They Only Care About Being Right...

The rest of us suffer when politics is a game played every few years.

I am not a politician. I never was. I ran for office and I took a beating. The type you’d be taken to the woodshed for…

Some of that beating may have taken place because of my lack of experience. Because I assume most folks want what is best for others. Because I don’t play games for the sake of playing games. Because I don’t think anyone should play games with other people’s lives. And, likely because I am a teacher, not a political consultant. I thought we engaged in politics to make our communities safer, healthier, and more educated.

Boy, was I wrong.

I learned a lot about Republicans through the Trump presidency. I learned that a US President will have police officers shoot peaceful protestors with rubber bullets and tear gas to get a photo op with a Bible. I learned that a president will throw paper towels at hurricane victims. I learned that a president will direct government agencies to have states bid against each other for everything from ventilators to gowns to masks during a worldwide pandemic. I learned that nothing but money and power matters to some.

I learned that my parents and my children and grandchildren are disposable.

The last four years have been tough, but we’ve had good policies come down from the Biden Whitehouse. Since yesterday, though, all I’ve seen is a push from wealthy Dems and Beltway commentators for Biden to step aside. Why are they pushing this? It is very likely too late.

We have no winning infrastructure set up to push a nominee aside for another at this stage, and I know that the Heritage Foundation, and other billionaires who want a Trump presidency, will step in and litigate any other Democratic nominee.

I also know that the same Democratic talking heads, who will not stop with the anti-Biden rhetoric, plan to pass over VP Kamala Harris for nomination. That will spell doom for our party.

I know this. You know this. So why are these pundits and wealthy donors setting up something that could easily backfire and give us another Trump presidency? They need to be right. They don’t necessarily care who wins.

I have worked with consultants for years. I have seen how many operate. They have to reapply for consulting positions every two or four years; they don’t need to win each cycle to do it. They need to be right about candidates and nominees. They don’t need their party to win to do that.

They need to be able to predict the future without needing to win. That is problematic in general, but it is a death sentence to democracy in this cycle. Trust me, I hate hyperbolic statements more than most.

I don’t like doom and gloom and I hate to say things that make others nervous or anxious, but it needs to be said: if we can’t keep Trump out of the presidency, I’m fairly positive my children and grandchildren won’t be able to vote in fair elections again. That’s what is at stake.

Most of the people calling for Biden to step aside have little to lose. They are wealthy. They are white. They are male. I know, there are exceptions, but I am terminally online and I pay attention to who is calling to replace Biden. These folks are safe. They have passports and dual citizenship and money to move to another country.

We don’t.

These politicos also don’t talk to people. They don’t get out to speak with voters. They don’t care that we voted in a primary. Ultimately, they don’t care what we want. They want to be right.

Speaking to voters in Southwest Missouri, 2024.

But they should care. I do. You do. And, we are the ones doing the work. We are out here doing the heavy lifting. We are the ones desperate to keep another Trump presidency at bay. And you know what? I haven’t talked to a person in my daily life who wants Biden to step aside.

Everyone knows Biden is an older man. Everyone can see he has slowed down. Not one seemed to glean from those facts that Biden should step aside.

I spoke to around 20 women Democrats in my county yesterday. Not one of them said Biden should step aside. Every single one of them was familiar with Project 2025, though. They were desperate to talk about local elections for Governor and Secretary of State and AG…not much on Biden at all, but a lot of chatter about Trump’s plans for the country. Not one mentioned the debate. Not one showed any doubt about the Democratic nominee for President.

How is my experience with voters so different from the pundits?

I talk to voters. I talk to real people. I don’t take a Twitter poll and run with it. I don’t ask wealthy donors their opinions. I don’t live in a bubble. I listen.

The pundits and the politicos and the consultants have said a lot, but what they have failed to mention is a plan. There is no plan for the ticket except to remove Biden and Harris. Yes, both.

Representative Ocasio-Cortez has said as much. There is no plan.

“I have stood up in rooms with all of these people and I have said, ‘Game out your actual plan for me.’ What are the risks of this going to the Supreme Court? And no one had an answer for me.… I’m talking about the lawyers. I’m talking about the legislators,”

So, again…why? Why are some in our party attempting to throw out our primary results? Why are they creating voter suppression by throwing doubt into the equation?

Why are we playing Russian Roulette with another party that is literally funded by Russians?

So the pundits can be right. So they can say, “I told you so” while making it happen. They don’t care if Biden wins — they’ll take credit for it saying they were just bringing awareness to the situation. They don’t really care if Biden loses — they’ll say they saw it coming. They don’t seem to care about democracy or the lives that will be impacted by Trump’s policies.

No matter the mental gymnastics, no matter the obtuse quotes or the willingness to avoid actual voters, they will not admit to what they are actually doing: suppressing the vote by sowing doubt.

They don’t care. They just need to be right.

~Jess