Since 1832 the Democratic Party has held 50 national conventions.  We won the presidency 22 times and four times we won the “popular vote” but were denied the presidency, an outcome that has never befallen the Republican Party.  The goal of a convention is to nominate the party’s strongest candidate to win in November.  The media says there is just no way to select a new nominee at this point, but of course there is, at our convention.  Far more victorious candidates have been nominated this way than by primaries, a relatively new phenomenon.

Despite the incontrovertible fact that nearly 9 in 10 voters express the belief that Biden is too old (ABC News/Ipsos Poll) we are not going to adjust? Not 1 in 10 or even 5 in 10. Close to 90% of voters agree with this central fault, that we could address, if we wanted to.

Need more? According to the June 28 to July 2 New York Times/Siena College poll:

The Democratic Party apparatus is ossified and sclerotic.  In the face of this compelling evidence that Biden will not win they are preparing to jump off the cliff and take us along with them.

Worse, if there can be worse news, is that those of us who see defeating Trump as an urgent imperative have also been betrayed by the nominally progressive wing of the party.  Bernie Sanders, AOC and virtually all our elected officials who identify with progressive candidates and causes are cool with this mass overt policide, the looming death of a proudly progressive nation and its historic ideals.

What can be done?  Convention delegates are “pledged” to support the candidate on whose behalf they were selected.  After that they can vote their conscience.  If enough weigh this pledge against the grave and fatal outcome of upholding it and decide to act Biden could be denied renomination on the first ballot.  If he fails to win on the first ballot even Biden will finally see how far he has fallen.  There is no penalty for these unfaithful delegates except that maybe they will not be chosen to be delegates to future conventions.  No gallows, no firing squad, no lawsuits, no gulag.  If ever there were exigent circumstances these are them.  Party rules do not absolve us from the responsibility to think and act to see what is coming. Biden is your beloved granddad, generally lucid but subject to moments of confusion and lost thoughts. This is fine for your actual granddad, but not for a presidential candidate.

Democratic conventions gave us Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.  They are the one place the party meets and can, if it wishes, reason things out together.

This is precisely how the American political system and the Democratic Party have worked historically.  Don’t let the corporate news media and the Republican echo machine tell you otherwise.  Instead, the very same Democratic Party leaders who participated in the conspiracy to hide Biden’s true condition throughout the entire primary season will also decide whether the convention will be open to other outcomes.  They lack the flexibility and adaptability to recalculate their route.

Is Biden’s victory anywhere near as important Trump’s defeat?

Every 4th year when there is a presidential election we meet in a convention. We will do what we have always done — choose the nominee most likely to win in November.