From the audience: Kamala Harris needs to lead next generation of Democrats

Another longtime Seattle’s Morning News listener takes on Joe Biden’s dilemma. Scott Scowcroft says he’s got a plan that would instantly put the Democrats on a path to victory without blowing up the convention.

There’s nothing like a simple solution to a complex problem, and here’s something quick and easy that Joe Biden can do to turn things around.

Biden merely needs to hand over the reins of power to his second in command, Vice President Kamala Harris. He shouldn’t wait for the results of the next election, but, rather, do it now. This summer. This would make good on his campaign promise when he said in March 2020, “I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else.”

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It would give Kamala Harris the gravitas of the presidency and the competitive advantage of incumbency. Her campaign would be further supercharged when, in August, an enthusiastic and unified Democratic Convention ratifies her nomination and her vice presidential pick to balance that ticket.

Now you might ask, Why haven’t I called for Biden to simply resign? Here’s the reason: Biden can’t actually resign. With Mike Johnson as the Speaker of the House and next in line, well, let’s just say that would be way too risky.

President Biden can, however, invoke the 25th Amendment, thereby allowing him to remain on standby if needed. And I’d like to remind you that the Supreme Court has already ruled that must be legal regardless of motivation because, after all, it’s an official act.

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So Biden self-invokes the 25th Amendment and steps aside, at least temporarily. The next domino to fall is Chuck Schumer. He needs to resign as majority leader in the Senate, just as Nancy Pelosi did in the House. There’s something oddly satisfying about the symmetry of these highly respected members of the older guard handing over the reins of power to the next generation in this way.

They say timing is everything. And as Ruth Bader Ginsburg so painfully taught us, to wait too long has its own set of consequences. Now is the time for Joe Biden and the Democratic party to take bold action and make 2024 truly a transformative year and this year’s election truly about the future.

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Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.