I have been thinking carefully about the pressure building on President Biden to withdraw from the race. As you might imagine, one of the first considerations that folks will have in respect of any major action is whether that move will help elect a Democrats to the office of president as well as Congress and state legislatures.
As well, we also need to consider what the party stands for and its core values. I have thought back to the controversy in the 2016 Democratic primary where there were major objections to the outsized influence and power held by the Democratic Superdelegates. Unsurprisingly, this was a bad look to the vast majority of rank and file Democrats. The prospect, even if a mere possibility, of one candidate winning the primary vote fair and square only to have that democratic choice overruled by backroom deals struck by several hundred powerful elites with zero transparency. That was truly anathema to everything the party was advocating about democracy, one person, one vote, and the unfairness of the electoral college which came sharply into view after Hillary won the popular vote in only to lose the electoral. Accordingly, there was a broad consensus within the party that the Superdelegate structure was unfair, undemocratic and and harmed the right of the people to select the primary candidate of their choice. Accordingly, new DNC nomination rules came into force which stripped Superdelegates of their vote in the first round, a move which essentially rendered backroom deals by the party elite a thing of the past in that multiple rounds of nomination voting under the current structure is almost impossible unless something extremely serious happens with the presumptive nominee such as withdrawal or a massive scandal. The Democratic Party proudly announced that from now on, democracy prevails, not backroom deals and voters will be the sole voice determining who will be the nominee.
Fast forward to today. Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president. He scored a massive victory in the primaries and won the vast majority of the delegates. Notwithstanding that, a number of prominent Democratic Party leaders want to replace Joe. They say, in essence, but without specifics: “Joe has done a great job so far, but he is no longer competent to do the job, therefore he must be replaced. He just no longer has what it takes. Further, our democracy is at stake, and if we don’t do this, we may not win the election so it is imperative.” They mean to drive Joe out — gently if possible, otherwise they appear ready to do what it takes to make his candidacy unviable. But who will select the replacement? Needless to say, it’s far too late to hold another set of primaries, thus the decision will be made by the Democratic elites, bigwigs and major donors.
How should we look at the situation we find ourselves in today? First, we have senior Democratic Party leaders supporting their calls to remove Biden with claims with claims both direct and oblique that he is no longer competent to do the job. Ok. But if that is true, if you really believe that, if you think the president is not competent, is it not your solemn duty to do everything in your power to press for removal under the 25th Amendment? As I recall, a number of Democrats advocated taking that path during the prior guy’s term in office.
But I am not aware of a single Democratic leader supporting action under the 25th Amendment today. If they believe Biden really is no longer competent, there is no choice, removal is the only option. But they aren’t seeking that at all. So how can we believe it is a question of competence?
The reason they are doing this is obvious. They believe another candidate would stand a better chance against Trump. I certainly can understand that and I think every Democrat wants the party to put forward the best candidate possible. But that creates a real conundrum. The party that has designed and built its campaign around “protecting our democracy” now has top leaders who are trying to overrule the expressed democratic will of the voters expressed in a free and fair vote and replace their judgement with that of the party elite and the donor class determined in an opaque backroom deal. In essence, they say they are going to “protect our democracy” by squashing democracy and replacing it with a diktat handed down by the powerful and the elite.
As I wrote above, I have given this quite a bit of thought because I too want what is best for the party. But no matter who I may think should be the candidate and even if I thought chances would be improved by replacing Biden as the nominee, I can only come to one devastating conclusion on this brutal effort to force him out. If this does happen, it will shred any moral high ground the Democratic Party holds. Any time a Democrat mentions “our democracy” or “protecting democracy” going forward, this very undemocratic move will be rubbed in his or her face and he/she will be left with nothing to say to counter it.
Like the old saying goes: Think carefully about what you want, because you may get it.