Three questions as Biden effectively locks down nomination
| Washington
Dear reader:
Joe Biden鈥檚 sweep of Tuesday鈥檚 primaries effectively seals the Democratic presidential nomination for the former vice president. As I write, his only opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is 鈥渁ssessing鈥� his campaign and is expected to drop out at some point.
For now, though, both candidates are focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, and in live-streamed remarks Tuesday night, expressed their concerns and aspirations for Americans at this challenging time.
Indeed, as James Hohmann of the Washington Post聽, 鈥渕any Americans seem far less interested in partisan politics now than the virus鈥檚 potential impact on their lives and their livelihoods.鈥�
Still, it鈥檚 an election year - albeit one filled with uncertainty. Will Senator Sanders work hard to unite his army of disappointed followers behind former Vice President Biden in the effort to defeat President Donald Trump? Will the national party conventions take place this summer - or at all? Will the election itself even happen?
On the first question, Mr. Sanders promised earlier this month to back Mr. Biden if he鈥檚 the nominee, but the crisis has only highlighted their differences: Mr. Sanders, a democratic socialist, is focused on protecting low-income Americans while the center-left Mr. Biden projects a more holistic approach.
At the same time, Mr. Biden聽聽he鈥檒l adopt plans from both the Sanders and Elizabeth Warren campaigns on education costs and bankruptcy. The Democratic mainstream has most certainly shifted left. Whether that will be enough to energize Sanders supporters remains to be seen.
Which brings the discussion back to President Trump. Even if not inspired by Mr. Biden, Sanders supporters can be motivated by the 鈥渘egative partisanship鈥� of voting against Mr. Trump.聽The decision Thursday by Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to drop out and endorse Mr. Biden (and not run as an independent, as some feared) reinforced Democratic unity.
Perhaps the quadrennial conventions won鈥檛 be needed to ramp up partisan enthusiasm. As things looks now, with all major gatherings off the table for the foreseeable future, a convention-less and rally-free campaign may be in our future. The parties may have to find another way to formally nominate their candidates.
And what of the election itself? Senators are pushing for vote-by-mail to keep people safe, as聽. And as Buzzfeed聽, what happens if Mr. Trump tries to cancel or postpone the election because of the coronavirus? The short answer is, he can鈥檛 do either. To go to that length would require both an act of Congress and a change to the Constitution, both liberal and conservative experts agree.
Let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at聽csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.
