Biden Must Distance Himself From Far Left If He Is To Unify US – OpEd

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By Dalia Al-Aquidi*

Following the declaration by US media organizations of Joe Biden’s victory against Donald Trump in this month’s presidential election, the president-elect told his supporters in Wilmington, Delaware: “I pledge to be a president who does not seek to divide, but unify, who doesn’t see red states or blue states, who only sees the United States.”

This was an appropriate speech for a leader who wants to extricate his country from its state of division, conflict, discrepancy, and intolerance that spread broadly following a series of riots in multiple Democratic-ruled cities.

His message was widely welcomed by several leaders, such as former President George W. Bush, who “extended his warm congratulations and thanked Biden for the patriotic message he delivered,” according to a statement issued by the Republican former president, in which he also said: “Now is the time when we must come together for the sake of our families and neighbors, and for our nation and its future.”

For Biden to achieve this worthy ambition of unifying Americans, he needs his party’s blessing and the consent of his colleagues in Congress, in addition to his leftist followers. Unfortunately, the reactions of the far left and sections of the mainstream media, which played a vital role in attacking not only Trump but every Republican who supported the president, say otherwise and draw a very dark picture of what to expect after inauguration day on Jan. 20. The progressive politicians, who took the Democratic Party hostage, believe that this goal can only be achieved by implementing some form of castigation to punish those who disagree with their socialist agenda.

The rising calls for a purge of Trump supporters take us back to the US during the 1950s, when Sen. Joe McCarthy created his infamous blacklist for Communist Party members in the country to be chastised and extracted from the general public.

The New York socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez inquired on Twitter about a similar list, asking if anyone was keeping a record of what she called “Trump sycophants” to remind them should they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future.

AOC’s fellow “Squad” member, Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar, who ran her two congressional campaigns based on identity politics and victimization, did not hesitate to describe Trump’s national campaign events as “(Ku Klux) Klan rallies.” Her statement basically implied that the 73 million Americans who voted to give Trump four more years are all members of a major white supremacist hate group.

Meanwhile, former Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Hari Sevugan warned against hiring Trump’s White House staff, threatening employers who might consider them for a job with unspecified “consequences.”

Washington Post opinion writer Jennifer Rubin went further, suggesting during a panel discussion on MSNBC that the Republican Party should be killed off. “We have to collectively, in essence, burn down the Republican Party. We have to level them because, if there are survivors, if there are people who weather this storm, they will do it again. It is our job to hold them accountable for the rest of their lives,” she proudly told the audience.

Such narratives of hatred and vendetta were reflected on the streets of Washington last Saturday, when thousands of American citizens who had chosen to express their support for their president were attacked by Antifa and Black Lives Matter counterprotesters before our eyes.

Is this the fate of democracy in the US? Is this the fate of the leader of the free world?

We are facing the “dark winter” Biden warned us about. If Biden is serious about unifying America, and there are no doubts about that, he needs to heal the Democratic Party first and distance his administration’s strategy from the progressive ideas and propositions that, according to the election results, do not match the aspirations of the average American citizen.

Democratic Party moderates need to reject the radical socialist agenda that would create deeper divisions and increase intolerance.

The far-left Democrats are expecting Biden to lean toward their agenda once elected, but they are in for a big surprise. Unless pressured by his running mate Kamala Harris, it would not be wise for Biden to adopt dead-end policies that will, eventually, disappoint the centrists who voted for him.

But Biden’s bumpy road does not end there; his most difficult task will be reaching out to the 73 million voters who do not want him inside the White House. Regardless of what he does, it is unreasonable to expect him to win the hearts and minds of these millions, but he could ease the tension by reaching out to his long-time Republican colleagues. He needs to assure the Trump supporters that no secret police will hunt them down, destroy their livelihoods, and delete their identities.

He also needs to give more power to the states to govern themselves without interference from the federal government. And, just as he has been chasing Trump to condemn extreme-right movements and white supremacist groups, Biden needs to clearly condemn all the violent acts committed by the two main radical-left groups, Black Lives Matter and Antifa. Failing to do so would steer the country toward greater chaos and frustration.

  • Dalia Al-Aqidi is Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi

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