Democratic memo details plan to replace Biden in ‘blitz primary’: report
Two influential Democratic operatives are circulating a memo that lays out a plan for a “blitz primary” before the party’s convention in August to replace President Biden if he can be convinced to bow out, a new report says.
Georgetown University law Professor Rosa Brooks, a volunteer policy adviser on Biden’s 2020 campaign, and venture capitalist Ted Dintersmith, a deep-pocketed donor, authored the detailed memo being distributed to party contributors, executive branch officials and the president’s campaign staff, Semafor reported Monday.
“We can limp to shameful, avoidable democracy-ending defeat. Or Democrats can make this Our Finest Hour,” the memo says.
“While we hope for help from Lord Almighty, the Lord helps those who help themselves,” it adds — a direct reference to a recent question during Biden’s wandering interview Friday with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos after the president’s debate debacle against GOP foe Donald Trump last month.
Biden, 81, told Stephanopoulous, “If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race.
“But the Lord Almighty’s not coming down,” the president said.
The new Democratic memo counters: “We need to act. Now.”
Brooks is an alum of the Obama and Clinton administrations, a former Biden 2020 campaign adviser and a donor to that run. She also donated to the Biden Victory Fund PAC that year.
Dintersmith maxed out donations to Biden’s principal campaign committee in 2020 as well — but has yet to contribute to his campaign or any associated PACs this cycle.
Meanwhile, the venture capitalist has donated $65,000 to Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Fight Like Hell PAC in the 2023-24 cycle, FEC filings show, and another PAC that supports Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear — both of whom have been bandied around as possible Biden presidential replacements.
Whitmer was once considered a vice presidential pick by Biden in 2020.
For the memo’s plan to work, Biden would have to abandon his re-election effort by mid-July and get Vice President Kamala Harris to not make a fuss, given her influence, and embrace an open primary contest voted on by Democratic Party delegates.
The six candidates who rake in the most votes from delegates would advance to a campaigning period where each could only make positive pitches for their potential presidential run.
At the same time, cultural icons — such as Oprah, Taylor Swift or Michelle Obama — would host each candidate for moderated forums ahead of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19 in Chicago, the memo says.
Ranked-choice voting by the delegates would ultimately decide the Democratic presidential nominee, whose name would be announced on the third day of the convention.
The nominee would then take the stage with Biden, who would be hailed as a “modern-day George Washington” for bowing out, and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
“In the midst of malaise and crisis, we can forge an uplifting path,” Dintersmith told Semafor of the memo.
A Biden campaign spokesperson, asked about the memo, directed the outlet to Biden’s remarks on his disastrous debate against Trump.
“I’m not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three and a half years of work,” the president said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin. “I’m staying in the race, and I will beat Donald Trump.”
Neither Brooks, Dintersmith nor the Biden campaign immediately responded to requests for comment.
On Monday morning, Biden fired off a letter to congressional Democrats that stated he was “firmly committed” to staying in the 2024 race — ignoring the mounting questions from party members about his cognitive acuity.
