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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 2019)
A7 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 2019 AP Photos/Wilfredo Lee Left to right: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris. Cory Booker, left, and Elizabeth Warren. Biden’s viability, party’s future face questions By JULIE PACE Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Democratic Party is in no mood for a coronation. Joe Biden stepped onto the debate stage Thursday night as a front runner by default more than depth of support, and walked away with a more fragile standing atop the sprawling Democratic fi eld. His rivals showed little deference to the former vice president and longtime senator — a Demo- cratic elder statesman who has cast himself as the rightful heir to the legacy of Barack Obama, the president he spent eight years serving alongside. The questions surrounding Biden’s viabil- ity are a proxy for the broader debate among Democrats about the best path to defeat Pres- ident Donald Trump, and about the future of a party that has been trying to reconcile for a generation the role that government should play in American life. Can a moderate like Biden attract some of the white, working-class voters who abandoned Democrats for Trump in 2016 or should the party embrace the energy of its left fl ank and tap a progressive, like Sens. Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, who are pressing for sweeping government interven- tion in the economy? Are Biden’s decades of experience in Washington an antidote to Trump, who took offi ce having never served in government, or would a fresher face, such as California Sen. Kamala Harris, help Democrats ramp up general election turnout among young voters and minorities? This week’s back-to-back debates did lit- tle to answer which course Democratic vot- ers will take when primary contests begin early next year. But the face-offs did thrust the divisions within the party into the spot- light, as candidates swapped many of the niceties that have governed the primary’s early months for pointed and sometimes per- sonal attacks. It’s no surprise that Biden, who has led early polling since jumping into the race in April, found himself a frequent target. Yet the breadth of the critiques — taking aim at his age, his style of governing, his pol- icy positions and his views on race — were at times breathtaking. Biden alternated between forceful defenses of his record and stumbling answers that suggested he wasn’t fully prepared for the intensity of the attacks. The debate’s enduring exchange came when Harris challenged Biden over his past opposition to school busing and recent state- ments about working with segregation- ists. Harris, a former prosecutor who would be the fi rst black woman elected president, wove her own personal history into her blis- tering critique of Biden’s words and actions. “Vice President Biden, I do not believe you are a racist, and I agree with you, when you commit yourself to the importance of fi nding common ground,” Harris said. “But I also believe — and it’s personal — it was actually hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country.” Candidates also challenged Biden’s record as a dealmaker during his tenure as vice president, jabbing at both a source of pride for Biden and one of his stated quali- fi cations for the presidency. Rep. Eric Swal- well, one of the youngest candidates in the race, repeatedly called on the 76-year-old to “pass the torch” to a new generation. “I’m still hanging onto that torch,” Biden shot back. To some Democrats, Biden still remains a safe choice to take on Trump, a president the party views as an existential threat to Ameri- can democracy. With his centrist policy posi- tions and everyman stylings, Biden is seen as a candidate who can win back some of the working class voters who were drawn to Trump and helped tip Pennsylvania, Michi- gan and Wisconsin in the Republican’s favor in 2016. He also has deep ties with black voters, a crucial Democratic constituency, particularly after spending eight years as Obama’s No. 2. Other Democrats argue the country and the party has changed dramatically, even in the two-and-a-half years since Obama and Biden left the White House. Liberal Dem- ocrats, including Warren and Sanders, are unabashedly embracing costly, big govern- ment programs to address economic inequal- ity, climate change and health care costs. Sanders went so far as to concede that his “Medicare For All” program would increase taxes on middle class Americans, though he argued their health care costs would be lower. A historic number of women and minori- ties are agitating to take control of an increas- ingly diverse party. Some candidates, includ- ing 37-year-old South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, are openly calling for Demo- crats to embrace a new generation of leaders. Democrats have tested versions of these political propositions in recent decades. Fac- ing unpopular incumbent President George W. Bush in 2004, Democrats went with a seasoned centrist, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who would lose the general election. In 2016, the party establishment, and ulti- mately voters, rallied around Hillary Clinton — a secretary of state, senator and fi rst lady of unmatched experience, who was never- theless defeated by Trump. In contrast, Obama surged to the presi- dency at age 47 and with less than two years in the Senate on his resume, buoyed by his- toric turnout among younger voters and African Americans. Another young Demo- crat, Bill Clinton, rode a call for generational change to the top of the 1992 primary fi eld and two terms in the White House. In the Trump era, where so many norms have been upended, political history may be an imperfect guide as Democrats weigh their options in the 2020 race. This week’s debates may not have offered any answers, but the party’s choices were never clearer. Want a fresh new look for summer? Call your local, neighborhood experts! a e v a H y p p a H d n a e f a S ! y l u J f o h 4t We’re Budget Blinds, and we’re North America’s #1 provider of custom window coverings. We do it all for you; design, measure and install — because we think everyone, at every budget, deserves style, service, and the peace-of-mind of the best warranty in the business. 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