Joe Biden claims he was a staunch liberal in the Senate. He wasn’t

Joe Biden is pushing back against the perception that he’s not progressive enough for today’s Democratic Party.

Long seen as his Achilles’ heel in this Democratic primary, Biden’s 35-year Senate voting record reveals a history of breaking with liberal orthodoxy on a variety of issues, from his vote to authorize the Iraq War to his backing of measures that led to mass incarceration.

Biden, in a recent interview, sought to turn the narrative on its head by claiming progressive credentials.

"I was always labeled as one of the most liberal members of the United States Congress," the former Delaware senator told ABC News in an interview that aired May 1.

After a review of sources that grade lawmakers based on ideology, we found Biden’s claim to be inaccurate. By a variety of measures, Biden’s record has been that of a moderate Democrat.

We examined several different ideology ratings to assess Biden’s claim.

One of the most widely cited among academics is the Voteview database, which is maintained by UCLA. Voteview derives lawmakers’ ideological grades from roll call votes. (Read their full methodology here.)

Below is how Voteview ranks Biden from 1973 through 2008: The purple line shows how liberal Biden was compared to the full Senate, while the blue line shows how he measured up among Senate Democrats. (In the chart below, the most liberal senator would be rated 100 percent and the least liberal senator would be rated zero.)

Biden was on average more liberal than about 75% of the Senate overall. Among Democrats, he was in the middle of the pack. On average, he stood at almost exactly his party’s center line.

By either measure, it’s misleading for Biden to claim he was always labeled one of the most liberal members.

"I think it’s fair to say that Voteview does not, and has not, so labeled him," said Jeffrey Lewis, a political science professor at UCLA who runs the database.

Some years saw Biden align more closely with progressive members of his party than others. His first noteworthy break came early in his Senate career, when he opposed busing as a means to racially desegregate schools.  

"Biden, who once participated in sit-ins to desegregate restaurants along U.S. Route 40, startled his colleagues in 1975 when he broke liberal ranks to win Senate approval of an anti-busing amendment," reads a profile of Biden from Congressional Quarterly. "Suddenly, he was allied with Southern conservatives on an emotional national issue."

Biden’s position may have helped him get re-elected in 1978. As his campaign was underway, a controversial busing plan was taking effect in New Castle County, Del., "outraging voters in the white suburbs," according to CQ.

"With this anti-busing position offsetting his liberalism on some other social issues, Biden seemed unbeatable in 1978," his CQ profile states. It notes that his opponent was unsuccessful in painting Biden as "too far left for the state."

Nevertheless, Biden’s first taste of disunity with liberal Democrats seemed hard for the young senator to swallow.  

"It is not a comfortable feeling for me," Biden said at the time, according to CQ. "I mean, I’ve never been there before." 

But it would not the last time he broke with Democratic ranks. As we’ve noted, recent progressive attacks on Biden’s record have some merit.

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Mark Pocan

stated on March 27, 2024 in Public appearance

“We passed 27 bills last year, which is the fewest since the Depression.”