Biden is a Shoo-in for 2024
I am a supporter of Marianne Williamson’s campaign for president. You don’t have to be a supporter or even like the candidate to question the tactics being used by her own party, to block her campaign. These actions are not in the spirit of democracy. It is a clear rigging of their own system. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is not supporting Joseph R. Biden for president, they are protecting him. There will be no debates with challengers and all contenders will be silenced to the best of the party’s ability. This makes the incumbent look weak. If the party truly believed in the strength of their presidential pick, would they deliberately block the campaigns of challenging candidates? The unspoken motto of do anything you can to maintain power is not limited to the Republican Party. This is not okay. Claiming to be protectors of democracy only when it is feasible is not a flattering look.
Joseph R. Biden has already been picked as the nominee even though there are two other candidates in the party challenging him. The decision has been made. There will be no primary debates. South Carolina will be the first primary state to assist the Biden campaign. The Washington insiders of the DNC have decided for all the voters whom to choose in the upcoming election. This makes the task of voting easier. You don’t have to think. You don’t have to weigh different perspectives and policy approaches. Just do what the party tells you and all will be well. You can go back to sleep.
Blocking the Williamson Campaign
There are two incidences that I can point to where the DNC is blocking the Williamson Campaign. One instance was reported in a Newsweek article titled, “Democrats block high schoolers from meeting with Marianne Williamson.” The DNC confirmed that they told the High School Democrats of America that they "could not engage with any candidates other than President Biden." The explanation given by the DNC is that the High School Democrats of America are an extension of the DNC so if the DNC is backing Biden, so must the youth group and therefore it cannot be involved in any other democratic campaigns. The Williamson Campaign wanted to speak with the members to see what issues are important to them and was not making requests for support or asking them to join their campaign.
The High School Democrats of America are learning how to carry the party line and to not think for themselves. The Williamson campaign did have success meeting with the chapters of students in South Carolina, however. Why is that chapter not following the dictates from the DNC?
The second instance was revealed today (07/27/2023) on “Secular Talk,” by producer and host Kyle Kulinski. The Democratic Party of South Carolina has not released to the Williamson Campaign the voter data files that the campaign signed a contract and paid $2500.00 to receive. The campaign has yet to receive the records they paid for. Kulinski refers to the campaign as being ghosted by the Democratic Party of South Carolina. The organization has not returned calls or emails concerning the status of the records and neither has the money been returned.
These data files are information that is available to all candidates and can be used in campaign strategizing and planning. All states do not handle the requests in the same way. In New Hampshire a similar request was made by the Williamson Campaign and the Democratic Party there is stone walling and giving them the runaround. They are being told that it will take much longer than usual to fulfill their request. According to a democratic state official from a different state, the process of releasing the voter information takes a few days not weeks or months. The New Hampshire Democratic Party says that they are waiting for a waiver to be signed, but according to Kulinski’s reporting, there is no waiver. The campaign has been trying for months in both cases to get the information that should be available to any democratic candidate.
I don’t know how else to respond to this than to say it is a very sad situation. If the DNC believes so strongly in the incumbent, then why are they engaging in these anti-democratic tactics? If Joseph R. Biden is a shoo-in, then let him engage with his challengers. The fear of the incumbent’s vulnerability is obvious. Instead of letting the voters hear from the other candidates, the DNC has made the decision of who they will hear from and what they will hear via the sanctioned media channels. Just pretend that challengers don’t exist so that they pose no threat. This is an authoritarian move, and it is the kind of tactics that sours so many on the democrats and weakens democracy. They claim to be the guardians of democracy, but it appears that is true only when it is feasible and not inconvenient.
I know that many people see the Democratic Party as the stop gap between democracy and fascism and that voting with the party is the lesser of two evils. Both parties are beholden to their donors and many corporate donors give money to both parties, playing both sides against the middle. To continue playing in the game of politics you need money. You need to please your donors and that becomes the parties’ primary goal. This is the system that cannot be disrupted. This is the status quo that must be protected.
What Can You Do
I am not anxious to see another Trump, Biden rematch. Let people choose. Isn’t that the purpose of voting in a democratic republic? If you are concerned about these chinks in the armor of democracy and want to apply some pressure to the Democratic Party of South Carolina, you can call them and ask what is the status of the voter records requested by the Williamson Campaign, 803.799.7798 or you can email them via their contact page and pose the question.