Feb 13, 2021 5 min read

It is remarkable that an elected official like President Joe Biden can serve in public life for over 50 years and yet remain so misunderstood by most Americans. The Trump wing of the Republican Party and many other conservatives have labeled him as a far-left progressive, ready to take the country down the road of free-spending socialism. On the other hand, progressives see a president who is too eager to compromise with his political foes at the expense of needed social, economic and political reform.

Few observers have grasped the obvious. President Biden is and has always been a liberal humanist in the catholic social tradition, one who does not adhere to any steadfast political ideology. Biden is guided by tolerance toward human differences and is of the opinion that disagreements should most often be resolved through compromise and debate.

A socialist revolution or a populist tearing down are not in the moderate Biden toolbox. As so aptly described by Adam Gopnik, in his excellent analysis, The Moral Adventure of Liberalism: “Liberalism is a hatred of brutality, a recognition of the primacy of sympathy as social cement, a feeling for frailty and for mercy and for humanity before dogma.” These are the empathy-driven qualities that have defined Joe Biden throughout his career and that remain at the center of his thinking.

In the first weeks of the Biden administration, those on the right are crying foul, as the president issued a number of executive orders addressing immigration, climate change, LGBTQI rights, health care, the economy, the census and the coronavirus. These executive orders were not radical policy revisions. They were promulgated to reverse Trump policies that had embedded right-wing extremism into the bureaucracy. Overall, the orders returned federal policy to moderate pre-Trump positions.

There has also been a great deal of Republican consternation that Biden will utilize the budget reconciliation process (requiring only 50 Senate votes and a vice presidential tie-breaker instead of 60 votes) to pass his stimulus bill. The claim is that if Biden wanted to govern as a moderate compromiser, he would avoid this partisan result by working with Republicans to develop a bill that would satisfy both parties.

To his credit, the president has met with Republican leadership and listened to their position on a comprehensive stimulus package. However, he is concerned that further delay would damage the economy and cause unneeded hardship to millions of Americans. Moreover, the public overwhelmingly supports all elements of his plan. This approach is not an attempt to use the slim Democratic majority to force through radical new policies. He views the stimulus bill as a practical, necessary move to save the economy.

The concept of political unity has been discussed in many forums since Biden took office. Unfortunately, those who disagree with the president often misunderstand “unity.” Political unity connotes common agreement on facts and evidence, not necessarily on policies or results. In seeking unity both sides must work to understand the problem, then define the problem and lastly to apply solutions which may differ.

Political adversaries must be willing to agree that the other may be right and to base a final resolution on practical concerns not ideology or partisanship. As negotiations play out over Biden’s term in office, ask yourself whether the White House or the Republicans are basing each of their respective final positions on pragmatic problem solving or on unbending dogma. Over time, Biden will be the clear winner when it comes to encouraging unity.

The president is well aware that there are five distinct groups of Americans with differing political views that must be reconciled to move the country forward. The progressive and conservative political elites are “conviction” factions that have embraced specific ideologies on how to run the federal government. These two groups are well educated, wealthy and make up many of the elected officials and activists in both parties. They as well as their close allies contribute large sums of money to support the cause.

The next two groups are aligned to one of the two elites through “necessity” as opposed to conviction. First, minorities, recent immigrants, young voters and members of the LGBTQI community see their path to social and economic equality linked to the progressives. Second, white, middle-class, middle-aged and rural voters have most often hitched their wagon to the nativist, populist positions espoused by Donald Trump. They view this alignment as a necessity to recapture family values, social status and lost economic opportunity.

The fifth group is a coalition of apolitical Independents. Independents favor predictability and minimal, negative impact to their economic interests. This group consists of suburban and upper middle-class voters. Similar to Biden, Independents tend to view government in practical rather than ideological terms.

As the Biden administration progresses, it will find paths away from the destructive tribalism of the last four years. The president will move the country toward unity. Once the public square is governed by transparent facts rather than lies, disinformation and divisive statements, millions of Americans will discover it is not in their best interest to be at war with each other.

Underserved urban and rural voters alike will join with Independents in the practical goals of Biden liberalism to defeat COVID-19, to create jobs in the new economy and to rejoin the world community as the leader of the free world.

Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.