November 5, 2024, looms as a defining day in the struggle to preserve democracy in the United States. Democrats seek to fend off Donald Trump’s quest to usher in his brand of authoritarianism. The Supreme Court has set the stage with its determination that the President is immune from or presumed to be immune from illegalities emanating from “official acts.” As a prelude, there is another struggle for democracy as would-be Democratic Party voters resist the dictates of its party leaders who say it’s President Joe Biden or no one. They seem to have forgotten that democracy is a system of government wherein the will of the people prevails.
The people are being overlooked as interested parties focus on political leaders and campaign donors for clues about Biden’s fate. Congressional leaders have rushed to pledge their support for President Biden and insist only he can lead the country irrespective of the fact that Democrats have a deep bench of promising leaders, beginning with Vice President Kamala Harris. Governors Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, and Josh Shapiro have contributed exceptionally to their states. Any of them could provide leadership comparable to President Biden, and they would have the mental acuity and stamina needed to take on the world’s most challenging job. I could not watch the debate beyond the first few sentences when Biden declared he had created 15,000 jobs. I knew it would be a disaster and turned it off.
Harris is the most likely replacement if Biden wisely and graciously steps aside for the good of the nation. She is the only one who can claim campaign funds raised by the Biden-Harris team. The vice president has a comparable chance of beating Trump in key swing states as Biden and has a slight advantage in Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada.
When I talk to Democratic colleagues, such as former Congressman Ed Towns, most believe that it is a foregone conclusion that Biden will be the Democratic candidate in November and that enough Democrats will loyally get behind him in fear of a Trump presidency. I beg to differ. Many would-be Democratic and independent Biden voters will not be motivated to go to the polls, particularly young voters who made the difference in Biden’s 2020 election.
I am disappointed by young leaders like Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who is looking more presidential each passing day, telling young voters this is what to expect in the future: your elders dictating to you rather than trying to convince you. One might say that reminding us of all the good things that Biden has done warrants overlooking his miserable debate performance, is an act of trying to convince. After all, it was just one night. We appreciate the transformative things the Biden Administration has accomplished, but he’s aging and slipping through no fault of his own. It’s a tough job for a 50-year-old, let alone someone in their eighties. Yet Biden continues to resist calls to take a cognitive evaluation.
Telling voters Joe Biden is our only alternative to Donald Trump is the very definition of hubris—that Democratic leaders know what is best for everyone. Many, if not most, of our presumed leaders see humility as a sign of weakness. Thus, they must always show strength. That is how cliches become the prevailing wisdom. Mistakes are often repeated. Will Rogers once said, “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” The same can be said of Republicans. Another that comes to mind is cartoonist Walt Kelly’s comment in his strip Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and they is us.” Kelly coined the phrase for an anti-pollution Earth Day poster in 1970. Our continued overreliance on fossil fuels shows we haven’t learned much since.
Reading the history of the founding of the United States, whose 250th year will be celebrated in 2026, one can appreciate the genius the framers brought to their deliberations. They knew they were flawed and that God was not writing the Constitution. Unfortunately, six of the justices on today’s Supreme Court do not possess the framers’ wisdom as they try to decipher their intentions. A primary concern of the framers was the influence of bad actors and their ability to foment discord. The idea they would grant blanket presidential immunity is ludicrous.
Regardless of the outcome of November’s election, we should not be quick to count democracy out. Voters rejected right-wing nationalism in recent elections in Great Britain and France. Given the chance, I believe Kamala Harris will defeat Donald Trump. White Christian nationalism is losing its hegemony. We can have a functioning multi-racial society in the United States. There is much work to do. It’s time for new leadership and new thinking. Black and brown people are not threats to society. Inequality and plutocracy are the real threats.