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“Elite” Biden Revolt In Congress Is All White So Far

by in Daily Edition | July 12, 2024

Pres Biden

President Joe Biden (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz) The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele is among those recognizing publicly that President Joe Biden‘s alleged downward spiral — a narrative pushed post-debate by defecting Democrats and celebrity doubters like George Clooney and Ari Emanuel — could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Despite Biden’s cogent demonstration of foreign policy mastery and a firm grasp of his domestic economic agenda during an unscripted Q&A that ranged from world affairs to his own health and electoral prospects, Steele asserts that “the Democrats want Biden gone,” writing that “at this point, there is no press conference he could give or sentences he could string together or ‘cognitive test’ he could pass that will change that.”

Yet the question remains: which Democrats want Biden gone? Biden has insisted that it is a small group of “elites” in his party that want to push him out and undermine the will of Democratic voters.

The President has repeatedly stressed that his primary victories were overwhelming and that voters remain behind him, despite what he characterized as the “mistake” of the first debate. Polls saying otherwise are unreliable, Biden says.

[NOTE: Some have noted that what Biden calls the “elite” group of Democratic lawmakers that have called for him to step down does not — so far — include any non-white legislators and represents less than 6% of Dems in Congress.]

The Washington Post is tracking the Congressional “dump Biden Democrats” here, a list which this morning contained:

  • Rep. Eric Sorensen – IL
  • Rep. Scott Peters – CA
  • Rep. Jim Himes – CT
  • Rep. Ed Case – HI
  • Rep. Greg Stanton – AZ
  • Rep. Bradley Schneider – IL
  • Rep. Hillary J. Scholten – MI
  • Sen. Peter Welch – VT
  • Rep. Earl Blumenauer – OR
  • Rep. Pat Ryan – NY
  • Rep. Mikie Sherrill – NJ

Some commenters are less agreeable when it comes to the idea that “elite” and largely white voters are Biden’s challenge, while Black voters are united behind him. Lee Kovarsky, a law professor at the University of Texas, is highly suspicious about any easy generalizations concerning large heterogeneous — not homogeneous — voting blocs.

There is anecdotal evidence online that Biden’s assessment has merit, as numerous posts supporting him — posts by non-politicians — include a warning to the party to back off the “Biden step down” precipice and let the man do his job, or “finish the job,” as he says.

And Biden supporters who are politicians, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman prominent among them, are ringing the “Ridin’ with Biden” bell too — see Rep. Jim Clyburn below:

For those peering at Biden during the press conference for signs of mental decline, his few verbal gaffes (“vice president Trump”) were enough to satisfy any confirmation bias.

But a prominent signal that Biden remains mentally adept was observable in his parsing queries and in his routinely questioning the premise of queries he believed contained inaccuracies, such as his refusal to countenance (see below) an assertion by a reporter about alleged “limits he’s acknowledged he has.” (“Limits I’ve acknowledged I have?” the President answered back, questioning the premise.)

Another Biden supporter in the comments, seeking to trample on the rampant narrative of Biden’s “cognitive decline” points out a distinction that they hope people will internalize — that people with dementia “DO NOT. CORRECT. THEIR. MISTAKES.”