“…A long-standing shibboleth among elite political observers is that, in the end, “the party decides”—meaning that amid the unruly tumult of democratic life, sober political professionals are the adults in the room, dictating the basic terms of engagement by allocating resources and selecting leaders on a clear calculus of rational self-interest…
“…Yet simple math shows that the leaders of our major parties have repeatedly and stupendously failed to meet their most basic professional obligation: to line up rosters of electoral talent that inspire activism, expand electoral maps, and build sustainable governing coalitions…
“…In 2020, they again put down the Sanders movement by engineering a host of candidate withdrawals in advance of Super Tuesday in order to put Joe Biden on a power-glide path to the nomination…
“…The combined effect of Democrats’ elite indolence and Republicans’ authoritarian deference has yielded a two-front political assault on popular sovereignty: a replay of the 2020 election cycle in which the overwhelming majority of voters desperately want other candidates put forth to lead the country…”
Chris Lehman, February, 2024