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(RightWing.org) – On July 21, President Joe Biden published a letter on his personal X account announcing that he would not seek a second term in office, instead choosing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his preference for taking on former President Donald Trump in the November general election.
This decision has stirred up a hornet’s nest with practically every lawmaker and pundit in the country putting in their two-cents worth on everything from other alternatives for the position, to who might fill the VP spot, to the potential legal issues that may come up because the primary season is finished with the overwhelming majority of delegates to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) having been pledged to support the current POTUS.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Is There Anyone Else?
There are many options for Biden’s replacement on the ticket and rumors are coming from all directions.
One possibility is Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) who had earlier called for Biden to step down and to have an open and transparent method for picking the new candidate, his reasoning there seemed to hinge on the ability of the Democrats to win back those like himself who have left the party. He had previously decided that he would not seek another term in the Senate but an anonymous person (as always) “familiar with the matter” has said he is considering a potential run at the spot on the ticket, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Other names that have been bandied about included California Governor Gavin Newsom, “Mayor [of South Bend, Indiana] Pete” Buttigieg who is currently the Secretary of Transportation, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who comes with plenty of baggage but would be attractive to voters in her home state where Trump has a big lead in recent polls.
Of course, as time gets closer to the DNC, any of them could be enticed to give up the top spot in the cause of party unity, which is a far cry from repairing the chasm that is separating the political ideologies of the country.
Convention Votes
The question of who needs to be answered by August 7 for the Democratic Party’s virtual roll call vote of the delegates selected to nominate their candidate in time to appear on the November ballot in several states, this is necessary because they made a miscalculation by scheduling the DNC for after deadlines to file would have passed in them.
Biden is not the official nominee, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said that Republicans and their conservative allies such as the Heritage Foundation have vowed to take the matter to court.
“Legal experts” are arguing whether or not the idea of litigating will bear any fruit, but with each state having its own laws about how a person can be replaced on their ballots, there is the real possibility of conflicting rulings between Red and Blue state courts. AFTER the top court in each jurisdiction decides the matter and comes up with differing opinions, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) often steps in to sort it all out. However, since they are out of session until the first Monday in October, it could lead to even more chaos in the run-up to the November election.
Many Conservatives are calling on Biden to resign from office because, they say if he is too addled campaign for a second term, he is unfit to finish the remaining six months he has left. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) affirmed that in a blistering press release and accused Democrats, especially Harris, of covering up what he said has been “painfully clear,” — that Biden had not been competent to hold the office from day one.
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