Biden Can't Shake This

Two weeks: As of today, it has been two weeks since Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance that set off alarm bells for most of the Democratic Party as to whether he can be its candidate in November's presidential election.

Initially, many prominent figures within the party stood their ground. Now, they're falling like dominoes.

The first Democratic senator—Vermont's Peter Welch—has called for Biden to step aside, publicly declaring why in an op-ed for The Washington Post. Another—Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal—is making noises in that direction, while two others—Montana's Jon Tester and Ohio's Sherrod Brown—reportedly raised concerns at a lunch for Democratic senators. Meanwhile, Rep. Pat Ryan (D–N.Y.) said publicly that Biden should exit the race "for the good of the country," which Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D–Ore.) echoed, adding their voices to the chorus of the existing seven Democrats in the House who have publicly called for Biden to get out of the race. "I'd be doing a grave disservice if I said he was the best candidate to serve this fall," Ryan told The New York Times.

And Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.), who is the former longtime speaker of the House, said on MSNBC's Morning Joe that "time is running short" for Biden to make a decision—subtle and insistent, as Biden has already repeatedly declared that he intends to stay in the race. "He's beloved, he is respected, and people want him to make that decision, not me," said Pelosi, offering carrot more than stick. "I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that's the way it is."

Stamina: Even George Clooney is getting in on the action, writing in The New York Times, arguing in favor of replacing Biden, and noting his recent experience interacting with the man at a Hollywood fundraiser Clooney had hosted. Naturally, the president's aides fed a response to a CNN reporter, dutifully recited, that Clooney left the campaign event three hours earlier than Biden, so maybe the 81-year-old president has more stamina than Clooney, akshually.

It's been 2 weeks tomorrow and there's no plan. An op-Ed from George Clooney is not a plan. Pelosi on Morning Joe and Whitmer on The View are emblematic of the whole party. They're taking media hits, too comfortable, used to friendly intvws, and have no idea what to say, so they…

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) July 10, 2024

All this is apparently having a real effect on funding. "The money has absolutely shut off," one source within the campaign told NBC News. "Donors are negative. They had a call with the president. The call seemed so contrived to people; I don't think they buy it," someone else close to the campaign added.

"That's not accurate," a Biden campaign spokesperson, Lauren Hitt, told NBC: "On grassroots fundraising, the first seven days of July were the best start to the month on the campaign—and many of those were first-time donors. On the high-dollar side, we've had folks max out since the debate, as well."

But Hitt would give no further detail or specifics, and Biden lackeys are working overtime to stretch the truth to try to pacify fellow Democrats and onlookers, so it's not a stretch to wonder if Hitt is being forthright.

Even members of the media are flipping. ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, who conducted an interview with the president last week, was secretly recorded this week saying that he didn't think Biden would be able to handle a second term.

But Democrats still do not appear to have a plan. If Biden does step aside, thus releasing his electors, and if the open convention route is taken, there is no obvious choice for who might replace him and a nasty floor fight at the convention in Chicago could ensue.

The mechanics of it all: "First, Biden would need to withdraw, and release his 3,904 delegates, who were selected last month," writes Semafor's David Weigel (also today's Just Asking Questions guest). "The newly unbound delegates would pick the new nominee. When Democrats speculate about a 'mini-primary' or 'open convention,' what they mean is that these delegates, along with the 37 'uncommitted' delegates and the eight won by candidates who dropped out already, could vote for whoever they wanted to."

But there's no one who functions as an obvious replacement for Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris feasibly could, and since her "name is on the campaign's organizing documents, [she] would inherit the current Biden campaign and its resources," writes Weigel, but "the Biden-Harris war chest could be donated to the DNC or a super PAC" if a different nominee is chosen by delegates.

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Scenes from New York: "At least ten times in the past two months, tens of thousands of people had their days ruined by a failure of one of the most fundamental pieces of infrastructure in America: the electrical system that powers Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains on the Northeast Corridor," reports Curbed. (Train appreciator Joe Biden hardest hit, though this may be the least of his troubles.)

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QUICK HITS

• Absolutely wild:

JUST IN: Rep. @AOC officially files articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

They stand no chance of passing the Republican controlled House.. but a provocative move as Democrats fret about the direction of the Supreme Court.

— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) July 10, 2024

• "I do have some confidence" that inflation is cooling, said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to House lawmakers during yesterday's testimony. "The question is: Are we sufficiently confident that it is moving sustainably down to 2%? And I'm not prepared to say that yet."
• Pfizer is entering the Ozempic wars.
• Hawaii is out there passing market-friendly bills: the biggest income tax cut in the history of the state as well as a law forcing localities to allow the building of more accessory dwelling units. More from Marginal Revolution.
• We've seen this one before:

The White House actively covers up the president's medical condition. His wife chooses which memos he sees. Desperate to secure his legacy, the president refuses to resign and plans to run for reelection.

New Statecraft, on Woodrow Wilson: https://t.co/1fS5vua3gW

— Santi Ruiz (@rSanti97) July 10, 2024

• My beliefs summed up in a single tweet:

Pretty incredible how a White House that demanded Americans show a medical record to keep their job now demand medical privacy when questions are asked about the neurological health of the President of the United States https://t.co/pEK7tx5664

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) July 9, 2024