This will be quick. I am taking a few days off and I want more time to think before my next detailed post. But first I want to thank you for subscribing to this Substack or reading my posts on IndepthNH. My goal in writing is to build a community around the concept of speaking truth to power. It doesn’t have to necessarily be about a candidacy. It can be about doing the right thing in terms of who we elect, what public policies we pursue and our everyday interactions with our neighbors.
I don’t mean we should become “that guy” or “that gal” who can never let “things” go but one who reasonably and with knowledge, empathy and compassion raises the right issues when she or he must.
By the way, the phrase “speak truth to power” originated with a pamphlet, Speak Truth to Power: a Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence, published by the American Friends Service Committee in 1955. In writing the pamphlet, the American Friends intended three audiences that remain appropriate today,
“We speak to power in three senses:
To those who hold high places in our national life and bear the terrible responsibility of making decisions for war or peace.
To the American people who are the final reservoir of power in this country and whose values and expectations set the limits for those who exercise authority.
To the idea of Power itself, and its impact on Twentieth [Twenty First] Century life.”
The disastrous debate followed by the soft interview of President Biden has not re-assured me. To be honest, I wasn’t that assured in the first place.
“As long as I gave it my all and I did the [best] job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about.” This is what Biden said during his interview.
Just sit with the comment for a moment.
A candidate should believe his campaign’s messaging. (Even better if it is true.). The Biden Harris message is that Trump poses a threat to Democracy that we must stop at all costs. Although he says it, Biden doesn’t believe it. If Biden does his best, that’s good enough regardless of the outcome.
No, that’s not good enough and that’s not the messaging.
Imploring Joe Biden to step aside yesterday, NY Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman explained, “this is an election with the highest possible stakes. If Trump wins, it may be the last real election — that is, an election in which the party currently holding power allows its opponents to take that power away — America will hold for a long time. If you think that’s hyperbole, after Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, you haven’t been paying attention. So at this point it’s all about defending democracy.”
Party leaders may coalesce around a mini-primary idea in which top candidates debate and are the subject of extensive polling. If done right, this could take over the media between now and late August when the Democratic Convention is held in Chicago. Note, the Convention is purposely scheduled so that it is at or near the deadline to get on the November ballots in many states. This means the selection of a replacement candidate may have to happen prior to the Convention or on its first night. (Who choose this date and why? I wonder.)
I would ask for a one term commitment in this approach to choosing a nominee through a mini-Primary. I also don’t buy that only VP Harris can spend the money accumulated for the Biden Harris campaign. Why couldn’t that war chest become a giant Independent Expenditure and further fundraising go to a candidate’s committee? And, please, not Hillary; a part of the duopoly that raised triangulating against poor people to an art form and who committed political malpractice in allowing Trump to be elected in 2016 by not really campaigning in Michigan and Ohio.
We’ll see what develops over the next week or so.
In the meantime, let’s not forget about the tragedy of Gaza that is complicated by an Israeli Prime Minister intent on staying in power no matter the cost, the war in Ukraine, the messes the Supreme Court just created, and the many other crises with which a sitting president must grapple at all hours of day and night.
And, yes, for the doubters, I still think Biden is better than Trump but I also recognize that this puts me in a shrinking minority that may ensure a Trump win.
Enjoy this pic.
Wendell Barry and I, and the friends he writes about in Port William, will be enjoying this view for a bit.
Cheers.
You've GOT to stop believing the New York Times editorial board. Their and Sulzberger's personal pique is no basis on which to form solid political opinions.
The highly respected Saint Anselm's College poll had Biden up by ten points late last December. With all the unpleasant revelations about Donald Trump between then and now, Saint Anselm's post debate poll has Biden down by two points. That's a twelve point swing, if Biden can't win New Hampshire he can't win re-election. Everyone should know that nowadays perception often trumps reality and 74% of American voters think Joe Biden is too old to be the President....Case closed...