Amanda Marcotte: If we're all expected to rally 'round Biden, we can do the same for whoever he offers as his replacement.

If we're all expected to rally 'round Biden, we can do the same for whoever he offers as his replacement.

Why, so there can be an intra-party fight between Kamala Harris and every other possible candidate? What, are you crazy? And Harris would be subject to the racism that hit Obama *and* the sexism that hit Clinton. I don't know that Biden can win but I'm pretty damn sure that no one else can.

It takes time to pick a replacement and time to start a campaign. And the replacement would be somebody who nobody voted for. I don't understand how you think this is a plausible alternative.

Marci Wheeler points out that many countries do run national elections in less than 4 months. So, just maybe. But this is almost unprecedented in the USA and the one precedent is a bad one.

The thing is they don't have presidential primaries like we do. All of this talk is nonsense.

I don't buy that any of this is going to happen, but if it's not Biden it HAS to be Harris & Biden himself will insist on it. That's just the way things are done, and Biden is a "just the way things are done" guy.

Except that if it isn't Harris, some Black voters will probably bolt.

Same argument if you flip it: if you can’t expect Dems to trust and rally for Biden, who has actually won against Trump, despite their concerns, then you can’t expect them to rally around his chosen untested alternate.

You act as if the electorate is smart enough to shift their brains to another candidate within 78 days when IL and another state (can't remember which one right now) start early voting.

Most of the people I have seen/heard calling for him to drop out follow with a list of candidates that typically excludes Harris. This seems like a problem when all viable roads lead to Harris I think.

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All else being equal, Dems would want a candidate who does well in debates. But all else is not equal. No one else has a record even close to Biden's record of accomplishment.👇🏼 We know he can do the freakin' job because he's freakin' doing it(!). Don't give in to chaos. #YouGetBackUp #Defeat45

What Has Biden Accomplished? Look at These 10 Metrics, Not the Pollswww.bloomberg.com Biden has outperformed Trump on a number of fronts, from inequality and green spending to stocks and crime. But not all.

Historian Timothy Snyder reminds us with his first rule for surviving and resisting authoritarianism: "1. Do not obey in advance."

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder - Timothy Snydertimothysnyder.org On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.

Should, yes, and I absolutely will in the exceedingly unlikely event that Biden steps down and is replaced. But if we were confident that everyone _would_ do the right thing and vote for not-Trump, there'd be no electability argument to begin with. As it is, I'm old enough to remember Nixon ...

... and remembering the election where LBJ got replaced (after standing down much earlier in the process!) and the election where McGovern replaced Eagleton doesn't give me confidence that replacing Biden - after he won something like 99% of the vote - and persuading Harris to step aside as well ...

... gets us to victory. If people were all enthusiastic about Harris and all agreed that Biden's health had taken a sudden turn for the worse it might be a different story. As it is, replacing Biden would mean ...

... getting the person people actually voted for to step down and having some small group of people pick someone that they _think_ people will vote for. That plan would not go well. This isn't my "cope" - it's my panic at watching people try to turn a possibly 50/50 chance of winning ...

... which is already worse than it should be, into a near certainty of losing. And I'll vote for the Democrat, even if I wind up forced to vote for a doomed Democrat, because Trump is so much worse, and I'm determined to continue to fight the long defeat. But I want a fair chance of winning. /end

This is true - and I do think they have one move that could work with some risk, I just don’t know if they are bold enough. Biden steps out, and says Harris is stepping in, that’s what a VP is there for. Entire party rallies around her with a unified campaign and big vision re: freedom/equality.

I agree it’s the only move but I don’t think it will work. There will be an immediate relentless press-boosted GOP onslaught of why Harris is a disaster, and we’re right back into panic mode with the weakest chunks of the Dem coalition bailing.

Exactly. We’d also get blanketed with “see, deep state exists” and “coronation” and “Bernie/other candidate got iced out” and “reverse sexism/racism” astroturf to help tear us apart. Not to mention Rs seem want to campaign against Harris (for reasons I understand) and Newsom (for reasons I don’t)

They likely have dirt on Newsome courtesy of his ex.

Totally forgot about that connection. JFC, you’re right. I was thinking down the “expensive haircut, empty suit, Hollywood values, San Francisco shithole” path alone.

That too. I don’t think Newsome is as strong a national candidate as many seem to for a number of reasons, but an ex in the MAGA camp is enough.

"Having known Biden for so long...it pains me to say this but after the debate disaster, the onus is on #Biden now to prove his fitness to govern in the eyes of the public. If he fails at this, he should step aside before the choice is made for him by the American people in November..."

How Biden Can Recover From Disastrous Presidential Debate (Time)l.smartnews.com Coming off what was widely regarde...

Kamala steps up to lead the ticket; Joe is her VP focused on Congress. Same duo, different roles.

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