I normally don’t even want to get involved in posting a drumbeat of “here’s something about Biden staying in the race” stories because, (1) I’m not sure he should, and (2) it doesn’t “cancel out” the waste of time that is the incessant drumbeat of articles about how he should drop out. It’s like taking uppers to counteract downers; it just doesn’t work that way, it makes everything worse. And the amount of press this whole thing is getting and the way it’s being presented is absolutely fuckin absurd.
But that being said, I want to post this one because I like Elizabeth Warren quite a lot and I think what she says gets to the core of the issue.
Also, if you are a Democratic politician or donor and you want to replace Biden with someone else, surely talking to the press about how he should drop out without anyone in particular in mind that you’re talking to them about as a replacement, and a strategy to get that person into place, should be an absolute last, last, last resort for a way to get that done. And probably not even then.
Biden’s thing of “If you want to replace me then mount a challenge at the convention, that’s what it’s for, and whoever wins, let’s fuckin fight the real enemy” makes quite a bit of sense to me, and the longer this goes on, the less sense the people who are talking to the press about him dropping out make.
So here you go, here’s a story about someone who thinks he should stay in and what she has to say.
Multiple news stories have said they’re bound, and I’m skeptical that anyone would want to test “in good conscience” in the voting regulations and invite a lawsuit. According to this article even those who personally think a different candidate would be better feel obligated to vote for Biden.
Plus, nearly a third of the states have explicit laws about it. You can’t possibly believe this is a contest being presented in good faith. “Let’s have a contested convention, where the decision will be by delegates hand-selected for loyalty, with wording that sounds like they don’t have a choice but maybe they do, and for a third of them would invite criminal danger.”
Hm
You may have a point. I read more about it, and it’s not really clear cut. You’re right that the states have laws about what has to happen, but the Supreme Court has also said that they can’t tell a political party how to run their nominating process. The delegates are pledged to Biden, but also, ever since 1984 they don’t have to vote for him if their conscience bothers them. But also, knowledgeable people have looked at the situation and said, it doesn’t really matter what the rules are because they just wouldn’t do it.
I think in practice, it’s a mess. I do somewhat stand by my statement that it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Biden to just kind of leave the cockpit and trust that someone else will wander in and start flying the plane again, without anyone affirmatively saying, yes it is me, I will do it, I got it. But I do also get what you’re saying and it has a lot more validity than I thought at first.