When pursuing their own partisan interests, even gaslighting congressmen sometimes stumble upon the truth.
Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota told host Chuck Todd that the majority of Americans oppose a second term for President Joe Biden.
“I believe what’s in the best interests of the country — and by the way, this is not how everybody thinks — but I do believe a majority wants to move on,” Phillips said.
Phillips, of course, could not remain in good standing with the political establishment unless he bashed former President Donald Trump. Nor could he remain a loyal Democrat without peddling lies about Biden’s character and record.
“I’m representing what I believe to be the majority of the country that wants to turn the page, tired of the meanness and the fear-mongering of Donald Trump, would like to see Joe Biden, a wonderful and remarkable man, pass the torch, cement this extraordinary legacy,” Phillips said.
“As a Democrat, I adore Joe Biden. He saved the country,” the congressman later added.
When a speaker refers to Biden as “a wonderful and remarkable man” who “saved the country,” listeners no longer have reason to take seriously anything the speaker says. If a man will say that, then he will say anything without regard to truth.
On the other hand, when the same speaker begins to dwell on how this “wonderful and remarkable man” might doom his party’s political prospects, the truth comes nearer.
“Joe Biden right now is down seven points in the four swing states that will decide the next election,” Phillips noted. “He has historically low approval numbers,” the congressman added.
In light of all this, Phillips called for a vigorous Democratic primary.
“I would like to see a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need,” he said.
The congressman did not identify the four states or his preferred candidates. When pressed by Todd, however, Phillips acknowledged that his ideal primary challenger hails from one of the rust-belt states.
In fact, at Todd’s prompting, Phillips named five Democratic governors from the Midwest, any of whom could replace Biden. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Tony Evers of Wisconsin and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois all received Phillips’ endorsement and more.
“I’m actually inviting, encouraging, to some degree imploring that people who are ready and know it’s probably time to do so, take the chance,” Phillips said.
Above all, the congressman seemed to understand the electorate’s anti-establishment mood.
“And by the way, now, I have trouble with Donald Trump,” Phillips said. “I do not have trouble with Trumpers who are trying to find somebody to change the system,” he added.
Readers can view the entire interview here:
In sum, Phillips satisfied his obligations as a loyal Democrat while warning the party against re-nominating Biden. Significantly, he looked not to the coastal elites but to the heartland for a Biden alternative.
Of course, as we have seen, Whitmer and other Democratic governors have the same authoritarian inclinations as the D.C. establishment. One suspects that the “Trumpers” to whom Phillips subtly appealed have long-since recognized that fact as well.
Thus, Democrats might jettison Biden, but they will not replace him with someone better.
With apologies to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the only Democratic presidential candidate currently trying to save the party from itself, the things one must believe in order to remain a Democrat in 2023 make it impossible that the party could ever find a sensible and freedom-loving alternative to Biden.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
