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| AP/Erin Schaff |
By rallying around Kamala Harris, Democrats are setting themselves up for a replay of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat — and they’re OK with that.
As humiliating as Clinton’s loss to Trump was, she didn’t drag down congressional Democrats, who gained six seats in the House and two in the Senate that year.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was hell-bent on ending President Biden’s re-election bid because she knew how much damage he’d do to down-ballot Democrats.
What she saw in the party’s internal polling was grounds for a coup.
Biden didn’t step aside selflessly: His choice was between going down in flames while being blamed by his fellow Democrats for their losses, too, or dropping out and letting someone else bear responsibility for whatever happens.
Either way, he wasn’t headed back to the White House, so Biden opted to cut his losses and preserve whatever political capital he and his family can hold onto within the party.
The most vulnerable House and Senate Democrats had, with good reason, been among the first and loudest to call for his ouster.
Now that his dream of a second term is over, are Democrats ready for “what can be, unburdened by what has been”?
Not exactly — because Vice President Harris is burdened by everything Biden was except age.
And with Biden still in the Oval Office, Democrats can hardly say that Trump, younger and more cogent than the sitting president, is too old for the job.
Nor can Harris run from the record of the administration she shares with Biden:
She owns all the inflation, illegal immigration, disgrace in Afghanistan and inadequacy in the face of crises from Yemen to Ukraine that characterize the past three years of Democratic government.
What does she bring that’s new? --->READ MORE HERE
Top Democrats in Congress unanimously praised President Biden for abandoning his 2024 re-election campaign — but stopped short of endorsing his running-mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, to replace him as their party’s leader.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had pressured Biden, 81, to withdraw based on disastrous polling numbers and public concerns about his mental fitness in the weeks since his abysmal June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump.
Each, along with former President Barack Obama, celebrated his decision to announce the suspension of his campaign on Sunday — without immediately backing his endorsement of Harris to replace him.
“Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader but he’s a truly amazing human being,” Schumer said in a statement on X. “His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first. Joe, today shows you are a true patriot and great American.”
“In less than one term, he rescued the nation from a once-in-a-century pandemic, brought the economy roaring back from the brink of recession, enacted consequential legislation for everyday Americans and saved our democracy by defeating the Insurrectionist-in-Chief,” added Jeffries on X. “We are forever grateful.”
“God blessed America with Joe Biden’s greatness and goodness,” Pelosi also gushed on X. “His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history.”
Among senior congressional Democrats, only Rep. Jim Clyburn was quick to follow Biden’s lead and endorse Harris.
“One of President Biden’s first decisions as the nominee was to select a running mate that he believed possessed the values and vision necessary to continue this country’s pursuit toward a ‘more perfect Union,’” Clyburn (D-SC) said in a statement.
“I echo the good judgment he demonstrated in selecting Vice President Harris to lead this nation alongside him, and I am proud to follow his lead in support of her candidacy to succeed him as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee for President,” he added.
Though calls to push Biden off the ballot had reached a fever pitch in Congress before the president stepped aside, some Democrats lamented the move.
“Well I hope the geniuses that pushed the most consequential President of our lifetime out, have a plan,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) bemoaned on X.
“Joe wasn’t the problem… dems were,” she said before going on to blast her fellow lawmakers. --->READ MORE HERE
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