Amid internal strife within the Democratic Party regarding President Joe Biden’s mental acuity, two influential Democrats are proposing a hopeful solution that will not simply hand the nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris.
A plan devised by Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown University law professor who served in the Obama and Clinton administrations, and Ted Dintersmith, a venture capitalist and Democratic megadonor, calls for Biden to step down as the nominee and the launching of a “blitz primary.”
The party would initiate a rapid primary before the August convention rather than hold an open floor vote in Chicago for the nomination, according to Semafor, and of course, it involves celebrities.
The proposal is the work of Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown University law professor who served in the Obama and Clinton administrations and as a volunteer policy adviser to the Biden campaign in 2020, and Ted Dintersmith, a venture capitalist and education philanthropist who has donated to various Democratic campaigns. They want Biden to flip the script on the current Washington narrative of a Democratic Party in chaos and for the party to see the current period as an opportunity for a reset. “In the midst of malaise and crisis, we can forge an uplifting path,” Dintersmith told Semafor.
Their idea goes something like this, according to a memo shared with Semafor that has been circulated to Democratic donors and bundlers as well as officials within the Biden campaign and administration:
Biden would step down as the Democratic nominee in mid-July, and announce the new system, with backing from Vice President Kamala Harris.
Potential candidates would have a few days to throw their respective hats in the ring. The Democratic Party then would begin a primary sprint in which the six candidates who receive the most votes from delegates pledge to run positive-only campaigns in the month leading up to the convention.
The “blitz primary” would involve weekly forums with each candidate moderated by cultural icons (Michelle Obama, Oprah, and Taylor Swift are among the names floated in the memo) in order to engage voters.
Reuters recently reported that party elites see Vice President Kamala Harris as the leading candidate to replace Biden if he opts out of running for reelection.
“Some influential Democrats have floated alternatives to Biden besides Harris, including popular cabinet members and Democratic governors like Gavin Newsom from California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. But trying to sidestep Harris is wishful thinking and would be nearly impossible, these sources, who did not wish to be named, said.
If named as the party nominee, Harris, 59, would take over money raised by the Biden campaign and inherit campaign infrastructure, the sources said. She also has the highest name recognition among all the alternatives, and the highest polling among Democrats who could seriously be considered a candidate, the sources said.“
Harris is one of the most disliked politicians in the country and has been labeled one of the worst vice presidents in American history.
The plan to replace the president may be a moot point. Today on MSNBC, Biden declared that he will not be stepping aside and threw down the gauntlet to his critics, saying, “challenge me at the convention.”
He also sent a letter to congressional Democrats in which he wrote that “despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.”
