Joe Biden Can Be the Next Lyndon Johnson In Terms of Passing Landmark Legislation [View all]

Before he was President, Lyndon Johnson was a southern democrat who espoused moderate views. He was known as a master deal maker, and no one would have imagined that major bills like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965; and the Social Security Amendments of 1965. Put another way, before he was President, Lyndon Johnson was hardly considered a liberal idealogue. What he knew how to do was pass legislation as a former Democratic Senate Leader.

Between Biden and Sanders, Joe Biden is the most similar to Lyndon Johnson. Biden, who served 36 years in the Senate before leaving to join Obama’s administration, authored 20 meaningful bills during his time in the Senate. His final two years in office, when he chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were notably active: In those two years, seven Biden-authored bills were signed into law. Of course, as a Vice-President, Biden was invaluable in the passage of the ACA.

In contrast, while Bernie introduced 324 bills, about three became law. This includes a bill naming a post office in Vermont and two more while Democrats had control (one naming another Vermont post office and another increasing veterans’ disability compensation). Bernie has been loud and outspoken and has made a career of attacking (and alienating) Democrats. In this sense, Bernie is like George McGovern who failed miserably at uniting the Democratic party. In the weeks leading to Super Tuesday, Bernie went all-in attacking the, "Democratic establishment," which alienated many Democrats and contributed to his huge losses.

The ability to develop coalitions is also on display in terms of the ability to get former rivals to endorse them. Biden is way ahead of Bernie on this metric with Bernie Sanders not even able to get his former protege and fellow Sanders Institute founder, Tulsi Gabbard, to endorse him.

I think a common mistake folks have is that they believe that the most ideologically rigid and vocal candidate will be the most effective. This is not true. For all of his faults, Lyndon Johnson was a master at developing the relationships to pass major liberal legislation despite the fact that he was hardly seen as an ideologue prior to his Presidency.

Ironically, if Bernie Sanders really wants to pass meaningful healthcare reform, it would be far better if Joe Biden were President and not him.