Most elected Democrats still publicly support Biden, but cracks starting to appear

by mcardinal

Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News

 

There is a fair distance between today and a time when the balance of the Democratic Party will openly oppose President Joe Biden, but, in incremental numbers, some Democrats have begun to break ranks with the White House.

Thus far, just one Washington Democrat has publicly indicated a desire for a new presidential nominee in 2024.

Late last week, during a radio interview in his state, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said he hoped a generational shift was in the offing for Democrats.

“I think the country would be well-served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats who step up,” Phillips said on WCCO-AM radio. He later added, “I think it’s time for a generational change. And I think most of my colleagues agree with that.”

The sentiment did not gain any traction with other public figures on the left, but it did get a response from the White House.

“Look, I’m going to stay where I am,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a Friday press briefing. “The President intends to run in 2024. We are ways away from 2024. We are going to continue to focus on doing the business of the American people by delivering for families by lowering costs for families.”

President Biden’s approval ratings have been mostly abysmal for months, and a recent New York Times article revealed more than 60% of Democrat voters want a new choice in 2024. But these numbers have not added up to a public revolt by rank-and-file or high-profile Democrats.

That includes Phillips, who in the same interview said, “I have respect for Joe Biden, I think he has — despite some mistakes and some missteps, despite his age — I think he’s a man of decency, of good principle, of compassion, of empathy and of strength.”

The best Democrat voters can expect, at least for now, is the occasional public disagreement from an elected liberal.

Such was the case last week when New York Mayor Eric Adams, as reported by the New York Post, went against an established Biden position and blamed his city’s budget woes on a recession.

“You tell me what to take off the plate if you want me to put something else on the plate,” Adams said. “I’m coming to you as a city and saying, ‘This is how much we have, that’s it.’” He later added, “We are in a financial crisis like you can never imagine … Wall Street is collapsing; we are in a recession.”

By all indicators, Biden intends to run again in 2024, and the Democrats do not seem to have a plan B. At a minimum, no one has hinted at presidential aspirations in 2024 or beyond.

The only name to have emerged as a potential Biden replacement is that of Hillary Clinton, whose potential third effort at the White House was a matter that drew the attention of CNN, Newsweek, and others earlier in the summer. Importantly, though, Clinton has made no such announcement.

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