When I wrote, just a few weeks ago, that Democrats would be foolish to try and replace President Biden after one bad debate performance, I was right. I still am. There are any number of reasons why it was bad to replace Biden that I didn’t cover a few weeks ago. They’re a little more pressing now that he has actually withdrawn from the race.

First of all, let’s not praise Biden for being courageous or patriotic, or for doing what’s right for the Democratic Party. That’s all more than a little ridiculous. Let’s not forget that he – supported by his team – insisted on having the earliest presidential debate in American history. It was a high-risk, high-stakes strategy, and they completely blew it. Presumably, the close advisers who made that decision knew how he was doing better than anyone; they thought he could handle it, and they were wrong. Those senior staff are either foolish or incompetent. Either way, they shouldn’t be working for the new campaign, whatever that may be.

If Biden had really wanted to do the right thing, he would have done it much, much earlier, putting the Democratic Party in a better place.

Biden could have done this back in January, long before the primaries. That would have prevented the debate debacle and given voters a chance to have a say in his replacement. Biden also could have done it much earlier even after the debate. Instead, he dug in and fought for nearly a month, eventually succumbing to enormous internal pressure. There’s not anything grand or noble about that; it’s just politics as usual. It’s a case of the party elite bypassing voters to get their way.

It’s also telling that Biden announced the news via a letter posted online, rather than in a news conference or an address to the nation. Sure, he may have been isolated with COVID-19, but he could have at least released a video. The manner in which he withdrew only reinforced everyone’s concerns about his ability to serve.

Moreover, now the Democrats face the prospect of something that hasn’t happened in 82 years: a major-party nominee chosen, not by the voters, but by delegates at convention.

It’s called a brokered convention, and while it’s long been a fantasy of political fiction writers, it’s never been tried in the modern era for good reason. I predict it will result in utter chaos.

Cast your mind back to the political fiction on display during season six of “The West Wing,” when the party legitimately didn’t have a nominee. That’s not what’s happening here. In this case, the Democrats had a clear nominee, then decided he wasn’t good enough. They pressured him to drop out, he agreed, and now they’ll pick their nominee in a fairly undemocratic way.

It’s undemocratic because this brokered convention won’t be after a vigorous primary where delegates were chosen based on their affiliation to a candidate. That’s why presidential candidates often announce they’re “suspending” their campaigns rather than ending them: It allows them to retain control of their delegates.

This year, Biden faced no serious primary competition and so controls nearly every delegate. He can’t command them to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, so it will be a bunch of wannabe party insiders and activists choosing the nominee. These people are a real mix. Some are experienced politicians, like state legislators and members of Congress; others are new activists. Regardless of who they are, though, they weren’t chosen by voters with this scenario in mind – they were rewarded for their party loyalty.

Now they’re going to be choosing their party nominee, and there’s no reason to think they’re especially qualified to do so. If the Democrats manage to quickly rally around Harris as the candidate, that will limit the obvious chaos, but it will only make the process appear more undemocratic, a development that will undermine their primary argument against another Trump term.

Indeed, if they somehow manage to avoid total chaos, it may only be because most of their rising stars aren’t interested in running against Trump and would prefer to wait four years to run in a real primary. That’s hardly a vote of confidence in Harris or in the party, no matter what they say publicly.

Jim Fossel, a conservative activist from Gardiner, worked for Sen. Susan Collins. He can be contacted at:
jwfossel@gmail.com
Twitter: @jimfossel