Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Biden Withdraws in Favor of Harris
About 100 years ago, American humorist Will Rogers said, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat." Over the weekend, the party proved itself to be a disorganized wreck. Since the June debate in which Mr. Biden performed poorly, there have been calls for him to step out of the race. This is completely unnecessary, but the party of Nervous Nellies decided that trailing by 3% with four months to go in some swing states was too tough a lift. So they started a pressure campaign that finally cracked the Biden administration. Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race and has endorses Vice President Kamala Harris. Democrats appear to be ecstatic, the Trumpists are furious and this journal is unmoved. If the guy to beat Mr. Trump a year ago was Joe Biden, and if Joe Biden cannot win, another candidate is in order. By choosing Ms. Harris, the party is admitting its argument for Mr. Biden was nonsense all along.
The argument for Joe Biden all this time has been that only an older white guy can appeal to the middle of the country where this election will be won. And in 2020, that might have been the case. But in 2024, the party was holding onto that idea until the debate where Mr. Biden blew it. Now, the argument no longer seems to make sense. A younger woman of color is now likely to be the nominee. A different theory of the case must be made, and this journal is skeptical. Racism and misogyny are real things in American politics, and it is hard to see how Ms. Harris will pull in more votes from the center than Mr. Biden. The hope must be that new voters will be brought into the process. That is a very different kind of campaign.
Over in Trumpland, they are crying foul. Apparently, they want to run against Joe Biden and cannot figure out how to stop Ms. Harris from leading the Democrats. They are talking about lawsuits and other idiocy. Pure and simple, the Democratic Party can nominate anyone it chooses to nominate.
The race, of course, does not start for real for another couple months on Labor Day. A week is a long time in politics and four months is forever. There is plenty of time for both sides, and that is where the Democrats lack of sangue froid disappoints. Mr. Biden could easily have won had they played out the campaign.
The defenestration of Mr. Biden creates a problem for the Democrats. For the last month, they have looked incompetent, indecisive and insecure. They need to change that, and they must make the election a referendum on Mr. Trump. The convention is their opportunity to do just that.
They need to make the convention a happy passing of the torch to the next generation. A night celebrating the current president and a night celebrating the next president is how it needs to be played. A floor fight over anything at all is going to undermine that effort. Democrats like mess sometimes, but this is an occasion where they cannot afford it.
Then, there is the campaign itself. The president needs to be the top surrogate for Ms. Harris. He needs to campaign like it is his own name still on the ballot. His credibility with certain voters is the only hope the Democrats have of keeping those voters onside. Without his active and enthusiastic participation, the race is going to be a disaster for Democrats. Fortunately, Mr. Biden understands that, and he likes to campaign.
Yet in all of this, there is the cautionary tale of the British Tories. Boris Johnson won a majority of 80 seats, a big margin, just five years ago. Earlier this month, after three prime ministers in addition to Mr. Johnson, the Tories lost to Labout, which picked up a 172-seat majority. It is quite possible the Democrats have just blown their one shot.
© Copyright 2024 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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