Democrats’ Euphoria and Joy Has Turned Into Panic

Three months ago I took it on the chin because I staunchly supported President Joe Biden, felt he was being unjustly pressured out of the race, wanted him to stay in, and believed that he had as good as chance as anyone, if not better, of beating Donald Trump in November. And I was not alone. Millions of Democrats, and Never-Trump Republicans, agreed with me.

It was quite disheartening, and quite frankly annoying as fuck, to be on the receiving end of such unrelenting vitriol from fellow Democrats, who felt that they were much smarter than me and knew better than me, and that I should put aside my own instincts and desires and simply capitulate to their way of thinking because, well, they were so much smarter than me and knew better than me.

I and others feared a Biden withdrawal would throw the Democratic nomination process into chaos. Would create a self-destructive free-for-all where everyone from Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom to Pete Buttigieg and Josh Shapiro would be cannibalizing each other for the top spot on the ticket at the DNC convention in August.

But the chaos never came. And the transition from Biden to Harris was absolutely seamless and flawless. There was instant euphoria and joy. Lots and lots of joy. And it was highly intoxicating. I happily admitted I was wrong and jumped on the bandwagon. I was all in.

But now here we are, three weeks away from the most critical election in history. The euphoria and the joy has morphed into panic, as the polls, if you believe them, indicate a dead heat. Exactly where we were before Biden stepped down. A dead heat, even after Harris’s resounding debate win and a litany of Trump‘s insane incendiary rantings about dog and cat-eating Haitians and too many other outrageous statements to count or even remember.

Nothing has moved the needle. Not a single thing. No matter how corrupt and unhinged Trump has become. No matter how much more qualified Harris obviously is.

I’m not an I told you so guy. Let’s be clear: I desperately want Harris to win. But the points that I made back in July, when for three weeks Biden and his supporters were being hammered as foolish, selfish and myopic, have aged pretty darn well. I maintained then as I do now that no one has a crystal ball. No one at that time could predict anything that might happen on November 5. That all anyone had then were opinions. And sitting here watching Democrats panic on October 14th, that is now abundantly and painfully clear.

This race should not be as close as it is. Harris should be up by 25 points given the stark contrasts in the candidates’ character, competence and experience. The fact that it is this close means something is terribly wrong. Either the polls are wrong or Harris’s overall message is not resonating with voters the way it must these next three weeks if she is going to win.