Can Joe Biden avoid Obama's mistakes?

[Counselor706]

To answer it, you must first appreciate how we arrived at this moment of peril. In this week’s election, Trump kept the race close by winning 82% of voters who listed the economy as their top concern, according to exit polls. He was able to do that amid an economic crisis because Democrats did not forcefully articulate an economic message. Instead, Biden cast his candidacy in gauzy platitudes about restoring the country to a pre-Trump status quo.

While Obama’s Affordable Care Act created some long-overdue consumer protections, it ultimately strengthened the power of private insurers. Despite Obama campaigning for a public insurance option, his administration dropped it, Democratic senators helped Republicans initially vote it down and then refused to ever bring it back up to force the issue, even though there was a good chance it would pass. The result: Millions have lost their health insurance and millions more are paying ever-higher premiums, while insurance companies have booked huge profits – and now support for the ACA is soft.

Similarly, Obama backed off his promise to pass new union protections for workers, and he reversed his promise to reform bad trade deals, instead pressing even more of those pacts that have become a symbol of a corrupt Washington more interested in enriching CEOs than helping workers.

Then again, Biden often prioritizes decorum, comity and bipartisanship. He has also told his donors that if he is elected “nothing would fundamentally change” and that he would not propose any legislation to change corporate behavior.

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[RobDownSouth]

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The vote was 55-45 in FAVOR of a public option, not enough to override a filibuster. 5 Democratic senators voted against it. 4 no longer serve in the Senate.