DNC must not shut down debate over Biden’s fitness for office | Opinion

The Democratic Party may prematurely squash internal debate about President Joe Biden’s fitness. Jaime Harrison, the first Black person to lead the South Carolina Democratic Party and the current Democratic National Committee chair, should find a way to let the sometimes-ugly squabble go on longer.

Full disclosure: I believe Biden should allow Vice President Kamala Harris to become the presidential nominee, with maybe Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joining the ticket. Biden hasn’t convinced the public — or his own party — that he is healthy enough to run the type of campaign needed to beat Donald Trump.

Loyalty to Biden should not be prioritized over preventing a man who incited a violent insurrection attempt from regaining power.

The DNC is considering making Biden’s nomination official, possibly by the end of this month or a few weeks before its August 19-24 convention. If they do it virtually, it would all but ensure Biden will be the nominee. He was already in a strong position. Biden would have to free his delegates to not be the nominee, something he says he won’t do.

Axios obtained an email from Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a Biden delegate from Maryland. She wrote to fellow state delegates : “Behind the scenes, people at the Biden campaign and DNC are working to put in the fix. Put simply, they are trying to shut down the process earlier. We can’t allow it.”

Harrison said on X that the pre-convention process was set in place in May to avoid a weird Ohio ballot deadline that has been partially rectified but won’t go into effect until Sept. 1.

“We look forward to nominating Joe Biden through a virtual roll call and celebrating with fanfare together in Chicago in August alongside the 99 percent of delegates who are supporting the Biden-Harris ticket,” Harrison told Axios.

No matter the technicalities, shutting down the debate at the end of July could fracture an already-stressed party. The incumbent party often fears harming a president’s reelection prospects so it didn’t have a robust primary. Biden was barely challenged. His most ardent supporters use that to argue against calls for him to step aside.

Democrats received vital new information during Biden’s first debate, though. Reporting has provided even more. Democrats didn’t know Biden would have one of the most incoherent debate performances of the modern era, or that they’d have to hold their breath every time he opens his mouth hoping there is no repeat.

They didn’t know insiders have been raising concerns about Biden’s mental acuity for a while now, concerns largely ignored by top Biden advisors. Even before the debate, more than two-thirds of Democrats polled by the Associated Press in August 2023 thought Biden was “too old” to run again.

That’s why many Democrats are calling for Biden to step aside. They don’t dislike the man. They just don’t believe he can win. They aren’t convinced he can avoid another incoherent performance. Even if he can, he seems capable of only marginal performances at best, which wouldn’t be good enough to turn the tide in a race where most polls show Biden trailing, though within the margin of error.

Biden has had a highly productive presidency that includes the best job creation record of any first-term president; the cancellation of hundreds of billions in student loan debt (which Republicans are challenging in court); bringing down drug prices; and steering us out of the COVID crisis. He also brought a sense of decency and calm back to the White House after four years of indecency and chaos.

This isn’t about what Biden has done. It’s about what he can do. Persistent and legitimate questions about his health make him a less than ideal candidate. If he remains on the ticket, the debate among Democrats can serve as a kind of primary during which Biden must convince Democrats he is up to the job.

It would be unwise for Harrison to let that debate shut down early.