Some commentators argue that Biden’s success with the COVID rescue bill is attributable to his unwillingness to engage on culture war issues. Is that true?
Not really. Biden’s lack of interest in throwing culture war bombs is due to the following:
- He’s an old guy who thinks extreme partisans on both sides of the culture war are full of crap;
- He also believes (correctly) that the national interest is best served by lowering the political temperature after the events of the last four years. That is what he means by “unity;” and
- He hopes that the benefits of the COVID bill will win over reactionary voters who are concerned more about pocketbook issues than identity politics.
Refusing to engage on culture was not, therefore, a tactic to win approval of the rescue bill; in fact, the GOP voted unanimously against it. To the extent that culture and the COVID bill are logically related, the lines of causation run the other way.