The Democratic Party’s Strategic Mistakes: From Biden’s Candidacy to Internal Divisions

The Democrats made several critical errors. First, they allowed a candidate showing signs of cognitive decline to run for president, a decision compounded by the reliance on mainstream media to downplay these concerns. After Biden’s widely criticized performance in the first debate against Trump, media allies quickly shifted public perception, portraying his difficulties as unexpected. In fact, many of these concerns were raised within the Democratic party during the 2020 primary. And yet, the Democratic party as well as media allies pretended as though they had never questioned Biden’s cognitive decline.

Viable alternatives with distinct appeal—like Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, and Andrew Yang—presented paths forward. However, there’s evidence that the party’s influence was leveraged to discourage a truly fair primary. 

Bernie Sanders in particular appears to be consistently sidelined on purpose by the Democratic party. For instance, leaked 2016 emails from the DNC exposed favoritism toward Clinton, to the point of operatives devising ways to push Clinton to become the Democratic nominee and counter Sanders’ popularity. This revelation casts doubt over the integrity of the Democratic party’s primary processes. 

Then, with only 107 days before the 2024 election, Biden was formally removed from the race, which exposed rifts within the Democratic Party. Biden’s resistance to withdrawing from the race was partly fueled by long-standing frustrations over past interference—particularly the push from party leaders (including Obama) that encouraged him not to run in 2016 in favor of Hillary Clinton. 

So to review - in 2016, Biden and Sanders were sidelined to favor Clinton. In 2020, Sanders was sidelined to favor Biden. 

A second error in the 2024 cycle was the lack of a public or transparent process for selecting Biden’s replacement. Rather than holding a fast-track ‘blitz’ primary or an open convention, Kamala Harris was selected without a chance for other candidates to compete. Other strong Democratic contenders, like Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, and J.B. Pritzker, may have brought needed strength or at least enhanced voter confidence in the selection. 

So to review - in 2016, Biden and Sanders were sidelined to favor Clinton. In 2020, Sanders was sidelined to favor Biden. In 2024, all other potential strong Democrat party candidates were sidelined to favor Kamala Harris. 

Do you see the pattern emerging?  By playing favorites and attempting to hijack their primaries, the Democrats played themselves into a dangerous corner. 

Sources:

• The Intercept - Democrats and Their Media Allies Impugned Biden’s Cognitive Fitness. Now They Feign Outrage

• Politico - ‘The President Was Not Encouraging’: What Obama Really Thought About Biden

• The Guardian - Leaked DNC emails reveal details of anti-Sanders sentiment

• The Guardian - ‘Blitz primary’: the scenario that could turn replacing Biden into a ‘riveting spectacle’

• NY Times - How Kamala Harris’s Campaign Unraveled