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Look, I don’t know for certain what happens next. I don’t think any pundit or reporter knows for certain what happens next. I don’t think any big donors know for certain what happens next. I don’t think any senior Democratic leaders know for certain what happens next, except for one.
Only President Biden knows what happens next because only he can decide what happens next. There was a primary. He was the victor of that primary. The decision rests with him alone on whether or not he’ll be the Democratic nominee.
It’s certainly no secret that I fully support Pres. Biden and Vice President Harris, and I still fully believe they should be reelected. I believe they can win. I believe they will win, should Pres. Biden decide to remain on the ticket.
I also recognize that a lot of smart and reasonable people, who care about our country and our democracy as much as me or the next person, do not believe President Biden is our best candidate to defeat Trump and his fascist Project 2025 vision for America.
I’ve had many insightful and respectful conversations with folks who do not see this race as I do, and I’ve had many insightful and respectful conversations with folks who see it very much as I do.
There’s a lot of room for respectful disagreement here. We need to recognize that.
There are also a host of other factors that need to be recognized, regardless of the names on the ticket: ballot access deadlines, campaign staff and fundraising questions, general organizing, etc.
These all need to be kept in mind, and we all need to acknowledge there are many factors motivating folks in various ways to have the perspectives they do and uncertainty is one thing we should all recognize that we have in common.
But here’s one thing I know for certain: this current political media landscape of ours, with all its slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, will not end with President Biden stepping aside.
There is an obvious double standard at play right now. It is painfully apparent that Donald Trump and the Republican Party are largely being given a pass by much of political media.
That is not to say that all—or perhaps, most—political reporters and outlets are working through a prism of obvious bias in favor of Trump, but there is certainly a pervasive absolution of journalistic duty that will continue to exist, no matter which names are on the Democratic ticket.
Vice President Harris, Gov. Newsom, Gov. Whitmer, Gov. Pritzker, Gov. Shapiro, Gov. Beshear, Sec. Buttigieg, it truly does not matter who forms the ticket that gets printed on ballots — all of them will be unfairly weighed by much of political media against a narcissistic sociopath leading a major party that has become a cult.
It could be anything. The propaganda we can expect is only limited by imagination.
As soon as the Republican Party settles on a narrative and pushes it, much of political media will pick up that ball and run with it, “just asking questions” and musing out loud and doing all they can to preserve access with the GOP and satisfy certain billionaire owners who are throwing their weight on the scales.
I don’t point this out to demoralize anyone. Quite the opposite. I point this out to prevent a predictable demoralization that will surely come for anyone, regardless of their take on this matter, who believes the cementing of their preferred ticket will ease the path forward.
We have to be prepared for pervasive discomfort, every single one of us. The next 15 weeks or so will come with unexpected obstacles and a deeply unfair double standard in much of political media and the frustrating prioritization of entertainment over substance, intrigue over clarity, ratings over republic, drama over democracy.
Whatever happens next, even if it may not be what we personally think is best, it is critical that we roll up our sleeves and stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the work against those who gleefully seek to undermine and destroy our democratic institutions.
I strongly believe President Biden is our best choice and that he and VP Harris will win, but if the President does eventually decide to step aside, I will trust his well-earned wisdom and I’m gonna get right back to work and fight like hell to save our country.
The math here is remarkably simple. If we stand together and put in the work, we will win. If we allow anger and angst to divide us, we will lose and democracy will lose and the consequences of that will reverberate far beyond our country.
All of us have a choice, and I trust that there are more than enough us, regardless of how we personally feel the ticket should look, to come together and choose a future that sends Trump and Project 2025 right into the trash bin of history where they belong.
The choice is between democracy and dictatorship.
No matter what happens next, let’s all make that choice.
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