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.
President
Biden with Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, center, and Jon
Tester of Montana. Many Democratic officials and voters bear no ill will
toward Mr. Biden, but would like a new face to lead
Midway
through the 2022 primary season, many Democratic lawmakers and party
officials are venting their frustrations with President Biden’s struggle to advance the bulk of his agenda, doubting his ability to rescue the party from a predicted midterm trouncing and increasingly viewing him as an anchor that should be cut loose in 2024.
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 to take the fight to former
President Donald J. Trump a second time.
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.
“To say our country was on the right track would flagrantly depart from reality,” said Steve Simeonidis,
a Democratic National Committee member from Miami. [...]
Democrats’ concerns come as the opening hearing of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol made clear the stakes
of a 2024 presidential election in which Mr. Trump, whose lies fueled a
riot that disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, may well seek to
return to the White House.
For Mr.
Biden and his party, the hearings’ vivid reminder of the Trump-inspired
mob violence represents perhaps the last, best chance before the
midterms to break through with persuadable swing voters
who have been more focused on inflation and gas prices. If the party
cannot, it may miss its final opportunity to hold Mr. Trump accountable
as Mr. Biden faces a tumultuous two years of a Republican-led House
obstructing and investigating him.
Most
top elected Democrats were reluctant to speak on the record [...]
Fifty top
Democratic officials interviewed by the New York Times said Joe Biden
should not run for re-election in 2024 president
Many were pessimistic about Biden's leaderships, which is marred with failures
Biden
failed to pass his $1.8 trillion Build Back Better agenda and voting
rights expansion bill, and faced backlash over the chaotic exit from
Afghanistan
The administration
continues to face challenges from record high gas prices and soaring
inflation, and a possible end to the federal abortion rights
Many Democratic leaders also worry about the presidents age, who was the oldest man appointed to office at 78 last January
Democrats
are also at a loss of who should take control of the party as
Republicans are expected to rack up major victories in the coming
midterms
The body of the Daily Mail report, in part -
Among the big ticket issues are
record-high inflation that's the heighest its ever been in more than 40
years, surging gas prices - which hit $5 per gallon on Saturday, the
lingering pandemic and the possible [now certain, with the formal opinion release] end of federal abortion rights as
the Supreme Court is poised to end Roe V. Wade in the coming weeks.
Also
stinging was Biden's failure to pass his $1.8 trillion Build Back
Better agenda and voting rights expansion, which faced opposition from
his own party, and the chaotic U.S. military exit from Afghanistan last
summer.
While David Axelrod, the
chief strategist for Barack Obama's winning campaigns, argued that Biden
has done well given the unprecedented challenges he's faced as a result
of the pandemic, he fears the president's age might be a deciding
factor on whether or not he can attract enough support to launch a
successful re-election bid.
'The
presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the
president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and
that would be a major issue,' Axelrod told the Times.
Biden became the oldest American to be inaugurated as president when he was sworn in at age 78 in 2021.
The
campaign strategist said that while many would be able to tout the
victories Biden has achieved to brighten his image, the president lacks
the ability to boast believably.
'He
looks his age and isn't as agile in front of a camera as he once was,
and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn't rooted in
reality.'
[...] The
question remains of who would be poised to replace Biden in this highly
polarizing political climate as Democrats fear Trump might launch his
own re-election campaign for 2024.
Few of those interviewed by the Times said they did not expect Vice President Kamala Harris to run.
Harris
has faced her own failures in office, primarily through the crisis at
the U.S.-Mexico border despite her being appointed as the border czar.
Many
of the interviewed Democrats instead touted U.S. senators Amy
Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Corey Booker, as well as
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Texas gubernatorial
hopeful Beto O'Rourke.
Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders' campaign manager in 2020, [...] told the Times that while he believed Biden could beat Trump in a 2024
rematch, the outcome could be different if Republicans instead nominate a
rising star in their party, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The low enthusiasm concept reaches to Harris. She's not exactly loved and revered. In fact, Republicans seem attuned to that, Gary Gross having written days after the Times, on his Blog from St Cloud, MN:
If Joe Biden doesn't run for re-election, it won't surprise anyone.
Still, Democrats face a difficult decision in picking his replacement at
the top of their ticket in 2024. VP Harris has earned 2 unflattering
nicknames that say everything about her chances: the Cackling Pantsuit
and Biden's Insurance Policy.
If Harris is the Democrats'
nominee in '24, Democrats will lose with fewer than 150 electoral votes.
Republicans might finish Election Night 2024 with a filibuster-proof
majority in the Senate if Ms. Harris is the nominee.
If Mayor Pete
is the Democrats' nominee, the bloodbath will be roughly the same as
the Harris bloodbath. Mayor Pete's mishandling of the baby food shortage
and the supply chain shortages have exposed him as a identity politics
candidate. His work ethic will be challenged, too, after taking 2 months
off after adopting 2 children. He isn't a top-tier candidate.
Biden's
failed presidency will tie a millstone around the Democrat nominee's
neck. He's failed in every major policy category imaginable. The biggest
failure of the Biden administration, though, is that he's doubled down
on his jihad on fossil fuels. Whenever people fill up their car, they
grit their teeth. Each time they pay their monthly utility bill, people
get upset.
[...] The current group of prospective Democrat presidential
candidates are unimpressive, socialists or both. The only guy that's
sane is Joe Manchin. Unfortunately for Blue Dog Democrats, he'd be
rejected by the Squad.
Yeah. Manchin is Republican lite. Gary picks up on that. He is party-true. Everybody else in Dem circles thinks Manchin is a big-time throbbing hemorrhoid. Painful that way. Insistent. Unyielding.
Last, the feeling at Crabgrass is less kind to Biden than the two coverage reports. Biden signed onto what would strike the populace as popular, even with misgivings, and had Manchin as his figleaf for not delivering. Blame the other Joe, not Status Quo Joe in the White House. Easy escape from responsibility for stuff not passing into law as people wanted and were lulled into believing from the Biden campaign site.
Moreover, with Trump the option in 2020, lesser evil ruled. Joe did not need to promise much except to not be as bad. And he has not been.
Big deal, but when the 2024 November vote gets cast, lesser evil will again be the name of the two-party game. You in "haven't I seen this before" mode. Grumbling.
And how that will cut is easy to foresee. Trump/DeSantis/Cruz/Pompeo/Haley/other, pick the brand, it will be worse, and you will not be happy about it. But the inner parties, both sides really don't care how you feel, except wanting four years of executive power and the spoils going with it; cash flow flowing; with the donors owning each party and happy either way.
Do you think nine-figure Peosi wealth cringes when Republicans cut taxes for the nine-figure wealthy? Grow up and go figure. Perceive. Understand.
Money on the table, take it, enjoy it, keep up showtime. Cluck as appropriate. Dye the hair. Drive the Porsche more carefully, next time. Nice Napa second home.
