Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have a plan for America–they want to go “beyond the clinic and hospital walls in the spaces in which Americans live, learn, work, pray, and play.” What does this mean? Read more . . . 

Two names will be prominent on your ballot this fall. Those individuals have teams with different beliefs, visions, and records.

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The Trump administration’s activities are readily before us. But what do we know about the Biden team’s plans?

Well, an extensive set of recommendations just came out from the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force. After all that has happened in recent months, it could be easy to forget the brutal Democratic primary that eventually became a Biden vs. Sanders boxing match. Senator Sanders, who rallied the socialist Left of the party, eventually bowed out, but Biden’s team doesn’t want to lose Sanders’ supporters in November.

We don’t know exactly what a President Biden would do, but he did commend the “unity” effort to help “build a bold, transformative platform for our party and for our country.” So, over the next few weeks, I’ll explore some pieces of it and hope that you’ll pray through it.

Let’s start with health. After all, that task force said, “The difference in values between the two parties on this life-or-death issue could not be more stark.”

I think that’s true. But in a way different than I suspect the task force means. More on that in a moment.

First, let’s remember healthcare policy is very complicated. I cherish those health professionals — researchers, caregivers, and more — who go above and beyond to give selflessly for the good of others. Also, probably like you, I’ve had the “joy” of personal interaction with government and insurance company bureaucracies. It’s hard to pick out groups representing good guys and bad guys here.

But there are different general strategies. Republicans like to look more to the private sector for efficient and effective leadership, while Democrats tend to rely more on government involvement. It is notable that the task force does not embrace a Sanders-style “Medicare-for-All” socialized medical system. However, in pursuit of universal coverage, it does recommend a robust public insurance option — one low-income Americans will automatically be enrolled in.

There is a lot more in the recommendations. It’s a wish list with harsh words about Republicans that will be unpalatable to many. But could it be a conversation starter? Sure. Despite the “stark” dividing line the task force insists on, both parties think healthcare needs repairing in America. There could be a lot of negotiating room between them here — if they were really open to it.

Where I find the real seemingly insurmountable “difference in values” is in a matter that destroys the lives of hundreds of thousands in America every year.

The intransigence of the Left on abortion and the lockstep with Planned Parenthood appears horrifically ironclad. Not only does the task force want to open the federal spigot again to that abortion industry behemoth, but they want to codify Roe and have our tax dollars directly fund abortion.

They also laud their ACA contraceptive mandate. Combine that with obstinate statements from leaders like Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Biden himself  after 7 of 9 Supreme Court justices handed yet another victory to nuns who could not in good conscience comply with that Obama administration requirement, and it sure seems like leaders on the Left are unrepentant about that incident of coercion.

With that in mind, let me highlight just one more section tucked away in the Biden-Sanders task force plan. The team wants to remove “health inequities and other disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, wealth, and geography.” To do that they want to get involved “beyond the clinic and hospital walls in the spaces in which Americans live, learn, work, pray, and play” (emphasis mine).

What does that mean?

I don’t know, but I think we better pay attention and pray about it. Especially because the very next sentence (in the same paragraph on page 97) says, “The work of ending health inequities in America will require a whole-of-government approach to embed health in all policy areas that must be coordinated from the White House and the Oval Office itself.”

Now I try very hard not jump to conclusions and to give people I don’t see eye-to-eye with the benefit of the doubt. But this language does raise my eyebrows. At the very least, I think the Biden campaign should give further explanation about what they are trying to say.

Oh, and they should also apologize for suing the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Those would be good starting points for a productive conversation about the rest of their priorities.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Aaron Mercer is a Contributing Writer with two decades of experience in Washington, D.C.’s public policy arena and Christian associations. A seasoned strategist, he aids organizations with research, analysis, and writing services, and he reflects on faith, technology, and the public square at FTPolicy.com.