Ego Ergo Go F*** Yourself

Winning Isn't Everything, It's the Only Thing

Go ahead, shoot me. I’m a DC insider. I may not exactly be an “elite” but I live and work in DC and I have been to a few Georgetown cocktail parties in my time. They’re nothing to write home about.

In that dubious capacity, I have weighed in that it is in the interest of the Democratic Party for President Biden to step down as the nominee. I have expressed my own personal view that he should pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.

I also have repeatedly noted that I do not believe that will happen. It is my view Biden will weather the current storm and be the candidate. I will actively support him with every fiber of my being as I have done since it was clear he would be the Democratic nominee in 2020. It is essential the whole party unifies behind our candidate because it is critical that Donald Trump be defeated in November.

That said, there are aspects to the current debate about Biden which need to be addressed—because this issue is not going away. I would like to address some of them because they are important. If you have previously read some of them here or heard me say them elsewhere in the media, I apologize. What I repeat, I will repeat only for emphasis. Moreover, there are a number of points I have not made before.

• First, the primary concern of Biden, the administration, the campaign, every Democrat and every rational human being in America ought to be about defeating Trump. This is not about loyalty to Biden. I raise this because the president and the advocates for his continued candidacy have framed the current food fight as though being willing to consider whether Biden should not run is somehow a betrayal of good old, decent and accomplished Joe Biden, the man. That’s not the case. Furthermore, making matters worse, Biden’s defenses of himself sound very ego driven. His statement that he’d be happy with the outcome either way as long as he felt he had given his best effort is an example of this. His argument that he is the only one who can beat Trump smacks of the same thing.  Many of the arguments on social media are about loyalty to Biden—but every single argument I have seen from Dems that the president drop out praise his performance during his first term and his character to the skies. As they should. But they note, as they also should, that the issue is not the past but how to win in November.  Many Dem donors and activists I know are furious that so much of the current discussion is about one man’s personality and is seemingly driven by one man’s ego. Several have recently characterized his current position as selfish. That is strong language. Especially from card-carrying Biden-lovers. But I have heard it many times from folks on Capitol Hill, in the administration and in allied governments. To repeat, this race is not, should not be, must not be about one man. It is about the future of our country and doing what is best for it.

• The role played by the president’s family in all this has deeply angered many in and around the White House and the Democratic Party. And for everyone who says, “But what about the Trumps?” my point is: exactly.

• Attacking Democrats with differing points of view is a terrible idea and, for the president and his close aides, a very bad look. You don’t like the “elites” that supported you and made your candidacy possible? You don’t like the “politicians” who were key to your legislative victories? Saying so does not help anyone.

• This whole debate has developed a toxic and unconstructive tone. Please, think of the big picture and our shared goals. Listen to each other. Respect each other. Reaffirm your commitment to support the party. Stay focused on how essential it is to beat Trump. Try not to be an asshole to your friends and allies. You don’t win arguments by telling people to go fuck themselves.

• The argument that “the people have spoken” in the primaries is ridiculous. No serious candidate challenged Biden in the primaries. The primaries were pro forma and more or less meaningless.