CT Democrats, some loyal, some pragmatic, split over whether Biden should drop out

Like their anxious colleagues nationwide, Connecticut Democrats are wrestling with the biggest political question of the year: should Joe Biden drop out of the presidential election race?Party insiders have a variety of views, ranging from staying the course to pressuring Biden to bail out of the long-running campaign. Others say panicked political operatives should just calm down, take a deep breath, and see what happens in the coming days and weeks and not make any rash decisions in an emotional state during a crisis.State Rep. Christine Palm, a liberal Democrat from Chester, says flatly that Biden should get out. Biden is clearly slowing down at age 81, she said, showing symptoms of aging that many families see with their own elderly parents and grandparents.“After 80, every year is like five years,” Palm told The Courant in an interview. “It’s time to be the patriot he always was and step aside.”Palm joined about 900 fellow Democrats at the annual John Bailey Dinner, which was known for decades as the JJB Dinner, the year’s biggest party fundraiser. Party leaders voted in 2015 to remove the names of two slave-owning American presidents and change the event that had honored Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson for the previous 67 years.Biden’s problems were the talk of the dinner Saturday night as Democrats wondered what will happen with only four months before election day against former President Donald J. Trump in what many consider the most important election of their lifetime.The hardcore Democrats largely agreed that Biden has done a good job over the past 3 1/2 years, although that view is not shared by Republicans and some independents.“He’s been a much better president than I thought,” said Palm, who supported U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts for president against Biden in 2020. “But we are at an inflection point. We have to think about our young people and not our loyalty to the party.”Palm blames Biden’s aides and press operatives for his failure to adequately reply to about 30 false statements that Trump made in 90 minutes. Biden, she said, should have more forcefully described Trump as a liar.“That’s marketing and communications 101,” said Palm, who is not seeking reelection after three terms in the state legislature.Jessica Hill / Special to the CourantState Rep. Christine Palm, a Chester Democrat, says President Joe Biden should drop out of the race. Here, she speaks with House majority leader Jason Rojas of East Hartford on the House floor in 2022.Nationally, Palm’s view is shared by the New York Times editorial board, some television pundits and newspaper columnists and Democrats disagree on next steps. Biden and his campaign operatives have strongly vowed to push forward, get back up from a setback, and not give up.Former state House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, who is now a lobbyist after leaving elected office, agrees with Palm. As a regular panelist on Capitol Report on WTNH-TV, Channel 8, he says Biden has a detailed list of accomplishments that includes expanding NATO and helping create millions of jobs to lower the unemployment rate.“The Democrats do have to make a change,” Aresimowicz said on the program. “Joe Biden being the statesman that he is, and I love him to death and I respect everything he’s done, he has to now look in the mirror, and say, ‘Am I the right person to prevent this country from suffering under Donald Trump for the next four years?’ I think the short answer is, he isn’t.”Other Democrats privately raised concerns with their colleagues about Biden’s debate performance, but did not want to publicly criticize the president. At the same time, they said they would support Biden if he is still on the ballot in November.But many longtime party stalwarts, in Connecticut and nationwide, have avoided calls for the ouster of Biden, a giant in Democratic politics who has raised millions of dollars since the debate.Longtime U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, a 75-year-old Democrat who was first elected to Congress in 1998, is urging calm. Voters need to remember, he said, that Democrat Walter Mondale “clobbered” then-President Ronald Reagan in their first debate in October 1984, but then, only one month later, Reagan won 49 of the 50 states in a landslide.“You do have to let things settle in and see where we stand,” Larson said in an interview. “Biden understood the issues and didn’t convey them, and Trump spoke mistruths, half-truths and outright lies, but said it with conviction. So, do you want someone who says something with conviction who is a liar or someone that tells the truth and didn’t convey it as well as he should? I think there’s going to be time to convey that message between now and November.”Photo by Christopher P. KeatingU.S. Rep. John B. Larson says Democrats should not make a rush to judgement following President Biden’s debate performance. Larson is shown during an interview with The Courant in October 2016 at a West Hartford diner. (Photo by Christopher P. Keating)Despite nationwide concerns among politicians and voters, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz says nothing has fundamentally changed.“The choice is the same: do we choose the person who supports reproductive rights and freedoms — Joe Biden — or do we choose the person who has done everything in his power to take those rights away?” Bysiewicz asked. “The choice remains very clear. The other issue where the choice is just as stark, and the choice is absolutely still the same, is on the question of democracy. If you want to choose the person who will respect election results and will support our democracy very clearly, it’s Joe Biden. And the person who supports autocracy is the former president.”Concerning voters who do not favor either candidate, Bysiewicz said, “As a female leader, female economic security and reproductive rights and health care access speak to me. I would hope the rule of law and respecting an election would speak to those undecided folks.”U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who has been involved in politics for decades, is also taking the long view.“What’s most important about this election is not one debate night,” Blumenthal said. “It’s about four years ahead. It’s about three and a half years of rock-solid accomplishments. Most important, it’s a contrast with Donald Trump. Donald Trump is working for himself. The reason Biden decided to run again is because he was so horrified by another Trump presidency. … The good news is there is four months left. I think this debate will be a pretty distant memory.”Mark Mirko / Hartford CourantDeputy House Speaker Pro Tempore Bob Godfrey says it is getting late to think about replacing President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket. Here, he speaks to William Tong on the House floor in 2018 before Tong was elected as state attorney general.Deputy House Speaker Pro Tempore Bob Godfrey, one of the longest-serving legislators, had a simple explanation about the debate.“I didn’t watch it. I know who I’m going to vote for,” Godfrey said in an interview at the Bailey dinner.But Godfrey said the conundrum is that those seeking Biden’s ouster are not a unanimous group.“I bet none of them agree on the replacement,” Godfrey said. “And none of them have $300 million” to run a national campaign.“In the Democratic Party, which is not an organized party, they wouldn’t all be for the same other person,” Godfrey said, adding that the current timing is difficult in July. “It’s past late. It’s done.”Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com 

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