Joe Biden is being feted by all. What a sacrifice he has made! What a patriot! Like George Washington, Biden was willing to walk away from power for the good of the country.
I’m not as convinced, walking away from a campaign that will certainly lose isn’t seem incredibly heroic, though it’s something. The heroes are the Democrats who pushed him out, which could easily have doomed their own careers.
Let us begin with the Republican Party, and the awful dynamics we’ve watched for the last eight years. Trump would be a historical blip, except for the large numbers of Republicans who put their personal careers over their duty to their country. Nearly every one of them knew exactly how unfit Trump was for office, how dangerous he was to the country, how he should not be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office. Yet, nearly every single one of them bent the knee. When push came to shove, they put their careers ahead of their country.
Liz Cheney is one of the only heroes, who did all she could. In the end it was not enough, and her political career is essentially over. She made the sacrifice. Who else did? No one. The GOP dug their own graves, one by one, as each politician sold out save their own skin at the price of letting a corrupt ignorant fool to become president. I don’t know how they can look in the mirror.
Now let us pivot to the Democratic party, and the choices for down-ballot Senators and Representatives over the last couple weeks. They knew that sticking with Biden was bad for them. But speaking up to replace Biden would also be bad for them — if it didn’t work. And it probably wouldn’t work. Of course he did step down, but that was not a likely outcome, that’s why it is a historic event. The odds were that Biden would stay in the race, he would lose, and the Democratic establishment would go after anyone who tried to get him out. For these politicians, their self-interest was to stay silent and hope Biden wouldn’t drag them down.
Their choice was not as obvious as that faced by the GOP. But the dynamic was similar. Their own selfish interests incentivized them to allow Biden to continue as nominee even while believing he was not up for the job. That is the same choice the Republican Party failed so badly.
A few days ago, it looked as if the Democratic Party would fail it also. But they did not. Behind the scenes (and eventually openly) many pushed for Biden to step aside. Rank and file members, leadership (particularly Nancy Pelosi do not mess with her ever really), and other party elders gradually moved to push Biden out.
Again, the choice facing the Democratic Party was not as stark facing the GOP. The balance of self-interest and patriotism was not as bad as that facing the GOP, so there was not as much pressure to do the right thing. But in the end, the Democrats did the right thing for the country by removing their candidate who was not fit for the job. All those involved in making the happen should be commended.