This is exactly what he was saying in those "infamous" comments when he said "nothing will fundamentally change." The full context was "I'm gonna tax the hell out of you, but nothing will fundamentally change in your lifestyle because you're so rich you'll hardly even notice it, so get over it."
Doesn't stop Bernie or Busters from taking it out of context and pretending he was actually saying that he would be a tool for the wealthy elites.
Not quite:
"By the way, you know, remember I got in trouble with some of the people on my team, on the Democratic side, because I said, 'You know what I've found is rich people are just as patriotic as poor people.' Not a joke. I mean, we may not want to demonise anybody who has made money. The truth of the matter is, you all, you all know, you all know in your gut what has to be done. We can disagree in the margins but the truth of the matter is it's all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one's standard of living would change, nothing will fundamentally change. Because when we have income inequality as large as we have in the United States today, it brews and ferments political discord and basic revolution. Not a joke. Not a joke. I'm not [inaudible] revolution. But not a joke. It allows demagogues to step in and say 'The reason where we are is because of the other, the other.' You're not the other. I need you very badly. I hope if I win this nomination, I won't let you down. I promise you. I have a bad reputation, I always say what I mean. The problem is I sometimes say all that I mean."
I happen to think Biden's improved since then and don't entirely disagree with the above, but at this point, he should not be telling these donors he needs them very badly. They aren't going to stop lobbying against his reforms just because he appreciates or depends on them; ideally, they should be afraid that if they obstructed his economic agenda, he'd facilitate their opponents rather than merely acknowledging their existence.
As for the demagoguery of left-populism, I also agree it's not ideal, but it is now a useful tool in a very flawed democracy. The kind of thinking Biden espoused in the above runs contrary to Obama's very effective painting of Romney as an elitist.
REACTIONARY BIDEN STOPPING THE REVOLUTION
