Why Are So Many Democrats Whining about Joe Biden?

Stop whining: you got what you voted for

I’m so sick and tired of Democrats whining about getting exactly what they voted for.

According to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, 64 percent of Democrats say they want a new Democratic nominee for president in 2024.

While 33% of Democrats identify Biden’s age as the most important reason they would prefer someone else, 32% identify his performance as the reason.

Biden was old when he was elected, so stop whining

It’s not like Biden all of sudden became old. He was old when Democrats elected him in 2020. Democrats are now complaining about how old Biden is and declaring they want a younger president. Except for Bernie Sanders (who is 14 months older than Biden), every Democratic nominee for President in 2020 was younger than Joe Biden.

In the New York Times article presenting the poll results, a 38-year-old preschool teacher is quoted as saying,

I’m just going to come out and say it: I want younger blood… I am so tired of all old people running our country. I don’t want someone knocking on death’s door.

Biden’s age, however, did not prevent her from voting for Biden in 2020. Why are she and others who voted for Biden now complaining about Biden’s age?

In the survey, 94 percent of Democrats under the age of 30 said they would prefer a different presidential nominee. Where were all of these young voters during the 2020 presidential campaign?

Had Pete Buttigieg received the Democratic nomination and been elected as President, he would be the youngest US President ever. Democrats had an opportunity to elect a young president but they opted for the safe conservative route by nominating and electing Joe Biden. There’s no need to complain now about how old he is.

You don’t get something different by doing the same old thing

Regarding his performance. Democrats got exactly what they voted for. Democrats constantly complain about wanting “something different,” but are often too afraid to vote for something different.

Early in the 2020 presidential campaign, Buttigieg declared,

I belong to a generation that is stepping forward right now.… We’re the generation that lived through school shootings, that served in the wars after 9/11. And we’re the generation that stands to be the first to make less than our parents — unless we do something different.

Democratic voters did not do something different. They did the same old thing by voting for the same old type of candidate.

The sad thing is that Biden knew Democratic voters were not brave enough to do something different.

During most of his campaigning to become the 2020 Democratic nominee, Biden focused on distinguishing himself from the two older nominees, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Focusing on the base of the Democratic Party, Biden clearly understood that neither Buttigieg nor any of the other potential nominees posed as big of a threat as the older Sanders and Warren.

Convinced that age would not be a determining factor, Biden focused on depicting himself as LESS radical than Sanders and Warren. He knew that despite what some voters were saying, most American voters (including Democrats) don’t want significant change.

Go big or stop complaining

Criticizing the “Bernie Revolution,” Joe Biden — a lifelong politician — told the “TODAY” show’s Craig Melvin that Americans aren’t looking for a “revolution.”

“They’re looking for progress. They’re looking for, ‘Tell me how you’re going to help me with my health care. Tell me you’ll make me safer,’” Biden stated.

What is it, however, that Biden and those who voted for him consider “progress”?

Biden attempted to make his case by minimizing the number of people attracted to Senator Bernie Sanders’ “revolution.” When Melvin noted that some Sanders supporters “seem keen on a revolution,” Biden responded:

“Well, some do, but look at the numbers. We always talk about this great increase in participation. He’s nowhere near — he’s not going to come anywhere near generating the kind of participation of young folks that Barack (Obama) did in 2008. There’s no evidence of that yet.”

Unfortunately, Biden was correct. Biden knew that young voters, who are now complaining, were not going to show up and vote for “significant” change (or what I would call “progress).

Historically, revolutions have not appealed to the majority, the dominant, or those who respond to polls. Revolutions are rarely popular. Revolutions rarely receive favorable advance polling numbers.

Before I go any further, I’m sure there are some Democrats who may be disconnecting from me because they are feeling a bit defensive as they read. They are thinking about the 2008 and 2012 Presidential elections, and they want to give themselves a congratulatory pat on the back and praise themselves and the Democratic Party for electing Barack Obama.

Please!! Liberals need to stop thinking they’re progressive, anti-racist, and in favor of “radical” change because they voted for Obama!!

While I voted for Obama both times, Barack Obama did not lead a revolution. Obama was actually a rather disappointingly conventional president. Many so-called “liberals” and “progressives” (as well as African Americans in general) were disappointed with Obama’s policies and his tenure.

Democrats have rarely chosen to be bold! While I believe it’s time to go big or shut the f**k up, I’m afraid Democrats will fail to vote for significant change in 2024. Among the reasons Democrats gave for wanting a different candidate in 2024, only 10% stated that Biden was “not progressive enough.”

Despite all of their whining about Biden, it doesn’t look like Democrats are looking for a candidate in 2024 that will be no more progressive than Biden.

The American political system is long overdue for a revolution

A political revolution will require a radical revolution of values. In his 1967 speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” Martin Luther King, Jr. demanded a revolution.

He criticized American leadership and called for a “radical revolution of values.” He argued such a revolution was the only way of defeating racism, extreme materialism, and militarism. In that speech, King asserted, “We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for victims of our nation…”

King’s revolution called for a “reordering of priorities” — a reordering that made (and continues to make) many Americans uncomfortable.

America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing except a tragic death wish to prevent us from reordering our priorities….”

Like today, King’s call for a revolution was rejected by many political moderates (and so-called liberals). Fifty-five years after King’s call for a revolution, it seems that Biden is correct in his assessment that Americans are not looking for a revolution.

If Biden is correct, Democrats need to stop whining and complaining about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, rampant racial inequities, out-of-control gun violence in America, and the lack of common-sense gun control legislation.

If Democrats are not willing to go big and vote for something radically different than the status quo, they need to shut up and stop complaining.

The 2022 mid-term elections are only months away, and the 2024 presidential election is right around the corner. Democrats will once again have an opportunity to do something more than whining and complaining about the way things are.

Here’s to hoping Democrats show up and prove Biden wrong, and demonstrate that they are indeed ready for a revolution!!

While my writing is always free to readers who click my social media links, there are HUNDREDS of amazing authors and THOUSANDS of excellent stories available exclusively to Medium members. If you appreciated this article and would like access to more, become a Medium member by clicking my referral link below. Your nominal membership fee will help support independent writers.

Learn more about Guy Nave here

See all my Medium articles here

Follow me on Twitter: @guynave2