On the eighth day, he chilled

Laying down the banner, polishing the sword.

The sun came up today, and so did Biden’s energy. He gave a perfectly adequate, partly extemporaneous speech in Wisconsin on the one week anniversary of his political death. A resurrection that many have found reassuring. I was begrudgingly buoyed by his presentation, though mostly I’m resigned to the fact of his continued candidacy – and my inability to have any impact.

My attention will turn to the east, where a hoard is gathering, and they want blood. [EDIT: The content of this piece had the word “want” between “they” and “blood”. However, when reading the post that word was missing. Dropping words is a disconcerting attribute for a publishing platform. I’d love to hear if anyone else has encountered this.] [New note: After posting the preceding edit, “want” appeared in the content. And yes, this is an absurdly picayune comment.] Blood, that is, if we insist to resist.

We have been warned.

As for the immediate Biden resignation idea, there was a surprising (to me) lack of engagement. I’ve watched and read many, wide-ranging opinion pieces and podcast conversations about “Biden: Stay or Go” without encountering a single mention of Harris’ ascension to the presidency prior to the election. It’s been the binary of Ridin’ with Biden, or replacing him as the nominiee. The third option I’ve promoted is either unthinkable or un-discussable. I refuse to think it’s simply an oversight by the entire spectrum of commentators.

The sole exception is MAGA’s Johnson, Mike, who suggested the 25th Amendment.

So why hasn’t it been discussed by reasonable people? Perhaps it’s understood that Biden would never agree to step down and the Democratic establishment will never apply the needed pressure to make him.

I’ve explained here and in conversations with friends why a President Harris is our most promising path for a Biden replacement. Friends have provided compelling arguments against it, primarily concerns about her electability that hold even if she’s the incumbent president.

“Too many Americans are racist.” “The country’s not ready for that.” “She’s not a good candidate.” I understand these perspectives. It’s a frightening prospect to make such a bold move when the stakes are so high.

I’ve received a few positive whispers in the hurricane that is YouTube comments, but have not heard it mentioned on the “content provider” side of things. I’ve reached out to multiple creators directly through email, as well as with comments on their platforms. I can’t confirm if they’ve been received, except for two who’ve responded.

One is a YouTuber whose channel is devoted to another topic, but he released a video on the question of whether candidate Biden should continue or step down. I was surprised to get a response from him to my suggestion of succession. His reply:

“Your scenario sounds great. Very well written. But I fear you've been watching too much West Wing and The Newsroom. Aaron Sorkin is not in charge here. Come back and join us in reality!” He also thinks “It’s a little too late for that.”

Translation: It’s unthinkable. Not going to happen. Fantasy.

The other evidence I have implies the idea is taboo (emphasis on the “boo!”).

Simon Rosenberg is a long time Democratic strategist whose recent optimistic outlook led to his being accused of “smoking hopium”. He embraced the moniker by creating the Hopium Chronicles. I’ve turned to his videos and articles this year for a positive take on the race. Rosenberg is unflinchingly positive and assured when it comes to the Democrat’s position for November, and Biden in particular. He’s helped keep my confidence up…until last week.

This past week I proposed the succession path in a couple comments to his Substack posting. Two days ago I checked back to his ‘stack, and when I attempted to comment I was denied with the message:

“You are banned from commenting until 100 years from now.”

In red letters, no less.

“What? A mistake”, I thought. After all, I have a paid subscription.

I tried again and saw the same response. I scrolled through the comments to double-check what I’d said and found “This comment has been deleted.”

Translation: That topic is taboo, and now you are too.

I can’t verify what I wrote, but it would have been materially consistent with what I’ve written here.

I respect Simon’s goal for the Hopium Chronicles, which he states as, “I want this to be a journey guided by hope and optimism”. It’s a valiant point of view, until one’s head must reside under sand to maintain the vibe.

As a free speech enthusiast (not absolutist) I believe conversation is the way to learn and improve. It’s disappointing that a topic is deemed too toxic to speak of by those on the pro-America side of this election.

I’m certain Mr. Rosenberg could speak to why Biden’s resignation is a terrible idea, which I would more than welcome. But he doesn’t even want his viewers to be exposed to the possibility.

I’m sure Rosenberg knows more than I do, having been “in the game” for decades. He’s no doubt learned a lot since his masterful handling of the historic Dukakis presidential campaign.

This is clearly Biden’s nomination, barring another catastrophic performance closer to the election. I’ll take a few puffs of Hopium every morning and grab the pom-poms.

Yeah…no.

I can’t play on cheerleading team. But I sure as hell can put on the pads and go after Trumpism. I don’t want any of us to live through a White Christian Nationalist blitzkrieg.

If resistance is the bloody path, I’m prepared to get bloody.

Metaphorically speaking, I hope.