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Elizabeth Warren-Bernie Sanders feud could give Joe Biden an edge ahead of upcoming Iowa caucuses

Biden could do a John Kerry who in 2004 benefited from the feud between Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt ahead of Iowa caucuses to eventually bag the Democratic nomination.
PUBLISHED JAN 16, 2020
(From left) Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Tom Steyer and Bernie Sanders (Getty Images)
(From left) Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Tom Steyer and Bernie Sanders (Getty Images)

The feud between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders got worse after the words they exchanged at the end of the seventh Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines on Tuesday, January 14. Massachusetts senator Warren refused to shake hands with her Vermont counterpart Sanders and confronted him instead, saying he called her “a liar on national TV”.  

It was in connection with Sanders’ denial during the debate that he had ever remarked that a woman cannot win the presidency, something he has been accused of saying during a private meeting with Warren in 2018 end. Sanders tried his best to establish his gender-neutral credentials and there was a polite disagreement of sort on the podium. But then came the exchange of pointed words between the two frontrunners.

With the Iowa caucuses, the first major battle of this election season, less than three weeks away, the timing of the latest feud can be potentially devastating. Both the septuagenarians have been seen as two prominent liberals in this presidential race who could be the best possible face to take on President Donald Trump. In terms of their presidential plans, only Warren and Sanders have spoken about ‘Medicare for All’ and ‘Green New Deal’. The duo has spoken about closing the divide between the working class and millionaires and depended on small donors than big fundraisers. But the latest feud poses a challenge to these policy alternatives.

Democratic platform too divided

The Democratic presidential fray this year has a drawback and it is about its highly divided platform. People are vying for the support of progressives, centrists, left of the centers and these divisions have only made the challengers to President Donald Trump less united. The Warren-Sanders tussle has now divided the progressives and the fear is that this will help centrist candidates like Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg run away with the pie. For a party that is supposed to fight the war with Trump, it has remained too busy with small battles within its own ranks. Commentator Van Jones said after Tuesday's debate what he saw in Iowa was "dispiriting" and did not believe any of the Democratic candidates looked ready to beat the incumbent.

Joe Biden looks to benefit from feud

This time, Biden could be in Kerry’s place. The former vice-president had a low phase after the Ukraine issue unfolded. But the Warren-Sanders feud has given him a good chance to bounce back. The 77-year-old has been in resurgent form in Iowa and New Hampshire and the argument between his two top contenders in the seventh debate saw him benefiting, even with a moderate performance. There were moments during the debate when Biden faced a challenge from Sanders over his support for the Iraq War in 2003, but the former vice-president prevailed because Sanders soon became too busy fighting Warren and moderates like Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar could not press him as hard.

Sanders is not a misogynist and even Trump backed him on this. But even the Vermont veteran’s moral compass might not succeed in saving his campaign if the misunderstanding with Warren takes a sinister shape to ruin both the candidates’ chances.

For Biden, who has faced questions on a number of occasions from commoners this campaign season over not just Ukraine but also his ways of touching women and girls, could just find the escape route while the negative focus remained glued to his two competitors.

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