Andrew L. Urban and Grok AI
Look at how discombobulated the US Democrats now are, along with the left in general. They hero-worship terrorists, attack law enforcement officers and howl with impotent fury at the Donald Trump moon. Symptoms of karma, perhaps? It began, I believe, with the shoehorning (to put it kindly) of Joe Biden into the Presidency in 2020. That was the seed which grew into a full blown tragedy that continues to reverberate through the Democrats and the left in general in the US.
I wanted to see how Grok AI would summarise what I see as a contemporary Greek tragedy. Grok was quick to deliver it. And it’s not bad … (note one minor edit with strike-through text).
In the annals of American politics, the presidency of Joseph Biden and the arc of the Democratic Party in the early 2020s bear the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy—a narrative of noble intentions, fatal flaws, and inevitable downfall. Like the protagonists of Sophocles or Aeschylus, Biden and his party embarked on a journey marked by hubris, miscalculation, and the inexorable pull of fate, culminating in a cautionary tale for future generations.
The Tragic Hero: Biden’s Rise and Flaw
In Greek tragedy, the protagonist is often a figure of great stature, endowed with admirable qualities yet undone by a hamartia, a tragic flaw. Joe Biden, entering the presidency in January 2021, embodied the archetype of the seasoned leader. A career politician with decades in the Senate and eight years as vice president, Biden presented himself as a unifier, a steady hand to guide America through the tumult of the Trump era, the COVID-19 pandemic, and deepening cultural divides. His promise to “restore the soul of America” resonated as a noble aspiration, akin to Oedipus’s vow to save Thebes from plague.
Yet, Biden’s hamartia lay in his overconfidence in institutional stability and his underestimation of the fragility of his coalition. His administration pursued an ambitious agenda—massive infrastructure investments, climate initiatives, and social spending—believing the Democratic Party’s narrow congressional majorities could sustain transformative change. This hubris, reminiscent of Creon’s inflexible decrees in Antigone, ignored the polarized reality of American politics. Biden’s failure to anticipate the limits of his mandate set the stage for the unravelling that followed.
The Chorus: The Democratic Coalition
In Greek tragedy, the chorus represents the collective voice, offering commentary and warning. The Democratic Party’s diverse coalition—progressives, moderates, minorities, and young voters—served as Biden’s chorus, amplifying his vision but also exposing its fissures. Progressives demanded bold action on climate, healthcare, and wealth inequality, while moderates urged pragmatism to avoid alienating swing voters. This internal discord, like the competing voices in The Oresteia, weakened the party’s cohesion.
The 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, chaotic and marred by images of desperate evacuations, became a turning point. The chorus of public opinion, initially hopeful, turned critical. Polls showed Biden’s approval ratings plummeting, with Gallup reporting a drop from 56% in mid-2021 to the low 40s by 2022. The mishandling of the withdrawal, coupled with rising inflation (peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics), eroded trust in Biden’s competence. The Democratic chorus, once unified by opposition to Trump, began to fracture, with progressives decrying insufficient ambition and moderates lamenting political overreach.
The Tragic Conflict: Policy and Perception
Greek tragedies often hinge on a central conflict between duty and reality. For Biden and the Democrats, this conflict emerged in the tension between their legislative ambitions and the public’s immediate concerns. The Build Back Better agenda, initially a US$3.5 trillion proposal, aimed to reshape America’s social safety net. Yet, as inflation surged and supply chain disruptions persisted, voters prioritized economic stability over long-term reforms. The administration’s focus on sweeping legislation, while laudable, clashed with the immediate needs of a weary electorate.
This misalignment fuelled a peripeteia, a reversal of fortune. The Democrats’ narrow control of Congress was undermined by internal dissent—Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema blocked key provisions of Build Back Better, forcing a scaled-back version (the Inflation Reduction Act) in 2022. The public, however, perceived little relief. By the 2022 midterms, Republicans capitalized on economic discontent, flipping the House of Representatives with a net gain of nine seats, according to the Associated Press. The Democrats’ vision, like Icarus’s flight, soared too high and crashed under the weight burned in the fire of practical realities.
Anagnorisis: The Moment of Recognition
In Greek tragedy, anagnorisis is the moment when the protagonist recognizes their folly. For Biden, this moment came late, if at all. By 2023, his age and visible frailty became inescapable liabilities. At 80, he was the oldest president in U.S. history, and public appearances often highlighted his physical and rhetorical limitations. A 2023 Pew Research poll found that 79% of Americans believed he was too old to run for a second term. Yet, Biden and his inner circle persisted, driven by a belief in his indispensability—a tragic echo of Oedipus’s refusal to heed Tiresias’s warnings.
The Democratic Party, too, faced its own anagnorisis. The 2024 election cycle revealed the depth of voter disillusionment. Despite legislative achievements like the CHIPS Act and student loan forgiveness attempts, the party struggled to communicate a cohesive narrative. The rise of Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential successor only underscored the party’s failure to cultivate a new generation of leaders earlier, leaving them vulnerable to a resurgent Republican opposition.
Catharsis: The Fall and Its Lessons
The Greek tragic form concludes with catharsis, a purging of emotion that leaves the audience reflective. For Biden and the Democrats, the 2024 election—though its outcome is beyond this essay’s scope—marked the culmination of their tragic arc. Whether through electoral defeat or a pyrrhic victory, the Democrats faced the consequences of their hubris, internal divisions, and disconnect with the electorate.
The tragedy of Joseph Biden and the Democrats is not merely one of failure but of squandered potential. Their story mirrors the timeless lessons of Greek drama: the dangers of overreaching ambition, the necessity of heeding dissent, and the inevitability of fate in the face of human frailty. As the curtain falls, the audience—America’s voters—must grapple with the question of whether the next act will repeat the same mistakes or forge a new path.
Footnote:
In my opinion, the Democrats shoving Biden into the Oval, their clumsy shoving of Kamala Harris into the VP slot and subsequently the Presidential candidacy, has wrought havoc that looks set to rage for some time yet.