By Margaret Smith
Joe Biden and the Democratic party have had a hard time defining their specific policy plans should Biden win in November, and Biden’s speech in Pittsburgh last Monday was no better. In fact, Biden’s Pittsburgh speech highlights just how confused his party’s policy plans are by putting his comments about fracking in direct opposition with his democratic debate position on the topic.
During the Democratic Presidential Primary debates earlier this year, when asked if there would be any place for fossil fuels, including fracking, in his administration, Biden clearly states “No, we would work it out. We would make sure it’s eliminated.”
Biden strengthened his platform as anti-fracking a few months later at a campaign event. He told the crowd, “I guarantee we are going to end fossil fuel.”
Anti-fracking is part of the platform that allowed Biden to become the Democratic presidential nominee. Now Biden, less than 60 days until the election, is changing his position on fracking by backtracking the statements that helped build his platform. During a speech in Pittsburgh this past Monday, Biden stated “I am not banning fracking” (17:13). To not be misunderstood, Biden repeats “Let me say that again. I am not banning fracking.”
Biden then immediately changed the subject. Biden was likely hoping no one would catch that he switched from being anti-fracking to opposing banning fracking. That is a drastic policy change in only one short year.
The anti-fracking position Biden supported early in his running would greatly appeal to the more radical left and climate change activists of the Democratic party, whose votes Biden needs to win to be elected in November. However, eliminating fracking would also eliminate 19 million jobs nationwide and reduce the GDP by $7 trillion over the course of four years, statistics that most moderate Democrats want to avoid. Thus, Biden’s quick change to refuse banning fracking could be a ploy to appease moderate Americans, but it is unclear if Biden’s new stance on allowing fracking to continue is a genuine policy promise.
If Biden’s original platform is subject to change, then Biden became the Democratic nominee based on a platform of empty promises and lies. If his position on fracking changed so quickly, what’s to stop Biden from changing his position on other matters if he wins the election in November?
Biden’s fickle policy plan on fracking is especially stark when compared to his running mate Kamala Harris’s stance. Harris has made it clear that “there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.” Biden seems to be easily convinced to change his positions and is thus susceptible to outside forces pushing policy plans that do not match the promises Biden made to Americans while campaigning. Harris will attempt to push policy that bans fracking, and with Biden already unclear about what he truly believes in, Harris’s position is more likely to be turned into policy, making Biden’s Monday comments on fracking useless.
When Biden cannot keep a consistent message or policy plan, he is lying to at least one group of Americans. Which Americans is Biden lying to, the moderates or the radicals? Does Biden even have a strong enough policy plan to know which group he is lying to?
Biden has proven once again that he is an empty vessel for members of his party to take advantage of, leaving America’s future under Biden utterly unclear. There is no guarantee that the America Biden promises is the America we will see if he wins the presidency in November.
