The president is speaking more and more like a contender every day, but Democrats are struggling to highlight his accomplishments and even agree on their own timetable.
Joe Biden, the president, has not yet formally declared his intention to run for office again. However, he has begun his reelection campaign, and he faces formidable obstacles.
In a rare public appearance on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris and Senator Joe Biden spoke to the enthusiastic Democratic National Committee audience in Philadelphia. Biden listed his accomplishments and criticised Republicans for endangering Social Security and supporting tax cuts for the wealthy.
So let me ask you this straightforward query: “Are you with me?” “Four more years!” shouted DNC winter meeting participants, and Biden responded. Another four years!”
He refrained from requesting formal support for a 2024 campaign, but his schedule and attitude indicate that he is determined to hold onto his position for an additional four years after its initial expiration date. Biden and his Cabinet members are touring the country to promote his record after delivering the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the president will visit Florida and Wisconsin, two swing states, to promote his economic record. At the White House on Friday, Biden and Harris will greet governors.
The public disagrees with Biden’s appraisal of his record, the Republican Party is determined to obstruct him at every opportunity, and the Democratic Party is still at odds over how it will conduct its nomination process. These obstacles stand in the way of Biden’s yet-to-be-announced campaign.
Despite Biden’s boasts about his economic record, which includes the astonishing 517,000 new jobs generated in January and the 3.4% unemployment rate, which is the lowest since 1969, Americans don’t appear to share his confidence, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released on Monday.
Despite the fact that more new employment were produced during Biden’s first two years in office, six out of ten poll respondents claimed that Biden has not made progress in “generating more decent jobs in your neighbourhood,than any other two-year span during a president’s term, according to the White House. According to the survey, 34% of respondents think Biden has improved in that regard.
Furthermore, despite the passing of a sizable bipartisan infrastructure package and multiple Biden events boasting about it, 60% of respondents do not believe that Biden has improved the roads and bridges in their towns (32% say he has). Even though monthly rates for insulin are, as of last month, capped at $35 a month for Medicare enrollees, a majority of 47% believe Biden hasn’t made success in cutting prescription drug costs (30% believe he has). Seniors will also have a $2,000 yearly ceiling on all out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs, but this limit will not apply until 2025.
The national Democratic Party decided on a presidential nomination schedule the day after applauding Biden and Harris, but at least two states have said they will not follow it. The new primary calendar demotes New Hampshire, whose state law requires the Granite State to hold the first primary election, to second place, and ousts Iowa from its long-held position as host of the first caucuses.
In order to give Black voters a head start and a bigger say in the process, South Carolina, the state that saved Biden’s then-struggling primary campaign in 2020, will be the first.
Three days later, New Hampshire and Nevada would follow, with New Hampshire conducting a primary and Nevada hosting caucuses. Georgia is a freshly competitive state that Democrats believe is essential for victory.a week later, the “New South” would come after. Following up is Michigan, a crucial state for Democrats’ appeal to post-industrial America and a place where, in November, the party achieved a trifecta for the first time in forty years by taking control of the governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature.
The issue, aside from the annoyance of states accustomed to leading the pack, is that New Hampshire and Georgia are not on board, opening the door to potential party-wide fines. Iowa state law mandates that the Hawkeye State hold its caucuses prior to holding any other nominating contests, hence the Hawkeye State is also required to resolve the DNC’s vote.
Our nation as a whole and democracy are strengthened by our First in the Nation Primary. New Hampshire will go first regardless of the DNC vote,” Democratic senator from New Hampshire Maggie Hassan tweeted. “The primary plan from the DNC wants us to break our state law and puts Democrats’ future success in our state at jeopardy. It is profoundly foolish.”
Ray Buckley, the chairman of the Granite State’s Democratic Party, issued a warning, saying that if New Hampshire dropped out of first position, Republicans would gain control of the race and media attention, threatening Democrats in the crucial swing state.
In reference to the two Democratic senators from the state, Buckley quipped, “Try to get to 51 without Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.”
In a statement made public after the vote, Iowa Democratic Party Chairperson Rita Hart declared that her party would uphold state law, putting Iowa on a collision course with the national Democratic Party at a time when Democrats are attempting to present a united front against whoever the also divided Republicans nominate.
Iowa Democrats will continue to participate in the ongoing discussions about the schedule as a result of the current uncertainty, according to Hart.
Even Georgia’s earlier primary schedule presents a challenge for Democrats because the GOP-run state’s leaders do not want to advance the Peach State’s primary.
The new timetable, according to DNC Chairman Jamie Harrison, better reflects the variety of the Democratic Party.
Harrison said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday: “I think it reflects the best of the Democratic Party and the best of America.” We are allowing more people and voices to have an impact on the direction that our party and the country take.
As it still serves as the second nominating contest, he claimed that New Hampshire wasn’t really losing anything. Although New Hampshire law requires it to host the first primary, it is technically true that Iowa’s prior status as the first-in-the-nation caucuses did not count.
States have until June to resolve their disputes, according to the party. Yet, the yet-to-be-announced Biden-Harris campaign has already gotten underway.
