Yep!
That was always the plan.
But the problem is who to replace him with. Harris is really a non-starter–she is utterly incompetent and Democrats very much depend on her willingness to bow out and not make much of a fuss. Lucky for them, there’s no way in Compton that she would even come close enough to (dare I say it?) sniff victory in the primaries. Still, it just won’t look good for Democrats to jettison the first Black(ish) VP. You know, racism and all that.
The search for another option is real, and [Josh] Shapiro is going to start getting a lot more press.
Of course, I don’t know how she will go over with Democrat voters this time (last time was nothing short of pathetic). But the first Black woman to be first in line and she gets tossed aside by Democrat Big-Wigs and primary voters in favor of a short, white, Jewish guy? Racism?
Gee, I wonder how Black voters will react, since they have such a record of loving Jewish candidates and a Black woman was tossed aside after she was “due” in order to make way for him…
But the mid-terms are in two days. This is usually a time for coalescing until the final whistle, not throwing barbs. And yet, Joe Biden is getting thrown under the bus ahead of schedule.
… Democrats are deeply unhappy with their current bench. Very few want Kamala Harris to do anything but go away quietly. She’s incredibly unpopular and unlikable, and she’s got the stink of the Biden administration’s failures all over her. Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg is overrated at best, having no ability to consolidate the minority factions of the Democrat base.
… The big challenge is what happens after that. How can Democrats possibly not make Harris the nominee? Is their base really going to tolerate throwing the first black [woman] vice president off a cliff in favor of some five-foot-tall white dude from Pennsylvania? I just don’t see it, and if certain factions try to make that happen, it’s going to get really nasty. Never mind that Gavin Newsom is obviously going to run as well. We may see the most vicious, combative Democrat primary in history going into the 2024 election, and I’m here for it.
And there would be months and months of Harris being a mortally wounded (and irrelevant) lamest of lame ducks–and at least bitter in her heart. Not a good look for Democrats, even in a best-case scenario.
I’m almost sure that Democrat Big-Wigs will pressure Harris hard enough that she won’t run. But that is a very delicate task, because if she is seen as being forced (or even encouraged) out, there will be Hell to pay for the Democrats. MUCH depends on her willingness to fall on her own sword, to “want to spend more time with family,” to go willingly and softly into that good night–and to sell it convincingly. And I wouldn’t bet the farm on that.
Democrats are between a rock and a hard place, here.