Buyers' remorse? Base anxiety? Not yet the fear and loathing generically, as among the young on his record re student loan debt (bankruptcy "reform" to where the debt clings on tighter than your skin) deserves, yet, however you term it, Biden, if you believe NY Times, is driving fear that should have set back when Clyburn et al. pulled their stunt against Liz and Bernie. [UPDATED]
NY Times, asking a bit late, (June 11, 2022), "Should Biden Run in 2024? Democratic Whispers of ‘No’ Start to Rise. --- In interviews, dozens of frustrated Democratic officials, members of Congress and voters expressed doubts about the president’s ability to rescue his reeling party and take the fight to Republicans."
Before getting into the NYT analysis, it makes sense for Biden to at least through the next year to say he intends to run, thus not making him a lame duck sooner than needed, but if not going to be the 2024 choice, he should stand aside giving ample time for others, and with Clyburn they should not poison the well when others are considered for 2024 Dem candidacy.
And
then there are the questions about Mr. Biden’s inability to persuade
centrist Democratic senators to back his agenda. With the prospect
looming of a Republican majority in at least one chamber of Congress
next year, Democrats who have been in a similar position of holding
fleeting control of government are nervous that past mistakes will be
repeated.
Elizabeth Guzmán, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, said Democrats in her caucus regret not passing a sweeping abortion rights law last year before they lost control of the state House and governor’s mansion to Republicans.
“We wanted to codify Roe vs. Wade, and look what happened,” she said.
Judy Vidal, 58, a retail worker from Cape Coral, Fla., echoed that sentiment.
“I
just wish that since we have the majority now they would have behaved
the way Republicans did and push things through,” she said.
The
anxiety about Mr. Biden extends to the core of his political base.
Adrianne Shropshire, the executive director of BlackPAC, an African
American political organizing group, said her chief concern was that
Black voters, having watched Mr. Biden and Democrats fail to deliver on
core promises, don’t come back to vote in November.
“Does
this frustration and the malaise and the worry and the fear, does that
translate into an ongoing enthusiasm gap, and does that cause people to
feel like their participation doesn’t make significant change?” she
said. “That’s the real question.”
Even
some of the earliest supporters of Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign are now
questioning whether he can lead the party through another daunting
election cycle against Mr. Trump.
Of interest, what is said, of course, but that women are quoted as regretful, and are speaking on the record. Why that got buried to the end of the NYT item, ask them, but it matters. Mid-item. somewhat extensively:
There is little recent public polling asking if Democrats want Mr. Biden to seek a second term, but in January just 48 percent of Democrats wanted him to run again, according to The A.P.’s polling.
[...] Jasmine Crockett, a Texas state representative who last month won a primary runoff for a heavily Democratic House seat based in Dallas [...] lamented a stark enthusiasm gap between Republicans, who
in Texas have passed legislation to restrict voting rights and abortion
rights while expanding gun rights, and Democrats, who have not used
their narrow control of the federal government to advance a progressive
agenda.
“Democrats are like, ‘What the
hell is going on?’” Ms. Crockett said. “Our country is completely
falling apart. And so I think we’re lacking in the excitement.”
Many
Democratic leaders and voters want Mr. Biden to fight harder against
Republicans, while others want him to seek more compromise. Many of them
are eyeing 2024 hoping for some sort of idealized nominee — somebody
who isn’t Mr. Biden or Ms. Harris.
Hurting Mr. Biden the most, said Faiz Shakir, who was campaign manager for Mr. Sanders in 2020, is a perception of weakness.
Mr. Shakir circulated a memo
in April stating that Mr. Sanders “has not ruled out” running in 2024
if Mr. Biden does not. In an interview, Mr. Shakir said he believed that
Mr. Biden could beat Mr. Trump a second time — but that if Republicans
nominate a newer face, like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Mr. Biden may not be the best choice.
“If it’s DeSantis or somebody, I think that would be a different kind of a challenge,” Mr. Shakir said.
Howard Dean, the 73-year-old former Vermont governor and Democratic National Committee chairman who ran for president in 2004, has long called for a younger generation
of leaders in their 30s and 40s to rise in the party. He said he had
voted for Pete Buttigieg, 40, in the 2020 primary after trying to talk
Senator Chris Murphy, 48, of Connecticut into running.
“The generation after me is just a complete trash heap,” Mr. Dean said.
Earlier in the item, this:
Few
Democrats interviewed expect that high-profile leaders with White House
ambitions would defer to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has had a series of political hiccups of her own in office.
These Democrats mentioned a host of other figures who lost to Mr. Biden in the 2020 primary: Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; and Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman who is now running for Texas governor, among others.
Mr. Biden’s supporters insist he has the country on the right track, despite the obstacles.
“Only
one person steered a transition past Trump’s lies and court challenges
and insurrection to take office on Jan. 20: Joe Biden,” said Anita Dunn,
a senior adviser to the president, citing strong jobs numbers and
efforts to combat the pandemic.
[italics added] Bernie, Liz, and the stalking horses in 2020 for the lead-up to the Clyburn-Biden putsch prior to the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday voting in the South.
Upon the hypothetical presumption that Biden/Harris would step aside or be swept aside - and with party hurt feelings havinge not healed to where, practically, a progressive would be chosen; Crabgrass has its suggestion of a balanced ticket that would headline a moderate, with a progressive on the ticket second spot:
Washington Governor Jay Inslee, with Cori Bush as VP.
Inslee is not nationally known yet, but is a good campaigner from a state which has been economically vigorous without major mishap, and Bush has to be loved by the entire nation for having broomed away one of the most egregious (second generation egregious) Missouri black politicians, Lacy Clay.
In place of the New England/California conservative axis of the ticket as is now in place, this would be a Pacific Northwest and southern-midwest ticket, again, with a moderate and progressive, which would be supplemental to the present conservative and aged House leadership. Able that way to make one happy big tent party, or if not happy, satisfied. The Bernie wing and the at-war Clinton wing could step back and let that new ticket have a shot.
Yes, it is a reach, but in that quoted/italicized paragraph, aside from Bernie and Liz, what a colossal yawn. A flake like Beto and a consummate bureaucrat like Mayor Pete; conservative Amy who never prosecuted a bad cop over decades as county attorney - get real. Yes, Pete, Beto and Amy can each fog a mirror, but if the aim is a ticket generating enthusiasm without retreads from the lead-up stalking horses who set the table against Bernie for the Clyburn-Biden putsch, Inslee and Bush fit the spot. New faces. No baggage. Tweaking peoples' imagination.
Find new blood, or run Liz with Inslee or Tester as second spot ticket balance.
Inslee is 71, not the young candidate Howard Dean has in mind, yet Wikipedia has favorable aspects mentioned:
Inslee was a candidate for the Democratic nomination
for president of the United States in the 2020 election, launching his
campaign on March 1, 2019. He suspended his campaign on August 21,
citing extremely low poll numbers. The next day, Inslee announced his
intention to seek a third term as governor in the 2020 election,
which he won with 57% of the vote, becoming the first incumbent
governor of Washington elected to a third term in more than 40 years.
Upon the resignation of New York governor Andrew Cuomo on August 23, 2021, Inslee became the longest-serving current governor in the United States.
Would Inslee have coat tails? Did Biden? He'd be stronger that way than Status Quo Joe. And he is largely a DC outsider. He has been in the House but was not strongly attached in the public mind to Pelosi leadership, nor to the progressive counterbalance to Pelosi, (with Jayapal being the Washington State House member in that position).
If a different but equally skilled and decent moderate younger than Inslee were favored, there is Steve Bullock, a recent two term governor of Montana after having served as the State's AG. As with Inslee, a major national recognition is absent, but he was a quality governor, a moderate Dem, and successful in a conservative state.
Bullock and Inslee are two of the best in the West.
Regional for now, but each capable of campaigning strongly, nationwide. The Dem inner party apparatus, with its biases and kiss-up-to-the-donor-class mentality, would be the biggest stumbling bloc for either. Both are Presidential, on character and capability measures. Either could win with coat tailing power, once known.
UPDATE: Either Bullock or Inslee would render Hunter Biden's laptop irrelevant, while each would score high on vision and trustworthiness dimensions. Bush would lend trust to the urban Black vote increment needed to expand on the Clyburn base among Black voters. Younger urban voters in need of an incentive to turn out would be energized with Bush on the ticket. Bush exudes credibility with the young, that being in large part how she was able to unseat Clay.
_____________FURTHER UPDATE___________
As expected, Breitbart picked up the NYT item, publishing:
NYT: ‘Deep Concern’ About Joe Biden’s 2024 ‘Political Viability’
The Democrat-allied New York Times
published a damning article Saturday that called into question President
Biden’s 2024 “political viability” because the nation “is completely
falling apart.”
After the Timesspent most of 2020 defending and aiding Biden’s 2020 chances of defeating Donald Trump, the paper has now issued a stark warning about Biden’s “age and his capability to take the fight to former President Donald J. Trump a second time.”
Predicated on old age, lack of excitement, and “regret and anxiety,”
the paper outlined Democrats’ fears of Biden again running for president
— but this time with a failing track record. The Times pointed
to numerous failures by the president, such as 40-year-high inflation,
record-high gas prices, high crime, and multiple losses in the culture
wars, such as abortion and the stalled radical far-left proposals within
the Build Back Better package.
“Interviews with nearly 50 Democratic
officials, from county leaders to members of Congress, as well as with
disappointed voters who backed Mr. Biden in 2020, reveal a party alarmed
about Republicans’ rising strength and extraordinarily pessimistic
about an immediate path forward,” the Times acknowledged. “As
the challenges facing the nation mount and fatigued base voters show low
enthusiasm, Democrats in union meetings, the back rooms of Capitol Hill
and party gatherings from coast to coast are quietly worrying about Mr.
Biden’s leadership, his age and his capability.”
Democrat National Committee member Steve Simeonidis told the Times the nation is not on the right track and as a result, Biden should not seek the 2024 nomination.
“To say our country was on the right
track would flagrantly depart from reality,” Simeonidis said. “[Biden]
should announce his intent not to seek re-election in ’24 right after
the midterms.”
A Democrat congressional candidate told the Times
Democrats are dazed about the direction of the country. She also noted
the lack of Democrat enthusiasm heading into the 2022 midterms, when
Republicans are expected to win the House.
“Democrats are like, ‘What the hell is
going on?’” Jasmine Crockett said. “Our country is completely falling
apart. And so I think we’re lacking in the excitement.”
Still, there is no consensus among Democrats about who might replace Biden as leader of the Democrat Party. The Times floated many names, yet each person named lost to Biden in the 2020 Democrat primary.
Biden has promised to run in 2024, perhaps because if he did not, it
would reduce his political capital. But Biden’s political capital is
currently in bad shape.
[...]
Not as slanted from the NYT as Breitbart usually paraphrases. They basically write the same story NYT wrote.
Thinking to the earlier ticket thoughts, for if Biden does not rune in 2024:
The Bullock-Bush ticket as considered would have Bullock as likely the more Presidential ticket top; whereas Inslee might have an edge on electability. Clearly that is pure speculation, as is the speculation any of the three would be allowed by the inner party Dems and their advisor/consultants and veto-power donors.
Clyburn would likely have creeps he favors over Inslee and Bullock, neither of whom is beholden to Clyburn for anything. Lots of if-this, if-that, with the major one being what will Joe do. The Status Quo would be served by Joe giving things another shot. There are better people. As there were in 2020, but if Trump gets the GOP 2024 nod, better Biden than super-schlock. Ditto, DeSantis, and the others.
God! It could be Ted Cruz. Reach the barf bag quickly, I can't hold the thought of Cruz down. Urp and splat And CRUZ. I'd take Ivanka over Cruz.
Kelly Conroy over Cruz or over DeSantis. Hawley as a dark horse, if others knot up?
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said Sunday on CNN’s
“State of the Union” that she would not commit to endorsing President
Joe Biden for 2024 until the time came.
Ocasio-Cortez said, “Our party is changing, our party is dynamic, and
millennials are deeply underrepresented in Congress compared to baby
boomers and gen-xers back when they were our age, frankly. At the end of
the day, we need to have a generational shift in the United States
Congress in order to have a policy shift in the United States Congress.”
Anchor Dana Bash said, “Before I go, I just want to ask about
President Biden. He is saying he’s going to run again in 2024. Will you
support him?”
Ocasio-Cortez said, “You know, if the president chooses to run again
in 2024, I mean, first of all, I’m focused on winning this majority
right now and preserving a majority this year in 2022. We’ll cross that
bridge when we get to it. But I think if the president has a vision and
that’s something we’re all certainly willing to entertain and examine
when the time comes.”
Anchor Dana Bash said, “That’s not a yes.”
[...] Ocasio-Cortez said, “But right now, we need to focus on winning a majority instead of a presidential election.”
Properly demurring since Biden is not a progressive. But she'd endorse.
_________FURTHER UPDATE___________
More Breitbart demonstrating why Joe might want to pass the 2024 torch.
The post opens:
Hunter Biden reportedly had a stripper, the
mother of his child whom he has refused to acknowledge, on payroll with
his law firm, Owasco PC.
Owasco was Hunter’s law firm that accepted about
$6 million in consulting fees from a Chinese energy oligarch, Ye
Jianming, who chaired the now-defunct energy company CEFC, linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
Biden’s company, Owasco, paid Lunden Roberts $37.50 per hour in November of 2018, according to the Washington Examiner. In
the same month Hunter’s law firm also paid $521.37 worth of health
expenses, including dental and vision insurance coverage, for Roberts.
Roberts sued Hunter in 2019 for child support.
“And is Lunden still [on] payroll???” Biden texted his assistant in
November of 2018. “Take Lunden off payroll I thought you said she
decidedly [didn’t] want to work and didn’t need health insurance anyway.
Remember that conversation?”
The Examiner reported the conversation about the payments between Hunter and his assistant, Katie Dodge:
“I remember a conversation where I was disappointed that
you wanted to pay her the same rate as me,” Dodge said. “But I am over
that. Maybe she told you that but I wasn’t involved.” Dodge also earned
$1,500 from Owasco during the Nov. 16, 2018, pay period for 20 hours of
work, according to the recovered payroll file.
“Regardless Katie [that] was if she was working a 40 hour week full
time for me,” Biden responded. “I haven’t talked to Lunden in 7
months???????”
“Well take whatever I pay Lunden and get my s*** straightened out
Katie,” Biden added. “We need to completely abandon this old process and
come [up] with a new one. New accounts new record keeping new
everything.”
That Hunter made payments to Lunden in November is of note. Earlier,
in March of 2018, Hunter received a $1 million transfer to Owasco from
CEFC.
According to a report by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, Hunter accepted many more millions from CEFC.
[...]
All that is gone, irrelevant, neutered, disarmed - if Joe steps away.
Otherwise, death by a thousand cuts, if the Republicans get either house. Indeed, if after the 2022 midterms, the GOP having either house would mean Hunter, front and center, repeatedly.
_________FURTHER UPDATE________
A possible Bullock-Bush ticket would earn labor trust and support (i.e., from his Senate campaign "Meet-Steve" page):
As
Attorney General, Bullock fought to protect Montanans’ access to public
lands and end the corrupting influence of money in politics.
Bullock
has a track record of bringing people together to get things done and
do what’s right for Montana families. Prior to serving in public office,
Bullock was a union-side labor law lawyer and led a successful state
initiative to raise the minimum wage.
As Governor, he brought
Republicans and Democrats together to save the state’s rural hospitals
and expand affordable health care to 90,000 Montanans.
Moreover, he looks relaxed, genuine, and Presidential - again from that campaign site:
Bush presents a departure from the Clyburn-Harris axis of black politician paradigms, where even her shirt says so
Cori
Bush was missing her bullhorn. Sometime in August, someone broke into
her SUV, ransacked the car and stole it — and nothing else.
That’s
the kind of not-so-subtle message of intimidation that the activist
turned congresswoman-elect has gotten used to over six years of being a
leading Black Lives Matter organizer in and around Ferguson, Mo., [...] Bush wasliving six minutes from Ferguson in 2014, working as a registered nurse and pastor, when 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. wasshot and killed by a White police officer. She
joined the explosive, tear-gas-filled protests on the second night.
“I’m like, ‘I’m a nurse, so I could be a medic. I’m clergy so I can pray
with people,’ ” she said. And she kept showing up, becoming a standout
grass-roots organizer among her fellow protesters, as the protests
continued for more than 400 days after that.And six years after that.
“We
never stopped protesting because it’s always somebody else getting
murdered,” she said. [...] Bush, 44, got sick of asking public officials to make sweeping changes, particularly regarding criminal justice. So she ranfor
Congress, winning on her third try. On Jan. 3, she will be sworn in at
the Capitol — not just as the first Black woman to represent Missouri in
her state’s 200-year history, but also as the first day-in-and-day-out
BLM protester to earn a seat in those hallowed halls. Last week, she was
appointed to the powerful House Judiciary Committee, which she had been
lobbying for ever since winning her primary.
What
she brings, in this era of generational clashes in the Democratic
Party, is a wealth of lived experiences that many of her colleagues
lack.
Clyburn seems to regard BLM as counterproductive to black acceptance by a more general audience. Bush pleases her
conscience, not some norm of black image projection for white comfort and acceptability. As such, Bullock-Bush would embody a true ticket balance that Biden-Harris only hints possible.
Ron
Desantis and whoever he puts on his ticket would be lost in a small
GOTV spectrum {the 1% and clueless white and Christian nationalists)
while Bullock-Bush would make "Stronger Together" real and not the mere
2016 slogan the narrow-spectrum Clinton-Kaine ticket embodied.
Bullock-Bush would constrain Republican paranoia politics to being a
curbside curiosity while taking the nation by storm to a new light, (if
allowed by their own inner party power centers to do so).
Bloomberg
would cluck, but he's not a real Democrat anyway. Bloomberg is just a
bag of anti-Trump one-time cash; whereas it is the Clintons and Pelosis
that could throttle away the oppertunity.
Last, what was said
about a Bullock-Bush possibility applies as well to an Inslee-Bush
vision. Inslee and Bullock are not at all apart as reliable
true-centrist Democrat governors. Each with a track record of
corruption-free success and voter appeal. While "interchangeable parts"
is demeaning as a term, the parallelism shown by Inslee and Bullock is
undeniable. And promising. They deserve attention.
__________FURTHER UPDATE___________
Biden-Harris was such an insult. The hubris of saying, "This or Trump." And handing that out after 2016, where they were saying, "This or Trump." Bastards do that. And - it was done. Harris has no chance to take the White House. She's mediocre. Off-putting. On the ticket by a cramdown. Cori Bush is real.
