps, LIHEAP( which subsidizes heating costs of the poor.) He has spoken of income inequality since at least 1992. He was the most liberal member of the Finance committee that - with the HELP committee - created Obamacare - and it was his reinsurance provision that Rubio defunded causing costs to soar - showing why it was a great idea.

As to centrist, he - from his first days as a Senator, was extremely strong on women's rights - and when in the prosecutor's office in MA, he both hired a large number of women layers and got a grant to have one of the first (or the first) program in a prosecutor's office for rape victims. He spoke on the Senate floor against closing the Thomas hearings without hearing from the other women. He also had 100% from both the HRC and civil rights groups. On all of these civil rights issues he was unusually good.

Kerry also fought things like Iran/Contra when it was dangerous to do so -- especially for a person with Presidential ambition.

On the environment, he had the best lifetime record in the Senate when he ran. As Secretary of State, he was instrumental to getting to the Paris Accord and he started the "Our Oceans" international conferences which have now had 5 conferences and there are counties committed to holding the next several.

Well so much for someone NOT running.

I think "progressive" has come to mean anything from "a candidate I like" to anyone against trade deals. I would say that the person I would say could be a model of "progressive" is Sherrod Brown. Sanders is a Democratic socialist - which on some issues overlaps.

If I were Biden, I would directly address that he really changed from a relatively conservative Democrat - on segregation, women's issues, and supporting terrible bankruptcy bills. He needs to make a virtue of changing when he realizes that it is the right thing to do. He can argue that his changes have all been in the same direction - so it is NOT following the wind, which over that time went both ways. He absolutely should not be claiming to be the most "progressive". The reason I described Kerry is that he provides a person - one year younger - who was always consistently to Biden's left -- and as you noted he has been labeled a centrist. Even in his last years in the Senate, he was never in the left most half of Democratic Senators.

I suspect that Booker and Klobuchar are slightly to Biden's left. I have a hard time placing Harris because an AG does not make policy and she has only been in the Senate since 2016 - and for the first 2 years all Democrats voted about the same - against whatever Trump did.

I don't yet have any real substantive idea as to what Beto's real values, policies, or record is. So much written about him seems to be on completely irrelevant things. I really don't care anymore that he can skate board than I cared that Kerry could windsurf.)

I would say that Warren is a good government person who wants mechanisms to insure that people are treated fairly by banks, big business and the government. She also has the strongest plan to address income inequality - which goes after assets as well as income. Rather than any label, I think she values fairness.