Talking points memo for why we should change the top of the ticket

• Blue-no-matter-who has to go both ways. It can't just be an excuse for why we have to support Biden. All the people saying you have to vote for the democrat no matter what you think of Biden's immigration or Israel policies should have to vote for any other democrat by the same logic.
• If the argument is to support Biden because you support the democratic administration officials and court appointments, then you'll still have that with any other democrat.
• There is nothing wrong with the people still defending Biden and opposing changing the candidate. They've been told for months how impossible it would be to do it, and you can't expect them to suddenly be ok with it overnight.
• Biden defenders are in the same position now that Biden critics have been in for the last 6 months: we staked out a position about what we thought would happen in the future, and took the risk that we would be wrong come summer. Biden defenders might be right that he could still win the debate, and they might be able to say "I told you so" after Biden steps aside if democrats lose in November. But they told Biden critics for months they have to vote for Biden anyways, and now that same logic applies to them. They can have their position, vote for the new nominee anyways, and then if they are wrong it will have been good for the country.
• Whoever becomes the new nominee will instantly rocket to 99% name recognition from the media frenzy around the brokered convention and then vetting the new presidential candidate.
• After that debate performance, it is unlikely that Biden can win the election period. Even if you persuade every democrat to still vote for him, Biden's whole campaign strategy was predicated on winning the centrists who don't have that sense of loyalty to democrats. He'll need to re-plan his campaign strategy anyways, so taking a chance on a new person is not any worse than where we are at now.
• A viable alternative to Trump-Biden is the thing the majority of Americans are saying they want more than anything.
• Biden doesn't need to resign today. We can wait the 10 days normal for polling data to see what the long term consequence of the debate is. Even if Biden's polling numbers only go down a few points, if he starts dragging down the senate races even more then the argument about the good of the country carries even more weight. People like me that anticipated this outcome of the debate months ago have waited months: we can wait 2 more weeks. Maybe the polling will show Biden's not really any worse or Trump will have a stroke, who knows.
• We're in this position now because the Biden campaign has argued any criticism of Biden only helps Trump win. They put off having this discussion until the dam broke on debate night and now they can't hold it back anymore.
• They relied on media complicity, access journalism etc. to manufacture consent instead of winning a public debate for re-election. They tried to prevent that public debate from happening. The blowback within the professional class of politics and media was MUCH worse than what we even saw in public.
• Biden did not have to compete in a real primary process to get the 2024 nomination. They threatened the careers of any politician that dared to challenge him in the primary so almost no one would. People make fun of Dean Phillips, but its not like we even know anything about Dean Phillips. Without looking, do you know what state he was from? In that same manufactured consent style, they told us what our opinion of any primary challenger should be before we even have any knowledge about them.

These one will be really controversial with people from my side that want to replace Biden, but I do think this is true.

• Biden has all the power in stepping aside. He will get to hand pick his successor and its something he has the right to do. It's a normal responsibility of a leader to raise up the talent of the next generation and identify who they think can best fill their shoes. .
• Biden anointing a successor instead of doing what EK is talking about with an open convention and people competing is the best way to ensure a smooth convention.
• Biden has most of the power here as the only person who decides whether or not he actually steps aside. Letting him maximize his control of this process is probably a necessary condition for getting him to do it.
• If people disagree, they can have that battle but there's not very many reasons we have to have it right now. Biden stepping aside is already enough of a show of deference to changing the direction of the party that people who want to change it further should just take the win and accept that Biden gets to choose the new democratic nominee.