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Joe Biden's poll numbers are worrying for Democrats. Head-to-head polls show him tied with Trump, or even narrowly behind him. When the Electoral College is factored in, the situation may be even worse.
And then there's Cornel West. West, a leading public intellectual and democratic socialist, is running as a Green Party candidate, and he has Democratic insiders very worried. They worry that in a close race, West might peel away some Left-leaning voters who would otherwise vote for Biden, dooming the President's reelection chances. At least one poll has suggested that's exactly what could happen, with Biden winning a head-to-head matchup against Trump but losing when West is offered as a third option.
The threat West poses to Biden is real. Democrats who fear a Trump comeback are right to be worried, because even a small number of West votes in key states could make a major difference. But the serious question is: What can they do about it? West is running whether they like it or not.
Of course, there will be the usual efforts to restrict ballot access and keep him out of the debates. But how about this for a better solution: Biden should win over potential West voters by doing things that make those voters more inclined to re-elect the President.
After all, voters who defect to West are probably disappointed with Biden's performance. Maybe they're among those frustrated he hasn't done more to follow through on his promise to decriminalize marijuana. Or those who wish he'd be more aggressive in protecting abortion rights. Maybe they're climate activists who can't understand why Biden is continuing to approve new fossil fuel projects. Or maybe they're people who feel betrayed that Biden continued some of Donald Trump's harshest immigration policies.
Potential West voters might be tempted by West's long history of staunch opposition to militarism and economic inequality. They might be pleased that West promises to fight "against the escalating ecological catastrophe by targeting the corporate greed of fossil fuel companies and resurrecting the Green New Deal" or by his support for Medicare For All (which Joe Biden said he'd veto, even if it passed).
If Biden wants to win these voters over, he's going to need to prove to progressives that he's actually carrying out his promises and delivering for the American people. Clearly, they're not currently persuaded.
This means that the pressure from West might force Biden to be more progressive than he otherwise would have been. The more it looks like West imperils Biden's reelection, the more Biden may have to shore up his left flank with new actions on student debt, labor rights, abortion, immigration, and climate change. Without reaching high numbers in the polls, West could exert quite a bit of influence on Biden's next year in office, since Biden will have to appeal to potential West voters if he wants to get re-elected. Already, we see new Biden actions that seem to indicate administration knows it has an enthusiasm problem, such as extending overtime pay, reversing course on oil drilling, and making it easier for workers to form unions. The more he fears a third-party candidacy, the more pressure he'll be under to do more of this stuff.
Of course, anyone who supports West's agenda should fear the return of Donald Trump, who will utterly crush labor unions and wreck the planet. Using a third-party bid to pressure Biden from the Left might be effective, but it's also something like a very dangerous game of "chicken," because if West pulls away too many Biden supporters, Trump will get back into office and all of the gains will be wiped away.
If I were Joe Biden, here's what I'd be doing right now: I'd be calling up Cornel West, inviting him to the White House, and asking him what three executive orders he'd like in exchange for dropping out, or at least imploring swing state voters to vote Biden. Democrats often display a resentful attitude toward third party voters, seeing them as dangerous fools. But treating people with contempt is a bad way to win their support.
Instead of trashing West and his voters, I'd suggest Biden try to win them over.
West is actually in a position of considerable power that he wouldn't have been if he'd run in the Democratic primary, as some have recommended he do. He could offer to leave the race in return for some concrete policies and extract concessions from the President. Or he can stay in the race, and the President may make concessions anyway in order to stay in office.
Personally, I'm very worried by the risk of a second Trump presidency, which would be a disaster for labor, the environment, immigrants, and pretty much everything else. But I also understand that politicians like Biden often only take certain actions when there is political pressure on them. And West's campaign certainly keeps Biden under pressure.
Nathan J. Robinson is the editor in chief of Current Affairs magazine and the author of Responding to the Right: Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
