The story of Joe Biden’s ascent to the White House is a two-part tale. The first part, which has been written and written again, is the story of how Biden (for the most part) declined to participate in the game of rhetorical one-upmanship to which the party’s progressives committed themselves. The far Left spent much of 2019 promising radical reforms to the American compact and peppering Biden with every fashionable accusation of bigotry it could conjure — from racism to homophobia to “fat-shaming.” Biden did not exactly refuse to play this game, but he played it sparingly and with so little enthusiasm that he was able to secure the mantle of the moderate in the race.
The second part of Biden’s ascent — the story of how Democratic establishmentarians worked together to seal his nomination — is all but forgotten. When Biden, with the help of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus, came roaring back in South Carolina after defeats in Iowa and New Hampshire, Democratic powerbrokers collectively shut down the race. From almost the moment the polls closed in the Palmetto State, Democrats ranging from elder statesmen like Barack Obama and Harry Reid to Senators Tammy Duckworth and Tim Kaine signaled in unison their support for Biden. Candidates who saw a future for themselves in Democratic politics — like the victor of the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Amy Klobuchar — suspended their campaigns. With that, the balance of power shifted decisively in Biden’s direction. It was a display of collective action in defiance of the activist Left, and we have not seen its like from Democrats since.
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