A former vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee wrote Sunday that leading Democrats must be pressured to push President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race or history will judge them harshly.
“Our elected officials,” former Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak wrote on Facebook, “remain shockingly silent in public, especially considering how many of them privately acknowledge that this needs to happen.”
“They fear political retribution, but they should actually fear that if we lose this election because they don’t have the guts to do what they know needs to be done, holy hell and history will come crashing down on them like an anvil,” he added.
In response to Biden’s much-criticized debate performance on Thursday, Rybak pushed back on the idea that no other Democrats could beat the previous one. President Donald Trump – he named five Democrats who could do well, starting with the governor of Michigan. Gretchen Whitmer – as well as the idea that a Biden withdrawal would lead to chaos.
“It is absolutely not too late to choose a new candidate,” Rybak wrote. “Hold two forums for candidates who meet a threshold, do a straw poll, and choose the delegates. A convention that almost no one would watch now would turn into ‘must see TV’ with Democrats trying to outdo each other in making the most compelling case.”
Biden has yet to be officially nominated. The Democratic National Convention is set for August 19-22.
Rybak wrote that Biden “deserves enormous credit” for his time as president, but said people should not confuse gratitude for what he has accomplished with the need to win the 2024 presidential election against Trump.
“A presidential election is not the Academy Awards where you are rewarded for what you have done,” Rybak wrote.
“Elections are about the future, and the Democrats have an inspiring message that isn’t being told, while a convicted felon who tried to steal the election and end our democracy looks like he could win. Nothing will change unless we – all of us – demand that we change our messenger.”
CORRECTION: The previous headline of this article misstated RT Rybak’s former title at the Democratic National Committee.
