I was as dismayed as anyone else at Joe Biden whispering in the debate last night. He rallied towards the end, but I was nearly hysterical wondering where the Joe I knew went? The cartoon I pondered last night was the body of a baby chicken running away, under a dark sky, while it’s head lay behind it screaming, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!”
The sky is not falling.
David Plouffe was against Biden before the debate. He’s against Biden now. The NYT has been hammering the “Biden is too old,” drum for the whole election season. It’s well known that Biden won’t give they NYT an interview under whatever conditions they want, and the NYT is pissy about it. I, for one, am ashamed of Kristof—I respected him.
Here are the facts:
- Who exactly do they expect to replace Biden WITH? There’s this assumption of this magical savior. They’ve done the polls of Rump vs every possible other Democrat. Biden outperforms every single one. Every single time.
- The Biden-Harris campaign has over $200M on hand. That’s FOUR TIMES MORE than the nearest possible replacement: Gavin Newsome has about $50M. But that’s been raised for the gubernatorial race. It cannot be used to run for President. There is no one who has anything close to the necessary funds to replace Biden.
- Harris could take the money if Biden stepped aside. Much as she’s growing on me, she’s very popular with young voters, and voters of color, and she’s been a fabulous surrogate post- this debate, she does worse than Biden vs Rump.
- Rump raised $8M from the debate. Biden raised $14M. I have been holding back from donating to Biden, choosing to support downballot candidates (go Leslie Mehta!) closer to home. But last night, I supported Biden the only way I could. I sent Biden-Harris $100, which is the largest political contribution I’ve ever made.
- Biden is our candidate. Replacing him is madness. Worse than madness, there is no actual mechanism to do so—it’s impossible. Republicans know that Biden is the only person who beaten Rump. They don’t want him. They fear him.
Teddy Roosevelt is well known for his muscular diplomacy, and “speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far.” Biden speaks softly, but WE—American Democrats—We are the big stick. As long as Biden wields us—and we support him—we will all go far.
Normally, I ask readers to support artist cartoonists, but this week, I urge you, even if you have doubts, worries, or want to run away shrieking, “the sky is falling!”—instead, go make a donation to Biden-Harris. Even if you only have $5 (my typical donation). Small dollar donations favor Biden. Be a fiber in the big stick. Make it impossible to deny that American Democrats are with Joe.
Donate. Volunteer. Vote.