Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
July 21, 2024
On Sunday, July 21, President Joe Biden announced he will not seek reelection in the 2024 race for the White House, although he will complete his term that expires January 20, 2025 - for now. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” said Biden from Rehoboth Beach, DE.
The big question that will have to be answered, the 5,000 pound donkey in the room is, if Biden is not capable of continuing the campaign through November, how is he still able to carry out the duties of the President of the United States of America into next January? Would this facilitate Biden’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Constitutional Amendment, and remove him from office for cause? See the text of the 25th Amendment: (https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/)
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said, “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president. He must resign the office immediately.”
If the 25th Amendment is invoked, and Biden removed from office, Vice President Kamala Harris ascends to the Oval Office, and becomes the clear frontrunner for the Democrat nomination at the Democratic National Convention to commence on August 19 in Chicago. Coincidentally, the last open convention occurred, also for the Democrats in 1968, also in Chicago. The major, huge, difference between 2024 and 1968 is that then President Lyndon B. Johnson announced, from the Oval Office, on March 31, 1968 - giving the Democrats much more time to find Johnson’s replacement. Of course, Johnson bowed out not due to health reasons, but because of his overwhelming unpopularity over the War in Vietnam, and said he needed to focus his attention on the war, rather than a national campaign. No doubt chaos will ensue in August 2024 as it did in August 1968.
With his announcement declining to seek reelection, Biden would still need to release his delegates that are committed to him for the upcoming convention. Additionally, if Harris is atop the ticket, it becomes increasingly easier to transfer presidential campaign funds from Biden-Harris to Harris-TBA, as opposed to a ticket without Harris at all. If neither Biden nor Harris is atop the Democrat ticket, that campaign war chest does not automatically shift to whoever is at the top of the ticket.
In part, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said of Biden, that “he once again put his country, his party, and our future first.” Of course Schumer, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), US Rep. Adam Schiff (D-NY), and former President Barack Obama (D) have all, in their own ways, been leaning on Biden to step aside. Of course these Democrats, and the nearly 40 from the House and Senate that have publicly called for Biden to bow out of the 2024 race are thinking of the down ballot races and the impact Biden would potentially have. Should Harris be the nominee, she may not offer much more support for those races either, as her popularity is further down the gopher-hole than Biden’s.
Since his abysmal debate performance on June 27 and the press conference he staggered through shortly thereafter, there has been increased calls for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race. Many Americans expressed shock in seeing Biden in such a debilitating state. Clearly, those Americans have opted to receive their news from the “legacy” or mainstream media that has protected Biden. Amazingly, following that debate, the media and members of his own party began throwing Biden under the bus. Apparently his term as “useful idiot” has expired.
Quite frankly, those media outlets, print, audio, and video are absolutely complicit in the cover-up of Biden’s diminishing capacities and failing health, both mental and physical. This cover-up reached so far and wide within the White House, the Fourth Estate, and major contributors, that this is infinitely worse than Watergate. Yes, Watergate. Millions of American voters have been lied to - bamboozled - who voted for Biden this spring and will now feel disenfranchised. Those Americans no longer have a candidate, and will ultimately be forced to accept one to be thrust upon them - even if it is Harris. An apology is owed to the entire nation and must originate from Jill Biden and Kamala Harris.
Former President Bill Clinton and defeated 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have announced their endorsement of Harris. US Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), to whom Biden owes an enormous debt, has also endorsed Harris. Pelosi, however, said there should be no coronation of Harris. Obama has not offered an endorsement of Harris.
Biden did the right thing by endorsing his Vice President. Make no mistake, she would be worse than Biden because she is younger, has at least some of her wits about her, and is a true far-left progressive. (Biden as a progressive, served more or less as a go along to get along faux-progressive.) She failed, magnificently, as border czar - see the teeming borders invaded to the tune of 10 million illegal aliens; supported the radical defund the police movement; offered bail money to the criminals who burned down a Minneapolis police station; praised Hamas, college campus antisemitic, anti-Zionist, anti-Israel, protesters against Israel following the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion into Israel slaughtering more than 1,200 innocent Israelis and other nationals in Israel.
This announcement could be a win-win for both the Republican and Democrat parties - if Harris becomes the Democrat’s standard bearer next month. For the GOP this is a no-brainer. Running against Harris is a known entity, and she has an absolutely embarrassingly disgraceful record on which to run - see above. Harris was, ostensibly, a back-bencher while a Senator, and made numerous questionable decisions as the Attorney General of California.
For the Democrats, the win-win is more important, again, if they nominate Harris. To not nominate Harris will enrage the rank and file of the Democrat Party and create a chasm within their ranks. To bypass Harris, a bi-racial woman of color would evoke calls of racism and sexism against the Democrat Party - the so-called party of women, ethnic minorities, and other box-checking groups. While absolutely nothing should ever be taken for granted insofar as former President Donald Trump’s chances of victory this November, many would look at Harris as a sacrificial lamb taking one for the team.
The Democrat Party can then breathe a sigh of relief. The Kamala Harris experiment would have ended, and the champion of the word salad would likely not seek her party’s nomination in 2028. Should none of the following seek or garner the Democrat nomination next month in Chicago, they will be the crux of their 2028 primary lineup: Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Gov. Gretchen Witmer (D-MI). The Democrats will be passing the torch to the next generation, as at age 60, Kelly is the senior of these six. Newsom is 56, Witmer is 52, Shapiro is 51, Beshear is 46, and Moore is 45.
And of course the choice of Democrat for Vice President looms overhead like the Sword of Damocles. The Biden administration must also answer for the utter failure of the Secret Service to prevent the assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday July 13.
If the GOP plays from behind - as if they trailed by 10 points in Idaho and Wyoming, and take nothing for granted as Clinton did in 2016 costing her the election, Trump can and will win in November. If Trump can keep his speeches crisp, avoid talk of the 2020 election, remain focused on the issues, and the truthful dismal record of Biden-Harris, Trump can and will win in November. Should Trump win, with Vice President JD Vance (R-OH) by his side, and the potential front runner for the GOP in 2028, at 39 - half Trump’s age (40 next month) neither he nor the aforementioned Democrat potentials will be old enough to order off the senior menu. For a world in constant flux and a 24-7 news cycle, that could provide some comfort to Americans looking to the next generation of leaders. For now, for this November, it is vital to elect someone with a proven track record of success, keeping his word, and who will “Make America Great Again.”
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
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