Ezra Klein's Finest Hour

The most important podcast the New York Times editorial writer has ever aired

As you know, I believe the presidential nominating system is the fatal flaw in the U.S. political system that gave rise to an authoritarian demagogue in the White House in January of 2017. Therefore, without question, it’s high time to reform it to make our democracy safe.

In his latest podcast, “Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden,” Ezra Klein does not make this argument, per se, but he does insist that in this year of peril to the American republic Democrats should embrace an alternative pathway towards presidential nomination that is far superior to the current state-by-state primary apparatus that holds us captive.

It is an open convention. That is, in light of the weakness of Biden’s candidacy, he should step aside, allowing the some 4600 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in mid-August to walk onto the convention floor unpledged and unbound to any candidate.

What will this scenario look like? Pure and simple, it will be representative democracy in action. By whatever means party members determine in each state, Democrats will choose that state’s fair share of delegates. Then, at the convention, the roughly 4600 representatives will argue, debate, and vote in rounds until one of the many candidates whose name is in the hat secures the majority of votes necessary for formal nomination.

Among those who might be in contention are Gretchen Whitmer, Wes Moore, Jared Polis, Gavin Newsom, Raphael Warnock, Josh Shapiro, Cory Booker, Ro Khanna, Pete Buttigieg, Gina Raimondo, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chris Murphy, Andy Beshear, and J.B. Pritzker.

One governing principle of the convention will be to “organize victory.”

That is what Democrats want, right?

As Klein asserts:

It is February. Fatalism this far before the election is ridiculous. Yeah, it’s too late to throw this to primaries. But it’s not too late to do something. So then what? Step one, unfortunately, is convincing Biden that he should not run again. That he does not want to risk being Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a heroic, brilliant public servant who caused the outcome she feared most because she didn’t retire early enough . . . Let’s say that happens: Biden steps aside. Then what? Well, then Democrats do something that used to be common in politics but hasn’t been in decades. They pick their nominee at the convention. This is how parties chose their nominees for most of American history. From roughly 1831 to 1968, this is how it worked. In a way, this is still how it works.

This is indeed how conventions chose presidential candidates before 1972, and it’s how the Democratic Party should conduct its historic proceedings this year in Chicago.

I earnestly recommend Klein’s 25-minute podcast to you.

It’s the most important one he has ever produced.

Listen to it, or read the transcript.

Digest it and then make up your mind about what Joe and Jill should do.

Share Klein’s podcast:

If you and I and Klein and other concerned Democrats believe in our heart of hearts that a Biden withdrawal from the race is in the best interests of the party and the nation, we need to own it. We need to say it. We need to make our voices heard.

We need to be bold and courageous, like Klein, a lifelong Democrat who speaks truth to the power of party in order to safeguard our democracy from another four years of Trump.

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Email me at eli.merritt@vanderbilt.edu