Joe Biden Won’t Learn Anything From Ed Markey’s Win
For four decades Sen. Ed Markey was a run-of-the-mill liberal Democrat. But when he found himself threatened by a potentially career-ending defeat, he turned toward young voters and the Left — and it worked. Could Biden do the same? Maybe. But he probably won’t even try.
Sen. Ed Markey at a 2018 Senate subcommittee meeting on space and science. NASA HQ / Flickr
The New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg has a new piece on Ed Markey’s surprising and unorthodox primary victory and the lessons it might offer to other Democrats. Among other things, Goldberg’s op-ed gives useful insights into the pivotal role played by the Sunrise Movement, which accomplished nothing short of a stunning feat by transforming the seventy-four-year-old Markey into an unlikely champion for young progressive voters.
Her main point, however, has to do with the potential lessons the Massachusetts primary campaign has served up for mainstream Democrats everywhere, particularly Joe Biden: “In boosting Markey, Sunrise sent a message to Democrats, especially those in blue states. You don’t need an impeccable record — if you champion the Green New Deal, the movement will have your back. And that support can be priceless.”
I paid close attention to the Markey/Kennedy race, and I think Goldberg is right. Markey’s warm embrace of young progressive voters — not to mention their values, language, and legislative priorities — was essential to his victory. She’s also right that Markey, despite a partly overlapping constituency, is no Bernie Sanders. (I would very much quibble with her suggestion that Sanders is a “purist,” but that’s a discussion for another day).
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