President Joe Biden Jr., who already had some voters — especially those under 35 — concerned about his age as he seeks another term in office, has given New Hampshire voters another reason to choose someone else. He declined to file for re-election in the Granite State because it is following state law, rather than kowtowing to the Democratic National Committee, which demanded that the state abandon its first-in-the-nation primary and allow South Carolina to go first. That has left New Hampshire Democrats and undeclared voters who do not want to see fascist Donald Trump return to the Oval Office with a hard choice: write in the president’s name on their ballots, choose from the candidates who do appear on the Democratic ballot, register as Republicans and vote for someone other than Trump, or vote for a third-party candidate with little chance of winning.
Steve Schmidt, who worked on the political campaigns of President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Arizona Senator John McCain before renouncing the Republican Party when it became “fully the party of Trump” and forming the Lincoln Project to focus on defeating him, had this to say on his Substack newsletter: “I believe in the New Hampshire primary, and I know that no matter what happens this campaign will increase the chances that America can be saved from Trump. Should he win, the result will at best be catastrophic, and at worst, apocalyptic. It will destroy any chance that the 21st century will be an American one.”
Schmidt, who now is a registered Democrat, has thrown his support behind moderate Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota, a Biden supporter who believes it is time for a new generation to take over. Schmidt writes, “Going to New Hampshire to stand against the most powerful man in the world in a democratic election is a beautiful thing. The concept is sublime and the tradition of the New Hampshire primary is among the most sublime in all of our American history and traditions.”
In announcing at a news conference on October 27 that he would run in the New Hampshire primary, Phillips, 54 and the wealthiest member of the United States House, repeatedly referred to the “exhausted majority” who know “something is terribly, terribly wrong” with the country.
“[W]e face a crisis of cooperation, and we face a crisis of common sense; a crisis of community we face, and of individual initiatives. We face a problem of participation and we face a problem of national priorities. For today’s America spends more paying our debts of the past than we are investing in our children’s future. A majority of our neighbors live paycheck to paycheck. Most can’t afford a $400 car repair and about two-thirds are in the circumstance of living paycheck to paycheck, unable to get ahead and save for their dreams. Life for too many Americans is simply unaffordable. … We find more for fighting than we do for feeding; corporations and the well-off — including me — enjoy more favorable tax treatment than hard-working American families. Too many of our children are hungry, and too many of our veterans are homeless. Anger and violence are rising and our life expectancy is falling. Gun violence ravaging our communities, including right next door in Maine. Eighteen American lives claimed by yet another massacre. That is why I’m running for president of the United States of America, because we cannot tolerate it any longer.”
He pledged, “We will replace darkness with light, we will replace fear with optimism, and poverty with prosperity among you, the great people of the state of New Hampshire, who have been the very first to vet presidential candidates just like me for over 100 years, and whose motto, ‘Live Free or Die’, speaks for every single American. I invite you to join me in declaring a new American independence, not from another nation or people, rather a new independence from fear and from the status quo. That road to a New American Century starts right here, and it starts right now.”
He continued, “I am running for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States because, my friends, it is time for a change and I am ready to lead our great nation to a secure and a more prosperous future. I do so, not in opposition to President Biden, who has my affection and my gratitude; rather with two core convictions: that I am the Democratic candidate who can win, who can win the 2024 election; and second, it is time for the torch to be passed to a new generation of American leaders right here, all around the country, and all around the world.”
The national media have largely discounted Phillips, focusing on how unlikely his chances of a win are and saying he has destroyed his political career by running against Biden. Very few made reference to what he said his speech, and Google has made it largely impossible to find his announcement in either video or text format. (Read the entire speech here.)
Remember Jimmy Carter? No one knew who he was, or expected him to win, before New Hampshire voters gave him recognition.
Phillips was an intern for Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) in 1989 and he later described it as “the greatest summer of my life” and saying the experience inspired him to run for Congress. He defeated four-term incumbent Erik Paulsen in Minnesota’s third congressional district in 2018. The district had been under Republican control since 1961.
Fellow Jewish members of Congress criticized him in 2019 for not immediately responding to a tweet by Representative Ilhan Omar in which she implied that lawmakers’ support for Israel was driven by campaign donations from pro-Israel groups. While the tweet was widely considered to be antisemitic, Phillips said he wanted to speak to his fellow Minnesotan before issuing a statement. “You know, a little more talking, a little less tweeting,” he said. “It’s the tweeting that gets us into trouble.”
He has voted with Biden’s policy positions 100 percent of the time but he clashed with fellow Democrats by voting in favor of a $4.6 billion emergency aid package to address the situation at the southern border. Ninety-five Democrats voted against the bill, saying it failed to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis and risked re-enforcing the Trump Administration’s border policies.
Georgetown University’s Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy ranked him the 13th most bipartisan member of the House during the 117th Congress.
In early October, he stepped down from his leadership position as the co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, citing conflicts over his potential presidential run. In interviews after his announcement, he said, “Look at the numbers. All we have to go on is polling. It’s imperfect, but the numbers are horrifying. I love Joe Biden; I want to make that clear. A remarkable man, I think he saved our country. He was the right man in the last election; thank goodness he won. But that’s not what the numbers are saying. Now, there is an exhausted majority in America that wants neither of these candidates. … We’re in crisis and we need a change.”
Phillips may not be the right candidate — his immense wealth as the heir to one of America’s largest liquor dynasties is one concern, even though he acknowledged that “corporations and the well-off — including me — enjoy more favorable tax treatment than hard-working American families”.
Even a win in New Hampshire would not ensure victory in the general election: Because New Hampshire’s primary date does not comply with the Democratic National Committee’s wishes, he (or any other candidate on the ballot) would not accrue delegates.
Still, New Hampshire’s primary is about meeting the candidates and making our own decisions.
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