Yesterday, i wrote an “unpopular” diary that posed a couple of (for Hope Springs from Field PAC [website] volunteers, at least) critical questions in light of President Biden’s dismal debate performance. Right now, even after Biden’s much better outing in North Carolina yesterday, volunteers and voters are wondering, whether Joe can do what it takes to reverse the perception that he is too old to be our president. Can he return to Vigorous Joe? Attack Joe? Active Joe?
How do we get voters to flush the memory of Debate Joe?
Because that’s what we have to do if Biden is going to stay in this race. As i said yesterday, the reality is that we may be stuck with Biden, Democrats cannot move on from the (presumptive nominee — that’s the official political designation at this point) incumbent without Biden making a decision. And Biden (and a very few other people, but especially his wife) is the only one who knows whether Thursday was just having a bad night or this was some new normal. The former we can do something about; the latter would be devastating in this campaign.
For *me,* where Biden crossed the line was when he started feeding the Trump message. The message box goes back (at least) to the days when Ted Kennedy was running against Jimmy Carter. And people like me have used it religiously ever since. Donald Trump has been consistent about what he (and his campaign) has been saying about us. Joe Biden is too old. Joe Biden is too frail. So when Joe Biden looked too old and frail on national TV, that’s not good.
And it’s not just about age. Trump and his campaign keep trying to set up a contrast of “strength versus weakness.” I’m sorry, but Biden walked right into that one.
Everybody knew what Biden needed to do, and that was “avoid major stumbles that highlight his age.” “Biden may be under more of a microscope than Trump if he commits any verbal stumbles ... or gives a lackluster performance. (ibid)” “His overriding goal was to dispel doubts that he is too old and too frail to lead the country for another four years.”
But there are some comments yesterday that basically questioned my loyalty. It’s different this time. I’m not staffing the campaign. Even when i attend meetings with the campaign, i have no official position. At best, i am literally representing the grassroots. Not a company, not a consultant, not an employee of the government. I am there because i am an organizer of volunteers.
And, to be quite blunt here, my “loyalty” is to winning. Winning is everything now, because Republicans have really squeezed the federal government — helped by Republican appointments to the courts — to the point where Roe v Wade was expunged from the Constitution and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo overruled the Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council Doctrine. There’s a lot at stake here. Although, maybe not. Maybe Congress no longer has power except for voting for Supreme Court Justices.
Loyalty for Republicans is different. Before Trump, you had 3 factions of the GOP: National Security Republicans, Economic Republicans and Social Conservatives. Even if a Republican fit into more than one of these clearly defined areas, everyone knew who and what they were. Today, everything is about Trump. And Trump gets to define who is loyal to him (ask Bob Good).
Democrats aren’t like that.
And let’s get one thing out of the way: Joe Biden is too good of a politician to ignore the fact he did terribly in the debate. You can blow off a bad night as a senator. You can’t have a bad night in public as president. If you want to win. (And Biden wants to win.)
Democrats are organized in the vein of the FDR coalition even as we have added more elements (eg, environmentalists) to that coalition. We are a diverse, not always united, party, an alliance more than a political party in the traditional sense. But we’ve made that coalition of interests into a functioning political party. President Biden has been incredibly successful in knitting all (or at least most) the elements of that coalition together, and even more successful (incredibly successful — it’s a BFD) at enacting important elements of the desperate agendas from members of that coalition.
There are many coalition leaders in the party who will miss Joe Biden when he does step off the stage.
But winning in governing is not the same as winning in campaigns.
Hope Springs from Field PAC began knocking on doors again on March 2nd to set up a favorable “battle space” or foundation for Democrats in 2024. We target Democrats and unaffiliated voters with a systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but Democrats are determined to deliver the best government possible to all Americans. The voters we talk to in these 12 Swing States tell us they come away more invested in governance and feel more favorably towards Democrats in general because of our approach.
Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopemobilization2024
Hope Springs from Field understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot and that is the goal of what we do.
I agree that Democrats should be loyal and seen as supportive of their candidate. But Joe Biden isn’t our candidate — yet. And i won’t feel disloyal about noting that Biden stumbled Thursday — badly. The voters we talk to (today, i am canvassing with Hope Springs volunteers in North Carolina) are not going to ignore what they witnessed with their own eyes. And only Joe Biden can change that visual impression. He has to be better than Trump, and it has to be obvious. Lest we forget, Biden gave us the visual that he was ready to be president at an older age but running (or jogging) to the podium.
And this eludes to the point i am trying to make. Joe Biden has to be loyal to us, too. This isn’t the GOP, it’s not a top-down party — it’s an alliance of interests, interests that aren’t always in complete agreement with each other (something the Hamas invasion/hostage-taking/mass rape/human shield has made perfectly clear to everyone). Our leader has to lead. And we have to have faith that he is capable of doing so. We can’t make him a capable, active, invested leader in us. He has to choose to do that.
The 168 messages i got between 10 PM Thursday and 10 AM yesterday weren’t from volunteers who felt ably led. One message was pretty incisive: “I don’t feel like I can knock on doors Saturday (today) and defend our president. I know I signed up, but I can’t. I just can’t.”
One person is happier here. One wanted the pic, the other not so much
Again, i repeat: Joe Biden has to be loyal to us, too. Now i know Joe Biden. Known him since the 90s. I’ve advanced Joe Biden. I’ve taken his phone calls, donated money, agreed with his campaign staff to take on this Obama alumni project that is now called Hope Springs from Field. I agree with the NYTimes article that wrote, “Mr. Biden is a proud, stubborn man who has long insisted he is the best equipped to defeat Mr. Trump and would not listen to anyone other than perhaps his wife, Jill Biden.” But when i worked for the Senate Majority Leader, there were 80-90 senators, including Biden, who could be described this way.
To *me,* it’s all about winning. And I am asking myself the same question that i asked two campaign officials who called me after yesterday’s post: what’s the path to 270 now? We can’t just believe that criticizing Trump will work (win), especially if voters don’t believe that Biden is functional.
It’s not just me. I report to thousands of Hope Springs volunteers who i have “inspired” to believe that we can win in these Swing States. I put “inspired” in quotes because i’m not sure it is really me. We all make this time to influence the electoral space because we believe in what we are doing there, at voter’s doors. When someone tells me, “I know I signed up, but I can’t. I just can’t,” i hear alarm bells. In five states, organizers (including me) have had people send them similar messages. People who signed up to knock on doors today that have waved themselves off.
Joe Biden had had the momentum after Trump’s conviction. We saw this at the doors and we found it in voter responses. It will be really interesting to see what voters say today, but i know what Hope Springs’ volunteers — the tip of the spear, as it were — fear. You know it, too.
What’s the path to 270 now?
One last point: I didn’t think Trump would debate this time, but there’s not reason for him to debate again (right now). Trump and his campaign think he delivered a knockout punch. And, despite efforts to recalibrate, Biden has to show us himself that he’d got what it takes to win (or step off). That’s on him. (I’m not alone in thinking this.)
Biden has sent out an email with the subject, when you get knocked down, you get back up. And that’s what i am looking for, evidence that Biden can get back up and return to the level of performance we have witnessed before. Because he has set up a very, very high hurdle for himself, dispelling the image of Debate Joe.
Millions of people like me have devoted time, money and energy in establishing the terms of this election — creating the battle or electoral space in which the Fall campaign will be waged. We deserve Biden’s loyalty, too. And we deserve his political acumen in making a decision whether he is capable of governing for the next 4 years. Even back in the 90s, the specter of Strom Thurmond hung over the Senate. Joe Biden was there, he knows that is involved here. And a lot of older politicians don’t make the right decision, health wise. This is why Jill Biden is so important here. I hope she understands what is at stake (i happen to have faith that she does).
Still, we persist. Thousands of volunteers will knock on doors today for Hope Springs from Field. We carry on, even those of us who were deeply disappointed on Thursday. Because there is just too much at stake here. Both sides of the equation need to understand that.
If you are able to support our efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, please help:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopemobilization2024
If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address at the bottom of the ActBlue page. Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you!