February 11, 2024

"[T]he only plausible scenario for Democrats to get a new nominee would be for Biden to decide to withdraw...."

"If Biden were to drop out between now and August, it would most likely create a free-for-all at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. If Biden calls it quits before he wins the majority of the Democratic delegates, it likely wouldn't make a difference. Any new candidate who tried to enter the race would be unlikely to get on enough of the remaining ballots and therefore couldn't win enough delegates. Ultimately the decision would likely come down to the convention delegates who were initially pledged to Biden.... If large swaths of the Democratic Party lost faith in Biden, delegates to the national convention could theoretically defect en masse. Of course, they were chosen to be delegates because of their loyalty to Biden and have pledged to support him at the convention. But, unlike many Republican delegates, Democratic delegates are not technically bound to their candidate. DNC rules allow delegates to 'in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them,' providing some wiggle room...."

From "Could Democrats replace Biden as their nominee? It is nearly impossible for the Democratic Party to replace Biden, and the president has given no indication that he intends to step aside — nor is anyone asking him to" (NBC News).

57 comments:

n.n said...

A planned presidenthood (PP)? The "burden"... uh, burden, of Biden. Democrats have a Choice... uh, choice. Is he viable? Will Harris take a knee? Will the party bray together?

Joe Smith said...

The DNC has already rigged the primaries, why not rig the candidate?

Make smoke-filled back rooms great again!

Yancey Ward said...

Well, I think all the deadlines for getting on the ballot for the primaries and for consideration for the caucuses have passed or will pass within the next few weeks- so no other candidate than those already on those ballots can get a checkmark next to their name. I don't know how many of the states Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips have qualified for, but if Biden drops out, they would stand to gain all the delegates awarded by the present DNC rules for primaries and caucuses unless they lose to a write in, or continue to lose to Biden whose name is going to remain on those ballots as I understand it. So, the only reasonable scenario to me is that Biden wins the majority of the delegates (which will happen soon), and the convention chooses the candidate in a vote of the delegates.

Now, a high profile Democrat could run a write-in-campaign and with Biden out win the actual primaries and caucuses, but a free-for-all will dilute such a candidate if more 2 enter that way.

n.n said...

Plausible, but not probable... Biden Life Matter (BLM)

Yancey Ward said...

And, Shelob is tan and rested........

Iman said...

Whatever they decide, they’ve been screwing America for over 3 years (some may say add 40 years to that).

From Doktor Jill Biden:

"I hope you can imagine how it felt to read that attack -- not just as Joe's wife, but as Beau's mother I don't know what this Special Counsel was trying to achieve. We should give everyone grace, and I can't imagine someone would use our son's death to score political points. If you've experienced a loss like that, you don't measure it in years, you measure it in grief."

I’ve lost count on how many times Slow Joe has done what Herr Doktor is hurt by.

She went on and on in her pushback response to the report, and never once did she refute the allegations.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Biden is just a puppet. He will only be allowed to step aside if the people actually running his administration want him too. For this to happen, there would have to be a new puppet candidate who would allow these people to retain power. It’s hard to see who this would be. Kamala might be an option but would be a risky choice based on her poll numbers. Only things I know for sure are:

1. These people won’t go quietly
2. If there is a replacement, Biden’s puppet masters will decide who it is.

hombre said...

That is absurd. The DNC would just declare an emergency and pick somebody depending on the DC judiciary to sanction the action.

Since when did laws or rules matter to Democrats?

Mason G said...

"in all good conscience?" Democrats? You've got to be kidding. They'll say "Whatever it takes" right out loud. The only thing that matters to them is being able to force their idiocy on everybody else.

Gemna said...

If they're going to do it, it needs to happen ASAP. Given 2020 and 2022 elections, its possible Dems may be able use fearmongering about Trump's threat to democracy to pull off Biden or a last minute replacement, but also maybe not.
Biden's failings will hurt, but a last minute switch after the primaries should and I hope would outrage Americans.

ga6 said...

Dr Jill better hire some food tasters, private nurses, and private security.

GatorNavy said...

If President Biden passes away peacefully and not at all suspiciously, the Dems can do whatever they want. Provided that they are willing to countenance a President Kamala Harris or substitute another accomplished female of color, like, Mrs M. Obama.

TickTock said...

The real battle will be who is the Democratic VP nominee. I expect the deal Biden will cut will be that he will step aside, sometime after the inauguration, though not necessarily immediately.

As Biden, even demented, is viewed as better than Kamala, those with any influence (like the super delegates, are likely to press for someone else.

Leland said...

Would Kamala Harris replace Biden?
If Biden were to relinquish the presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris would automatically become president — but not the Democratic Party’s nominee. Nor would she necessarily be the nominee if Biden withdrew from his re-election bid while remaining in the White House.


NBC gives the first female Vice President both middle fingers in regard to becoming the first female President.

Mason G said...

"NBC gives the first female Vice President both middle fingers in regard to becoming the first female President."

Whatever it takes.

Big Mike said...

"I hope you can imagine how it felt to read that attack -- not just as Joe's wife, but as Beau's mother I don't know what this Special Counsel was trying to achieve. We should give everyone grace, and I can't imagine someone would use our son's death to score political points.“

(1) Joe has often used Beau’s death to score political points, usually by falsely claiming Beau died as a consequence of his combat deployment.

(2) The issue was not Beau’s death, which was unfortunate, but the inability of a father who allegedly loved his child to remember when his son died.

(3) Jill was not Beau’s mother.

Mikey NTH said...

If this Democratic Cabal was as smart as people say Plan B would have been in the primaries from the get-go. That has not happened and hence they are screwed with this.

Owen said...

November outcome not in doubt: 100 million votes for Will Fillitin.

rastajenk said...

I'd love to see a contentious convention, just like in the old days. That sounds like fun.

But a Biden withdrawal should happen soon, like right after Super Tuesday. That would give all the factions plenty of time before the Main Event.

gilbar said...

resident Biden Tragically Dies, the 1st night of the convention.. From "covid"

gilbar said...

doctor Jill said.. but as Beau's mother

very (VERY) strange thing, for Beau's babysitter (stepmom?) to say..
I didn't realize, that you can just self identify as a mom

SoLastMillennium said...

I think Biden's sudden and heroic death would be a plausible way to get him off the ballot.

And at his age it would be very plausible....

Jupiter said...

You know, by attributing that hogwash to "NBC News", you are obscuring the fact that it is just some overpaid "analyst" pitching meaningless notions into the great, sucking maw of the advertising sales industry.

Narayanan said...

why not Jill Biden for President [since she's been running the show!]

rcocean said...

Whaa? Harris is the presumptive successor to Biden. How could he drop out and not endorse her? He cant, and wont.

A "wide open convention" makes no sense.

rcocean said...

Besides, Biden doesn't care what the polls say. As Stalin remarked: "Its not who votes that counts, the only thing that matters is who counts the votes".

Roger Sweeny said...

"the president has given no indication that he intends to step aside — nor is anyone asking him to."

Yet.

Larry J said...

In 1968, LBJ announced he wasn’t running for reelection on March 31st. He remained in office for the remainder of his term. If the Democrats decide Biden is a true threat to the party and it could cost them both the White House and Congress, they’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse to pull an LBJ. If he waits until fairly soon before the convention, the powers that be will be clear to put in someone they think the party will rally behind. My guess is it’ll be Michelle Obama. Joe Biden has proven that a president need not be anything more than a figurehead while others actually run things behind the scenes.

tim maguire said...

It’s cute the way they pretend the nominee isn’t chosen by party leaders in a backroom. Do you think NBC believes what they are saying?

It’s been the plan all along to have Biden drop out when it’s too late for someone else to get enough delegates, forcing a floor fight. That’s the whole point.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

I'll stay here all alone with my bet that Crook "weekend at Bernie's" Barisma-Joe/ Dementia Patient Joe, Lying Liar who Lies - vicious Joe, will be the Dem's candidate.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Hillary has a Bill+Jeffrey Epstein problem.

Bill's connections to Jeffrey Epstein are far deeper than other elbowers.

Epstein even has a piece of art with depicting Bill Clinton wearing Monica's blue dress.

donald said...

All they gotta do is kill him which ain’t jacksquat to today’s democrat party. They can figure the details later.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

When you've got cheat-to-win Chicago style vote counting in place (where needed) - Weekend at Biden's is the movie we will see... again.

mccullough said...

Surprised they didn’t mention the possibility of Biden dying before the convention. Dude is frail. It’s another way for him to withdraw from the race.

WisRich said...

Everybody is wondering how to handle Harris. Biden is not going to lift a finger to help her. He and Jill hate her and will have no problem helping to box her out.

Christopher B said...

Agree with Mikey NTH. There is evidence a fight is in progress, not a plan being implemented.

MadisonMan said...

It does make the convention a must-see thing I guess.
I'm hopeful Harris is not a last-minute substitute though. She has never won a vote outside of California, where Democrats can't lose. Strange times.

John henry said...

Buh... Buh... Buh...

All the smart people and deep thinkers in both sides of the aisle (and Althouse commentariat) have assured me all my life that the VP has the positional advantage in running for president.

Just look at past history. You gave not only ghw bush but also um... Um... Um..

Never mind

John Henry

LakeLevel said...

Rules? Rules? We don't need no stinking rules. (MSM banditos start shooting at anyone who disagrees).

Yancey Ward said...

"If this Democratic Cabal was as smart as people say Plan B would have been in the primaries from the get-go. That has not happened and hence they are screwed with this."

I wrote many months ago that a high profile Democrat didn't need Joe Biden to step aside- all that was ever needed was for that high profile Democrat to enter all the primaries and caucuses. Biden has never been capable of defeating anyone in a Democrat primary without the the other plausible candidates withdrawing for no reason what-so-ever.

tcrosse said...

The Democrats are perfectly happy with Biden in office. They would only get rid of him because they're so afraid of Trump.

tcrosse said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bruce Hayden said...

“Whaa? Harris is the presumptive successor to Biden. How could he drop out and not endorse her? He cant, and wont”

It was his deal with the devil (actually, probably with SC Rep Clyburne) to get the nomination. Harris, by her awfulness, is keeping FJB alive and living in the WH. Pushing her to the side would risk serious defections in the Black vote.

ga6 said...

Donald above beat me to it...

chickelit said...

“Whaa? Harris is the presumptive successor to Biden. How could he drop out and not endorse her? He cant, and wont.“

Biden will step down the moment the general election is certified for him and Harris. It’s a dirty trick to install the wholly unelectable Harris by stealth but she’s the one Obama prefers to front his fourth term.

Larry J said...

“It was his deal with the devil (actually, probably with SC Rep Clyburne) to get the nomination. Harris, by her awfulness, is keeping FJB alive and living in the WH. Pushing her to the side would risk serious defections in the Black vote.”

Not if she was replaced with someone the black vote likes better, such as Michelle Obama.

Narayanan said...

gilbar said...
doctor Jill said.. but as Beau's mother

very (VERY) strange thing, for Beau's babysitter (stepmom?) to say..
=================
from-jill-to-mom

Bunkypotatohead said...

There's nothing in Biden's history to suggest he would ever think of the greater good...for his party or the country.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Either somebody gave everybody permission to have this discussion in the open, or the permission came from the prosecutor.

It's over for Biden.

Gk1 said...

Biden is just one stumble at the podium or a trip on the white house lawn from being pushed out. His steep mental decline is undeniable. Hur proved Biden had illegally kept classified documents and shared them with a ghost writer helping him write his memoirs.

The DOJ allowing this memo to be shared has torpedoed Biden's candidacy.It's over. There is no way you can keep pretending Biden's too enfeebled to go to trial but still capable of being president. You have to pick one.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Not if she was replaced with someone the black vote likes better, such as Michelle Obama”

Agreed. Michelle is really the only plausible replacement I see for Harris. Republicans seem to have more Blacks of stature now in elected office than the Dems do. Very few black Dems seem able to cross the color line, and attract Whites or Hispanics. My guess is that Michelle’s candidacy is being pushed by her husband, for, essentially, a 4th term. She doesn’t seem that interested.

Big Mike said...

Gullible Narayanan swallows Times bullshit whole at 10:10.

Tina Trent said...

Larry J. raises an interesting idea. Withdraw on March 31, say he waited until that date because it has that historical importance for the Party, and that takes the heat off a bit. Then Joe waited because he wanted to honor the date, and there isn't much time for anyone but the superdelegates to make the real choices. Nobody is bound to the Kamala ticket.

I don't think Kamala Harris has the stomach for more public humiliation.

I don't know if Donna Brazile has pissed off too many people, but there is no better political fixer in the DNC. And that's not a compliment. I wouldn't count her out.

Gk1 said...

"Either somebody gave everybody permission to have this discussion in the open, or the permission came from the prosecutor.

It's over for Biden."

Exactly. Instead of the DOJ whitewash report democrats think they are entitled to, there was this cold slap in the face. There are no accidents in Washington so their plan must really be to brazen it out with Kamala, unless they can buy her off. Unfortunately for the democrats there is no 25th amendment to remove a complete imbecile from power.

Jamie said...

Gullible Narayanan swallows Times bullshit whole at 10:10.

I took it as "Narayan notes that the approved spin is in place." [shrug]

PM said...

Joe 'graciously' hands the keys to Gavin who keeps Kamala.
Of course he first drops the keys, but the rest happens on cue.

mikee said...

President Kamala Harris will succeed dementia Joe in office in early 2025. She will be as independent a thinker and as strong a leader of her administration as dementia Joe has been of his for the past 3 years. God help us all.