Since Joe Biden’s sad and embarrassing debate performance, there has been much whistling around the graveyard in the Democratic Party. Jamie Raskin, a representative from Maryland (D), is not the least of the whistlers. He insists that Joe Biden is going to be the central figure and keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention this year regardless of whether or not he is the nominee.
It’s a big admission.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.):
“We’re having an honest discussion about what we should do,” Raskin told MSNBC’s Velshi that, regardless of the decision made by President Biden, our party will remain united. We also need him to be at the center of our discussions in our campaign.
“Whether [Biden] is the candidate or not, he will be the keynote at our convention.” He will be a figure around whom we can rally to defeat the forces of authoritarianism, reaction, and the nation.
This is a lot of cognitive dissonance. Rep. Raskin believes that Joe Biden can decide this magnitude or any other decision of greater importance than which flavor of pudding cup to have before taking his afternoon nap. To be fair, he is expected to make this statement at this point; it’s hard to admit that the Democratic Party standard-bearer and president is incompetent.
The fact that he believes the Democratic Party will be unified if or when they remove Biden by force or persuasion will cause a rift within the ranks. What about the keynote speaker? The president’s health is deteriorating and any attempt to give a keynote speech may be, well, just sad.
Here’s the kicker: Raskin claimed, in a February 2023 interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, that criticisms of the President’s decline were “age-based, cheap shots.”
Rep. Raskin: I just spent an hour with President Biden where he regaled the entire Democratic caucus. All these age-based cheap shots at President Biden show you how desperate they are, while Donald Trump is fumbling around every day pic.twitter.com/F6uVrlirYe
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 9, 2024
Raskin tells MSNBC’s Ali Velshi that Democrats are now having a serious conversation about what to do with the confused president.
NEW ON MSNBC: Rep. Raskin tells @AliVelshi that Democrats are “having a serious conversation about what to do” following Biden’s debate performance. pic.twitter.com/XJXZx1X8Sw
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 30, 2024
Raskin says there was “a big problem” with Joe Biden’s performance in the debate, but also “a huge reservoir of affection and Love for Joe Biden within our party.” This creates a difficult situation to deal with for everyone ….it’s a political party and we all have different points of view.” He then went on to accuse the Republican Party of being the exact opposite in regards to the presumptive candidate, former president Donald Trump.
Few Democrats are as unapologetically political as Jamie Raskin. It is hard to understand why he insists Joe Biden will still be a major player in the Democratic Party’s electoral efforts in 2024 despite his obvious mental and physiological decline.
The DNC does not need Joe Biden. They’d be better off without him as president or in the party. Jamie Raskin is likely to admit this truth by the Democratic National Convention.
