This presidential election is a crucial barrier to Trump and his handpicked Court doing even more damage. So, I understand Democrats’ fears coming from Biden’s debate performance. But let me explain one aspect of why trying to change the ticket can be even worse.
Joe Biden’s been excellent and accomplished a great deal against Republican efforts to block anything that would make him look good – pure selfish politics. Democrats have many other excellent potential candidates, but what would happen to the Democratic coalition if Joe Biden were replaced? Only Biden got more than a fraction of the party in 2020, despite a roster of strong competing candidates.
Winning tickets require coalitions. Vice President Kamala Harris has many strengths and a lot to recommend her. Her participation also signals to a significant segment of the party its commitment to include and take care of them too. If people are thinking of substituting another white male for President Biden, that by itself may be kissing this election goodbye if it leads many African Americans to stay home. Similarly for every other possible nominee, the question is who would come out to vote and who wouldn’t bother to show up? Democrats Corey Booker and Raphael Warnock are popular Black Senators and Democrats have several popular white senators and governors, but how would any of them fare nationally? You can’t peel away parts of a coalition and expect victory. Politics requires standing together.
Politicians should bring us together. That’s important, honorable and essential to victory, without which we get nothing. Coming together is also essential to governing well. You can’t just give orders to three hundred million people. In different ways, both Biden and Obama at their best brought people together. Legislation requires understanding other lawmakers and the people they represent in order to figure out how to get to yes. Biden got to bipartisan yesses in the Senate on important legislation but Trump blocked it, adamantly cutting out half the population from any consideration in governing, lest it make Biden look good. In a democratic society, Trump’s behavior was unethical.
Compromise invites mistakes, some worse than others. For public servants, The Art of the Deal must be about public service, not just personal advantage, as Trump would have it. They must keep in mind what will best serve the general welfare in the real world where people have conflicting demands and desires.
Trump’s strategy has been to try to win by tearing us apart, by making us a house divided by hatred. By contrast President Biden deserves our respect and appreciation for his ability to pull us together. Any decision the Democrats make on the ticket must be done in that spirit.
But there’s no process now for measuring candidates comparable to the primaries which already took place. Primary laws turn primary voters into parties. Without primaries, the rest of us are guessing what voters will do.
But, if there were to be a serious move to replace Biden on the ballot, organizing an appropriate process to keep us together would be almost impossible. Public discussions among all candidates, including Biden, would require something organized like cabinet meetings, with Joe presiding, putting everyone in the position of advising rather than attacking him, and letting Joe respond with his conclusions. That would give voters time to react and adjust. But I doubt both the possibility and the results. A behind-the-scenes process to choose someone who instills widespread confidence would be difficult to do well without the guardrails that public discussion or primaries offer.
In other words, Joe’s a good guy, and trying to take him off the ballot would do more harm than good. So, I’d embrace Joe, pray for his health, and double down on beating Trump and his judicial lackeys. Here’s to four more successful years with Biden.
Steve Gottlieb’s latest book is Unfit for Democracy: The Roberts Court and The Breakdown of American Politics. He is the Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Albany Law School, served on the New York Civil Liberties Union board, on the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran.
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