Unpacking the Timeline: Biden, Harris, and the Democratic Party’s Future
From the outside looking in, Gov. Gavin Newsom unofficially announced he was running for president on Thursday, March 30, 2023, the day he transferred $10 million from his state campaign funds to launch his PAC, Campaign for Democracy, along with a nationwide tour. Newsom unofficially suspended his campaign a month later, on April 25, the day President Biden announced he was seeking reelection.
This timeline is crucial when discussing Kamala Harris. Newsom, like Harris, has been in the wings for years as part of the next generation of Democratic national leaders — and, like Harris, he was ready for the spotlight when Biden decided to stick around instead.
The Impact of Biden’s Decision on Harris’ Campaign
The title of Harris’ upcoming book, “107 Days,” refers to the amount of time she had to launch a campaign, write policy, secure the nomination, and fundraise after Biden bowed out in the summer of 2024. An excerpt from the memoir, titled “The Constant Battle,” was published in the Atlantic, where Harris suggests that some of the foes she battled during her time in the White House were Biden loyalists who did not want to see her succeed as vice president.
This critique is significant, given the stakes of the 2024 election. The excerpt provides an uncomfortable glimpse into one of the most chaotic moments in American politics. Unsurprisingly, there have been reports of pushback from former Biden aides, with one being quoted as saying: “No one wants to hear your pity party.”
Biden’s Initial Message and Its Implications
In March 2020, while campaigning in Detroit, a 77-year-old Biden stood next to Harris, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, telling his party that he viewed himself “as a bridge, not as anything else,” adding: “There’s an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.” Recognizing his age was a concern for voters back then, the message Biden sent that day suggested he was running for only one term.
And then, more than three years later, Biden changed his mind and his message. In doing so, he did not just go back on a campaign promise, but also prevented the future of his party — like Newsom, Whitmer, Booker, and Harris — from making a case for themselves in a normal primary.
Assessing the Consequences of Biden’s Decision
That’s why the book is called “107 Days.” That’s how much time he gave his would-be successor to win the presidency. Biden was a tremendous public servant whose leadership steered this nation out of a dark time. He also was conspicuously old when he ran for president and was considered a short-timer. The first woman to be elected vice president didn’t decide to run for the top job at the last minute. But Biden went back on his word in 2023 and drained all the energy out of his party.
It was only after the disastrous debate performance of June 2024 that the whispers inside the Beltway about his ability to win finally became screams. “Joe was already polling badly on the age issue, with roughly 75 percent of voters saying he was too old to be an effective president,” Harris writes. “Then he started taking on water for his perceived blank check to Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza.”
Reflection and Moving Forward
Legend has it that James Carville, key strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential run, once went to a whiteboard at the campaign’s headquarters in Arkansas and wrote three key messaging points for staffers. The catchiness and humor of one, “the economy, stupid,” elevated it above the other two: “change vs. more of the same” and “don’t forget health care.” Clinton’s victory would later cement “the economy, stupid” as one of the Democratic Party’s most enduring political quips — which is really too bad.
Because the whole point of Carville going to the whiteboard in the first place wasn’t to come up with a memorable zinger, it was to remind staffers to stay on course. The Democrats’ 2024 chances were endangered the day Biden changed direction by running for reelection, not when he stepped aside and Harris stood in the gap.
That’s not to suggest her campaign did everything right or Biden staying in for as long as he did was totally wrong. But there’s a lot to learn right now. Democrats are extremely unpopular. Perhaps instead of dismissing the account of the party’s most recent nominee, former Biden aides and other progressives should take in as much information as they possibly can and consider it constructive feedback.
In 2020, Biden had one message. In 2023, it was the opposite. I’m sure there are things to blame Harris for. Losing the 2024 election isn’t one of them.
Read more about the 2024 election and its aftermath Here
Image Source: www.latimes.com
