How would you describe Joe Biden's ideology?

[brucejoel99]

In the middle of the pack among Democrats: supports certain progressive policies but willing to buck the left & work across the aisle if necessary (of course, whether one thinks that's a good or bad thing is another matter).

I don't think ideology is a good framework though which to understand politicians like Joe Biden. At heart, he is someone who believes in the status quo and in politics centered around managing the status quo. I guess that would make him a "conservative" by some definition, but certainly not by the modern American definition.

Eh, I'm probably a little bit biased but I'd have to dispute the notion that Biden fundamentally believes in the status quo. Sure, he's not some super-progressive, but he has proven himself to be somebody who fights for progress (e.g., the Brady Bill, VAWA, Obamacare, the Paris Agreement), & his platform being chock full of policies that'd serve to upend the status quo - supporting full universal healthcare, a $15 minimum wage, a multi-trillion dollar effort to fight climate change, student loan relief, etc. - only further proves that IMO.

[brucejoel99]

Eh, I'm probably a little bit biased but I'd have to dispute the notion that Biden fundamentally believes in the status quo. Sure, he's not some super-progressive, but he has proven himself to be somebody who fights for progress (e.g., the Brady Bill, VAWA, Obamacare, the Paris Agreement), & his platform being chock full of policies that'd serve to upend the status quo - supporting full universal healthcare, a $15 minimum wage, a multi-trillion dollar effort to fight climate change, student loan relief, etc. - only further proves that IMO.

That's fair, I guess. I don't really put much stock in his current platform because I feel like most of it at this point is a reflection of what he thinks he needs to unify the party (just like Hillary, who ran on the most progressive platform in history in order to pacify Berniecrats but obviously didn't believe in it in an ideological sense). Not that I object to politicians adopting platforms to pacify key constituencies - that is a key part of democracy - but I just wouldn't use that as the basis on which to assess someone's ideology.

True, although I'd be remiss if I didn't note that, despite the stereotypes, politicians do keep (or at least try to keep) most of their promises. FiveThirtyEight put out an article a while back which showed that, when a politician makes a campaign promise - even when it isn't a close fit with their ideological background - they actually do try to fulfill it. So, at least when taking that into consideration, it's good news that Biden's promises are to the left of Hillary's & Obama's.

Biden's past policy stands also don't really strike me as challenges to the status quo, although I guess you could legitimately debate that for a few. Believing in the status quo doesn't necessarily mean that you don't want to make any changes whatsoever, just that those changes tend to be piecemeal, grounded in purely pragmatic consideration, and generally flowing downstream from social changes rather than attempting to change society themselves.

Fair enough points. I completely see where you're coming from.

[brucejoel99]

Biden has no ideology beyond really, really wanting to be president.

Yeah, hence why he ran in such open primaries as 2016, 2004, 2000, 1992, 1984, & 1976... oh wait.

[brucejoel99]

Biden has no ideology beyond really, really wanting to be president.

Yeah, hence why he ran in such open primaries as 2016, 2004, 2000, 1992, 1984, & 1976... oh wait.

I mean, running that many times at all for SURE boosts his assertion, haha.

I don't think you get it. The point is that he didn't run during any of those open primaries. Before this year, he only ran in '88 & '08. In contrast, if he truly "ha[d] no ideology beyond really, really wanting to be president," then he surely would've ran in some (if not all) of those open primaries in which he didn't stand.