Three of the GOP’s favorite anti-Biden talking points just got debunked – by a conservative

Although Jennifer Rubin voted Republican in one presidential election after another — from Ronald Reagan in 1980 to Mitt Romney in 2012 — the Washington Post columnist turned against the GOP in a big way thanks to Trumpism, supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. Rubin has defended Biden's presidency more often than not, and in her October 4 column, she tears apart "three bad takes" on Biden "that should be retired."

The "bad takes," according to Rubin, are: (1) "Biden never ran on this," (2) "Progressives are seeking to subvert the Biden agenda," and (3) "Moderates are saving the Democrats from themselves."

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been saying that the Biden of 2021 has betrayed the centrist Biden of 2020 by pushing a progressive agenda, but Rubin disagrees with such "Biden never ran on this" claims.

"Those paying attention during the 2020 campaign recognized that Biden's agenda was quite progressive," Rubin argues. "He ran on the Build Back Better plan in 2020, which contained precisely the items he is now pushing for as part of the reconciliation package…. Simply because his proposals were not as radical as other candidates does not mean he ran on a timid, wishy-washy agenda."

Rubin also disagrees with the claim that "progressives are seeking to subvert the Biden agenda."'

The columnist writes, "(Sen. Bernie) Sanders and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, have been publicly supportive of compromise…. Sanders told Jonathan Karl, on ABC News' 'This Week': 'The $3.5 trillion should be a minimum, but I accept that there's gonna have to be give and take.' That's how an effective negotiator who wants a deal talks. Likewise, Jayapal appearing on CNN's 'State of the Union,' would say only that $1.5 trillion was too small. That's not the way someone willing to blow up negotiations talks."

According to Rubin, "Moderates are saving the Democrats from themselves" is the "flip side of the 'it's progressives' fault' argument."

"Declining to move forward on a major part of the president's agenda, which a large majority of voters say they want, is not particularly 'moderate,'" Rubin explains. "It is not moderate to insist corporations pay no more in federal taxes than they currently do — which is zero, in many instances…. Make no mistake, if Biden and his congressional allies — which include both progressives and moderates — fail, it will not be for their lack of flexibility and patience."