Why Biden’s tack to the center shouldn’t be surprising Liberal-news

In his first two years as president, Joe Biden surprised and delighted the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Early on, he signed into law the American Rescue Plan, a nearly $2 trillion economic stimulus bill aimed at pandemic relief. He signed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and the first gun control legislation in decades.

But recently, President Biden has taken a number of steps that counter the liberal narrative. He gave the go-ahead to a major oil drilling project in Alaska. He built a budget heavy on deficit reduction and helped Congress repeal a crime bill passed by the Washington, DC, city council.

None of these latest moves should come as a surprise, longtime Biden watchers say. A Washington fixture for decades, both in the Senate and the vice presidency, he was a creature of the middle, often willing to work the aisle and cut deals.

“He always manages to find the center of the Democratic Party and be there,” says Seth Masket, a political scientist at the University of Denver.

Now, Mr. Biden appears to be gearing up for a long-awaited 2024 re-election campaign, and with no signs he’ll face major opposition for the Democratic presidential nomination, he may aim his message squarely at top general election voters.

In his first two years as president, Joe Biden surprised and delighted the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Early on, he signed into law the American Rescue Plan, a nearly $2 trillion economic stimulus bill aimed at pandemic relief. He signed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and the first gun control legislation in decades. He is pursuing a massive student debt relief initiative, now before the Supreme Court, and last August, he signed landmark legislation on climate change and health care.

“Biden has gone left,” conservatives essentially yelled from the sidelines.

Against this backdrop, President Biden has taken a series of recent steps that contradict the liberal narrative: He approved a major oil drilling project in Alaska. He developed a budget heavy on deficit reduction. He helped Congress strike down a crime bill passed by Washington, DC, countering the city’s statehood movement. And he is reportedly considering reinstating a Trump-era practice of stopping migrant families crossing the southern border illegally.

What gives? In fact, none of these latest moves should come as a surprise, longtime Biden watchers say. A Washington fixture for decades, both in the Senate and the vice presidency, he was a creature of the middle, often willing to work the aisle and cut deals.