The vaunted saviors of democracy in the Democratic Party were ready to throw out all the norms this summer to make sure voters keep them in power. Unfortunately for them, the calendar is not their friend.
With just four months before the general election ends, Democrats and their advocates in the media began floating the idea of changing the primary rules just ahead of the finish line.
Calling for a ‘blitz primary,’ two influential Democrats this past week unveiled a plan to essentially redo the primary.
Candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris, would have one month to campaign to delegates of the Democratic National Committee ahead of the Aug. 19 convention. Star-studded candidate forums would be held weekly. The nominee would be selected via ranked choice voting at convention.
It’s an entirely new process, thrown together on the fly. One that seeks to preserve power by disenfranchising the party’s own voters. And one that requires them to find an extra-constitutional way to oust a sitting president of their own party – since Biden has made it clear he’s not going anywhere, at least for the moment.
It’s not going to work this time. You don’t get to redo your primary because someone had a bad debate or the truth is suddenly exposed. You don’t get to change the rules the moment it looks like you won’t win. They are stuck with Biden-Harris.
Too many voters have had enough of the gaslighting, the dishonesty, and the hyperbole of Democrats in government and media since the debate exposed their duplicity. The debate was an a-ha moment for many voters (excepting, of course, those who tune in to Fox News. You all saw this coming from a mile away). Since the debate, the truth that Democrats have so desperately tried to hide has been on full display.
They have only themselves to blame if voters now exhibit a new skepticism of the party that laughably purports to save democracy.
The proposal to change the primary rules this close to the finish line is an obvious rejection of the democratic process. The idea of erecting an entirely new primary system after Democrats deliberately rigged them the first time is unfair to their own voters. Not to mention the other candidates who played by the rules.
More voters may now come to realize that for Democrats, gaming the system is par for the course. They aren’t protectors of democracy. They’re protectors of power.
Even as the party made former President Trump’s alleged ‘threat to democracy’ a central theme of the race, the president’s party is quick to jettison democratic processes that don’t augment their power. Apparently democracy is expendable when Democrats are at risk of losing power.
Newly skeptical voters can find a consistent pattern of Democrats subverting democratic processes if they look for it.
Throwing out the votes of Democratic primary voters? Just the beginning.
Threatening to restructure the Supreme Court when rulings don’t go their way? Or to eliminate the Electoral College when their message isn’t appealing broadly enough? They don’t think twice.
Banning, censoring and gagging a presidential candidate whose message they don’t like? No problem.
Unlawfully registering illegal immigrants to vote? What do you think?
But this time it’s different. Voters are catching on. How is this saving democracy?
Voters understand you don’t get to redo your primary just because someone had a bad debate. You don’t get to rewrite the rules every time your party suffers a setback.
Democrats are likely stuck with Joe Biden and Kamala. Harris. Time is too short. It’s too late to change the campaign finance rules that govern Biden’s campaign fund, or the party rules that govern who can be on the ballot in each state.
More importantly, there is no mechanism to force Biden out simply because he might lose. Although Democrats have likely frantically looked for one.
As the ugly truth sets in, debate watchers who trusted their government and their media have to be asking serious questions. If Trump is such a threat to democracy, why are Democrats the ones breaking all the norms?