I'd rather have someone who is open to change his mind in the face of new situations and evidence than someone who dogmatically sticks to the same "principles" he had when he was a teenage hippie.
He is free to open his mind if he has genuinely evolved on the issue; if he has, when he is directly asked a question about it would be a great time to respond. But I think you clearly know that the "new situation" here only refers to the fact that Democrats are butthurt about a court vacancy with a Republican president and Republican senate. If the parties were reversed, or even if the Democrats were able to successfully block a Court nominee, the Democrats (and Republicans mind you) would be changing their whole tune. This is not "changing his mind", this is opportunism. And if you support that, fine, but at least call it what it is
See, the thing about politics is that it's not actually about ideology. That is the domain of academics, pundits, and people arguing on the internet. Politics, at least in a democratic society, is about getting enough support from people to put yourself in a position where you can realistically achieve policy goals. All of this requires compromise, coalition/alliance-building, and constant awareness of how the public perceives you and your words. Things, incidentally, Bernie is terrible at; he's great at wagging his finger and loudly telling the world how things should be, but has never shown any indication he is capable of actually making that happen.
What does any of this have to do with Bernie Sanders? This thread is about Biden blatantly and obviously avoiding a question he was asked because it's politically uncomfortable. You bringing up a senator you don't like is nothing more than a red herring
And so whatever Biden really thinks about court-packing, the politically smart thing to do here is to hedge and hold out. He doesn't want to create a headline that says "BIDEN IS FOR/AGAINST COURT-PACKING" because he doesn't want the conversation to be about court-packing at all right now. He wants it to stay focused on the GOP's hypocrisy and on COVID. Don Draper in Mad Men said "If you don't like what's being said, change the conversation" in reference to marketing, and politics is very similar to marketing.
Terrible analogy. I guess it
is similar to marketing, but there's nothing admirable about that, especially coming from a politician trying to present himself as the alternative to Trump. Politics is about people's livelihoods, not corporate strategy. I get that he wants to "stay focused" on the pandemic and Republican hypocrisy (even though the Democrats are just as guilty of hypocrisy as well, considering they supported appointed a SC nominee in an election year four years ago), but that's because it's politically convenient to him
So Biden absolutely made the right move here. I don't really care at this moment what he really thinks about court-packing, if he has in fact come to a concrete conclusion at all (and no, what he said in the primaries BEFORE RBG died doesn't necessarily mean anything now that the situation has changed completely). I don't want it to be a distraction or liability. Put all the pressure on the GOP, then cross that bridge if and when it comes to it.
The situation hasn't changed completely. A justice dying and Trump being there to fill the seat has always been a possibility. A president nominating judges to the bench with Senate confirmation is part and parcel of the constitutional process in this country. And hell, even if you think it was a smart move, there are a hell of a lot better ways to go about doing it than to straight up tell your constituents that you're purposely evading a question
