There have been calls for Bernie Sanders to drop out. He is very unlikely to win, people say. He’s only contributing to the spread of COVID-19 by encouraging people to physically go to the polls.
But Bernie isn’t running simply for his small chance at winning or the slim hope that the coronavirus somehow clears his path to the nomination. Bernie is running to move Democrats leftward. Joe Biden has tried to move leftward, or at least appear to, by endorsing Elizabeth Warren’s bankruptcy plan and adopting part of Sanders’ College-for-all Act.
Can Sanders get more? Biden’s record is not that of someone who a progressive can easily trust. It would be better to have someone on the inside watching him. If Joe Biden wants to end the nomination process, then he should make an offer that Sanders would have to consider. Biden should consider promising to pick a running mate who Sanders approves of.
It won’t be Sanders. Biden has already promised to pick a woman and these times suggest that Biden should someone younger (read: healthier) than Bernie. Since he is an underdog, getting someone with similar views to be vice president for a 77-year-old man might present a better chance of getting a true progressive in the Oval Office than continuing with his own campaign that seems increasingly unlikely to succeed.
This could be complicated if Biden has already promised a spot on the Democratic ticket to someone like Amy Klobuchar. If so, maybe she could step aside in the name of party unity. At the very least, Sanders could ask for influence on some Cabinet picks as the price for making this easier for Biden.
If a deal like this could be made, Elizabeth Warren seems like an obvious possibility, but Biden may be looking for someone who provides more generational balance. Who would be some other, younger options?
The moderates and centrists are always asking for the left to compromise and make concessions. If they care about uniting the party and bringing Sanders’ supporters into the fold, maybe they should consider being the ones offering concessions if they want to bring this race to a close sooner rather than later.