How the party of ‘democracy’ and ‘choice’ unilaterally disenfranchised the electorate

OPINION:

From the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump to the campaign withdrawal of President Joe Biden, the 2024 election is arguably the most tumultuous election cycle in American political history with one “historic” turn after another.

Mind you, these events took place a week and a day apart with a rousing Republican National Convention shoved in between. Renewed hope, vigor, and a sense of destiny were pumped into the Republican Party while the Democrats were left to chart a path forward with Mr.  Biden who continued to show signs of weakness and was whisked away from the public eye with a COVID diagnosis.

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Just days after Mr. Biden quietly resigned from the campaign through an X post and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, there’s still no official Democrat nominee and many unanswered questions draw us into a vortex of political turmoil at a critical juncture in an election year.

Defenders of democracy?

How ironic that the party claiming to be the defender of “democracy” and “choice” disenfranchised millions of voters by unilaterally removing Mr. Biden from the ticket just over 100 days from Election Day. No input, no vote from the populace. Isn’t representation the basis of a democracy?

Over 14 million Democrat primary voters made it resoundingly clear Mr. Biden was the party’s choice. The fact that a small group of Democrat elites overruled the will of the voters they represent is hypocritical at best, and malevolent at worst.

Ignoring the voice of the American people by forcing out their chosen presidential candidate is a far cry from the defender of “democracy” the Democrat Party claims to be.

Why did the Biden team lie to the American people for so long and wait until now to face the fate that he is not, in fact, competent enough to run for office?

Considering the now-81-year-old’s basement campaign in 2020, avoidance of the press and public, bouts of falling up the stairs, embarrassing faux pas, and seeming inability to form a coherent sentence without the help of a teleprompter (think of the times he audibly said “end of quote”), Mr. Biden’s rapid decline has been evident for a while despite White House attempts to assure the public that he was at the top of his game.

For those who were in denial, the recent presidential debate dispelled any doubt to the contrary: Mr. Biden is mentally unfit to be the leader of the free world. Even the mainstream media and many Democrats are now willing to call out the rapid decline in his cognitive ability, abandoning their blind loyalty to prop up the current administration.

The Biden team read the writing on the wall that they could no longer conceal his decline. But the questions remain: Was Mr. Biden removed in a backdoor politics chess move or is he voluntarily stepping down? Was he forced out in the face of opposition from his own party, rendered an unworkable liability for the future of the Democrat Party despite being the Leader of the Free World?

Many Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, make the case that if he can’t run, he can’t lead.

“At this unprecedented juncture in American history, we must be clear about what just happened. The Democrat Party forced the Democrat nominee off the ballot, just over 100 days before the election. Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven exactly the opposite. … Regardless of the chaos in the current White House, our adversaries around the globe should be reminded that the U.S. Congress, the U.S. military, and the American people are fully prepared and committed to defend our interests both at home and abroad. If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” Johnson said on X shortly after Biden’s announcement Sunday. 

At this unprecedented juncture in American history, we must be clear about what just happened. The Democrat Party forced the Democrat nominee off the ballot, just over 100 days before the election.

Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe…

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) July 21, 2024

Navigating uncharted waters

Never in American history has an incumbent resigned at this point in an election year. The closest the U.S. came to this was in 1968 when sitting President Lyndon B. Johnson unexpectedly announced in March he wouldn’t seek reelection. An incumbent not running for reelection is rare, but announcing the end of a reelection bid after the primaries and with just months until Election Day is unprecedented.

Joe Biden has  3,904 delegates, and only 1,976 are needed to win the nomination. These delegates are now up for grabs at the Democratic National Convention in August. Though unpopular in her own party, Mrs. Harris looks to be the nominee apparent. Endorsements and record funds are pouring in, and according to some analysis, she is the only candidate with access to the Biden/Harris campaign coffers.

The Democrats seem united in their hatred of Donald Trump, but are they united behind a candidate? Time will tell.

As for what’s next, the presidency is a lame duck, and Mrs. Harris has Mr. Biden’s endorsement. The delegates are on the table with an “open” convention, and the DNC, not the electorate, will decide the fate of the 2024 Democrat ticket.

The founders had two unambiguous goals: first, to resist blatant tyranny from a ruling class; second, to ensure that the people’s voice was represented fairly and equally. The Democratic Party scoffs at their intent and tramples this mission with their corrupt processes.

To the party that paints Republicans as “threats to democracy” and “insurrectionists,” the Democrats are the ones who staged the coup against Biden and the democratic process.

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Jonathan Alexandre, Esq., is Vice President of Governmental Affairs and Senior Counsel for Liberty Counsel and Liberty Counsel Action. Jonathan consults with and advises state and federal legislators and policy groups in government relations. He also serves as General Counsel for the Frederick Douglass Foundation.

During the Trump administration, he was a Presidential Appointee serving on the U.S. Agency for Global Media board of directors. Formerly the Assistant General Counsel and Public Policy Coordinator for the Massachusetts Family Institute in Boston, Jonathan also developed the Massachusetts Attorney Resource Council, a network of pro-family Massachusetts attorneys. Jonathan was a Scholar in Residence at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs in Israel. He also previously served as a civilian attorney at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. Jonathan and his wife, Renee, enjoy traveling with their toddler daughter.