DV Journal

Not since LBJ in 1968, who faced public anger over his handling of the Vietnam War, has a sitting president decided not to seek a second term.

But Sunday, with pressure growing from dozens of congressional Democrats in the wake of his disastrous June debate against former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden announced he’s dropping out of the race.

“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” the 81-year-old Biden wrote in a letter posted on X.

Congresswomen Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester) praised Biden’s decision to withdraw. He “prioritized everyday Americans, guided the United States into pandemic recovery and enacted some of the most consequential legislation in a generation,” Dean wrote.

“The country, and in fact, the world, is a better place because of him,” Houlahan said.

After announcing his withdrawal, Biden endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris.

Harris, 59, thanked Biden for his “extraordinary leadership” and “decades of service to our country.”

“With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else,” Harris said in a statement.

Harris promptly announced she would be seeking her party’s nomination, and she’s already been endorsed by one of the most frequently-mentioned potential Biden replacements: Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“The contrast in this race could not be clearer and the road to victory in November runs right through Pennsylvania – where this collective work began. I will do everything I can to help elect @KamalaHarris as the 47th President of the United States,” Shapiro posted on X.

Shapiro is widely reported to be on the short list as a potential Harris running mate.

Chester County Democratic Committee chair Charlotte Valyo is also on board.

“Now we will unite behind Vice President Kamala Harris, the candidate President Biden has endorsed and elect the first woman president. This is our focus and the goal for which we will work for the next 106 days and nights,” Valyo said.

Biden’s decision caught many Pennsylvania Democrats by surprise. Just hours before he withdrew from the race, Pennsylvania state Democratic Party chair Sharif Street signed a letter declaring his support for Biden’s reelection. And Sen. John Fetterman continued to promote another four years of a Biden presidency.

However, some Delaware Valley political observers claimed they saw Biden’s departure as inevitable.

“It was absolutely the right thing to do. I wish he had done it three weeks ago,” said Neil Oxman, Democratic strategist with The Campaign Group.

“The Biden announcement comes as no surprise. His own party abandoned him. Now they are saddled with the prospect of putting ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris at the top of their ticket,” was the take from GOP strategist Charlie Gerow.

Jeff Jubelirer, vice president with the Bellevue Communications Group, said that while Biden’s decision was “no surprise,” he hasn’t left his party much time to mount a national campaign for a new nominee.

Biden “finally saw the writing on the wall about no path to victory, especially without full support of Democratic legislators, donors and most importantly, voters in swing states.”

Can Kamala Harris carry Pennsylvania?

As of Sunday afternoon, one Delaware Valley congressional Democrat, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlan, had already endorsed her.

Veteran Democrat public relations pro Larry Ceisler says not only can she win, “I doubt Trump will even debate her.’

“Of course, she can win Pennsylvania,” Ceisler said. Democrats have won the state a majority of the time [in the recent presidential elections]. You’ve got to believe that a state that’s elected Democrats is in a very good position.”

In 2016, Trump became the first Republican to win Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Trump lost to Biden in 2020.

While local Democrats are hopeful about Harris’ candidacy, Republicans note that Trump has consistently led in the Keystone State for months and they don’t see that changing.

While Republicans are “totally united behind our candidates,” said Bucks County GOP Chair Pat Poprik, “the Democrats are in such disarray that they are going to be battling among themselves as they decide who their presidential candidate should be.

“Even though President Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris, I don’t know that their party will accept her, knowing all the mistakes that she has made, how she’s been so unsuccessful as the ‘Border Czar’ and how she’s terrible at public speaking.”

“On the other hand, the Republican party, after its hugely successful convention, is totally united behind our strong candidates, President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance. I am looking forward to the great victories we will have in November with this great slate, including Dave McCormick for Senate and, in Bucks County, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick,” she said.

Local Republican operative Guy Ciarrocchi agrees.

“Kamala Harris owns the Biden record—plus, she failed at her only assigned duty: securing our border. The politics of 2024 haven’t changed one bit.”

Fetterman responded to the news of Biden’s announcement with an expression of frustration–and irony.

“People pushed out an honorable man, loving father, and a great president before an absolute sleazeball like Menendez. Congratulations.”

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was convicted on corruption charges last week.

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Pennsylvania Democrats are featured in a new ad pushing President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign.

A group called Pass the Torch is spending $36,000 to air an ad on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday in both Washington, D.C. and Delaware. Morning Joe is reportedly must-watch TV for Biden.

The ad follows a #PassTheTorch Saturday rally outside the White House featuring chants of “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Thank you Joe, it’s time to go.”

On Sunday, Democrat-turned-independent U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia echoed the rally’s message. “I came to the decision with a heavy heart that it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin told CNN.

The TV ad airing Monday morning “features Democratic voters from Pennsylvania urging President Biden to step aside for a new nominee,” according to Pass The Torch.

Pass the Torch calls itself a network of “activists, organizers, and voters” who believe that it’s imperative for Democrats to have a ticket that can beat Donald Trump. Democratic activist Charlie Bulman, who worked as a Biden campaign organizer in Pennsylvania in 2020, attended the #PassTheTorch White House rally.

“I just think it’s clear that the president is not going to be up to do the job for another four years, that his candidacy is not putting us in the best position to win,” Bulman told the progressive news site Mother Jones. And, he added, he has concerns about what backing Biden will do to down-ballot candidates.

Bulman worries about the impact of Biden’s campaign on down-ballot races and the party’s credibility. “I think it puts other folks in a tough position defending his competency,” he said. “And I think that they might lose trust among voters if they’re forced to do that.”

Biden has lagged behind Trump in the polls for months while other Democrats have polled better. The RealClearPolitics average puts Trump ahead of Biden by 4.5 percent in Pennsylvania. That includes an Emerson College poll released last week giving the Republican a five-point lead, which is outside the margin of error.

The super PAC’s website cited a “stunning crisis of faith” in Biden after his terrible showing at last month’s debate against Trump.

Biden gave rambling answers at the debate, then failed to alleviate concerns during an interview on NBC. Earlier this month, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “President Putin” and Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” at a NATO press conference.

A Philadelphia radio show host who interviewed Biden after the debate later resigned after it was revealed she used questions given to her by the Biden campaign. A Milwaukee radio show host also said Biden’s campaign supplied him with questions for an interview.

That’s enough for Pass the Torch leaders, who include Rhode Island state Sen. Tiara Mack and Public Citizen Senior Climate Policy Counsel Aaron Regunberg. They blame Biden’s team for protecting him “for years” from live and unscripted interviews.

As of Sunday morning, 36 congressional Democrats have publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 campaign. But Biden’s campaign insists he’s not leaving, releasing a letter from the Democratic state party chairs in seven swing states — including Pennsylvania’s Sharif Street — urging Biden to stay in the race.

“As we enter the final 100-day stretch, President Biden has proven he can beat Donald Trump if we all do the work,” the party chairs wrote.

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(This article is reprinted from Broad + Liberty. It first appeared in PoliticsPA.)

If the Republicans seem more united around their presidential candidate than in recent memory, the Democrats are in the opposite camp.

The hue and cry among Democratic ranks for President Joe Biden to step aside has not subsided in recent days, even after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump stole the news cycle for the past three days.

Now, as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) prepares a virtual roll call to solidify the nomination of Biden as the party’s candidate, some Democratic members of Congress are voicing their objections and considering putting them in writing.

A letter is being circulated by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) that argues there is “no legal justification” for an early virtual roll call, now that the state of Ohio has enacted legislation that allows Democrats to nominate its candidate in person at its convention in Chicago in mid-August.

“At this point, there is no serious threat to the Democratic ticket nominated in regular order at next month’s DNC convention appearing on the ballot in Ohio or any other state. Simply put, there is no longer any legal reason for moving forward with the extraordinary step of an early nomination by way of a “virtual roll call,” as even many DNC members have admitted.

“Proceeding with the “virtual roll call” in the absence of a valid legal rationale will be rightly perceived as a purely political maneuver, which we believe would be counterproductive and undermine party unity and cohesion. Moreover, it would contradict what President Biden himself has repeatedly said to members of Congress in recent days, telling us that anyone who wants to challenge his nomination should do so “at the convention.”

The draft letter is critical of those who want to stifle debate and shut down any possible change in the Democratic ticket, citing morale and unity of the party at “the worst possible time.”

Axios is reporting that Rep. Susan Wild (D-07) will be signing the letter. Wild’s seat is considered one of the targets for Republicans as the GOP makes plans to defend its House majority. A request for comment from Wild received no response.

The move comes three days before the Democratic National Convention rules committee is scheduled to meet, when they are expected to vote on setting up the rules and dates for a virtual roll call vote.

David Winkler says he believes he has a good chance of beating three-term  incumbent Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) in November.

Winkler is running for Congress because he cares “deeply about America.”  He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the Marines, he joined the Army.

“A lot of people died to preserve our freedoms and way of life,” said Winkler. “I feel like right now our government is failing the people. And that it’s my duty to stand up and fix it.”

His changes have improved because of the rising popularity of former President Donald Trump, whose coattails might lift down-ballot Republicans.

And, the first-time Republican candidate notes that Dean’s far-left votes against Israel and pro-Palestinians have alienated a sizable portion of the area’s Jewish voters. According to the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia, Jews comprise about 10 percent of Montgomery County residents.

Dean is “one of the most divisive people we have in the government,” said Winkler, 38. “Everything she’s done has torn America apart, from her volunteering to be an impeachment manager to her voting record, even at what’s happened with the Jewish community, the blatant antisemitism. We need people in D.C. who bring people together, not divide… She only caters to the far left.”

Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz wrote in June that Trump is poised to get more support from Jews than any Republican presidential candidate in modern history due to Biden’s lukewarm support of Israel. He noted a drop in votes for Democrats from Pennsylvania Jews “may be the game right here.”

Rabbi Matthew Adelson, a Conservative rabbi and member of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis, supports Winkler for Winkler’s position backing Israel.

“David is a wonderful person,” said Abelson. After he met Winkler, “it became very clear to me that he’s someone who is capable of leading on that very critical issue.”

In the months since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks, Dean has “made it very clear she is not a supporter of Israel,” said Adelson, who cataloged a long list of Dean’s pro-Palestinian votes.

“On Nov. 7, there was an opportunity to censure (Rep.) Rashida Talib (D-Mich.) for promoting false narratives regarding the Oct. 7 attack, and (Dean) voted no,” said Adelson. “She allowed funds to go to Iran, and voted against putting sanctions on Qatar.” Iran funds Hamas, and Qatar has given money and sanctuary to its leaders.

“In December, she did not condemn antisemitism on university campuses amid the testimony of university presidents to Congress,” Abelson said. “She voted no on the Israel security supplemental Appropriations Act on Feb. 24.  She called for a ceasefire with Hamas on Feb. 29.”

On April 5, Dean voted with members of the “Squad” to cut U.S. military aid to Israel.

“And she wrote a letter asking Biden to ‘use all the tools’ there are to prevent Israel from going into Rafah,” he said. “When the IDF did go into Rafah, they found tunnels between Rafah and Egypt, which is a grave concern.”

“On April 16, around Passover, she voted present when there was an opportunity to condemn the slogan ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ which is clearly genocidal,” he added. In May, she backed Biden’s withholding of offensive weapons from Israel.

And in July, Dean “rose on the House floor” to say the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), which is anti-Israel with employees who took part in the Hamas terror attack, “is doing ‘God’s work,’” said Abelson.

“It’s very obvious she doesn’t have the back of her Jewish constituents,” he said.

Christian Nascimento, chair of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, said, “Whether it is her doubling down on support for Joe Biden after the recent debate debacle or her one-sided approach to the Israeli-Hamas conflict, Rep. Dean has shown that her far-left views are outside the mainstream of Montgomery County voters. In David Winkler, we have a candidate that has a commonsense approach and a different perspective as a person of color and a veteran – a perspective that better aligns with the majority of residents of the 4th Congressional district.”

Winker also holds Dean, who sits on the foreign affairs committee, partly responsible for the disastrous American withdrawal from Afghanistan, where 13 U.S. troops died in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near the Kabul airport.

“She should have been able to push back on Biden to keep Bagram Air Base open,” he added. He noted military equipment worth billions was left behind, but more importantly, so were American citizens and Afghans who helped Americans.

“One of those was my interpreter,” said Winkler. “This was a complete failure of the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense.” His interpreter is still trapped in Afghanistan.

That withdrawal is “one of the reasons I’m running. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper Fi. We don’t leave people behind.”

Winkler was a biracial foster child who was adopted by “two loving White parents.” His father was an engineer with Raytheon, then a merchant marine. Winkler grew up in Canada, southern California, and Northern Ireland. Winkler joined the Marines when he turned 18. He also worked as a police officer in Murfreesboro, Tenn. and led a nonprofit, Wings for Warriors. He moved to Montgomery County in 2021 after marrying his wife, Kay, who grew up here. She is a first-generation American whose family came from Sierra Leone. The Winklers, who live in Elkins Park, are raising a stepdaughter and a baby son. David Winkler currently employed as a property manager.

“I’m just a pissed-off veteran,” said Winkler. “You can call it MAGA. You can call it whatever you want. I’m just very commonsense.”

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GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick is campaigning hard on the fact that his opponent, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, supports another term for President Joe Biden.

While Casey’s position isn’t popular — a huge majority of Keystone State voters believe Biden is too old — it appeared the three-term Democrat might get a reprieve. Prominent Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been working behind the scenes to push Biden out, which would let Casey off the hook.

A chorus of  Democrats and donors have called for Biden to bow out of the presidential race, fearing a Trump victory. Vermont Sen. Peter Welch was the first senator to ask Biden to withdraw for the “good of the country.” At least 20 House Democrats have called for Biden to drop out of the 2024 race.

That all changed Saturday when an assassin’s bullet narrowly missed former President Donald Trump. The Republican nominee survived, but it appears any hopes of getting Biden off the ticket didn’t.

“Everything is on pause for the moment given the gravity of the moment in time we’re in,” said Jeff Jubelirer, vice president with Bellevue Communications. “I haven’t heard any new Democrats saying anything about Biden since Saturday. It seems like this will remain on pause for at least the short term. However, I don’t know if this will change the overall calculus that many Democrats want Biden to drop out for a new candidate. I suspect the grave attack won’t change their positions.”

Jubelirer is right regarding the political math. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday found Biden losing Pennsylvania to Trump 48 to 45 percent. Worse, campaign professionals say, is the fact that around 60 percent of Keystone State Democrats say Biden it too old. And Democrats are split on keeping Biden on the ticket, with 48 percent sticking with Biden and 46 percent wanting him gone.

But Democrats like Casey and his colleague, Sen. John Fetterman, are backing Biden. “I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record,” Fetterman said.

And it appears the national party is falling in line, too. Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile told The New York Times that after Biden’s debate fiasco, “it’s been hysteria on steroids. But now Biden’s not going anywhere.

“If he is not going to buckle under the weight of what has happened over the last two and a half weeks, I don’t know why anyone else should,” she said.

Republicans are delighted. They see Biden as a weak candidate, and Casey’s embrace of a candidate most voters believe is clearly unfit to serve.

McCormick has billboards around Pennsylvania that say “Same Old, Tired Ideas” with pictures of Casey and Biden. They went up last week in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, and Bloomsburg. Casey and Biden are both from Scranton, while McCormick grew up in Bloomsburg.

McCormick’s campaign launched a digital ad after the June 27 debate titled “Bob Casey Knew,” a reference to the fact that, due to his relationship with Biden and the White House, Casey had to be aware of Biden’s declining cognitive skills.

“There’s nobody in the Senate closer to Joe Biden than Bob Casey,” McCormick told DVJournal. “As a veteran, I’m worried about Biden’s ability to keep our troops safe. How can Casey, one of Biden’s closest friends in Washington, continue to ignore what’s at risk with a weak commander-in-chief? The commonwealth deserves better than their failed leadership and tired, old ideas.”

Why won’t Casey, caught in a tough re-election campaign in a state Biden is losing, cut the president loose?

“The relationship that Sen. Casey and the president enjoy transcends politics,” says longtime Democratic strategist TJ Rooney. “The president has enjoyed exceptionally close relationships with both Sen. Casey and Gov. Casey [Sen. Casey’s father]. Bob Casey is a faithful servant who believes his word is his bond. I don’t see his support for President Biden changing anytime soon.”

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With Democratic politicians and now actor George Clooney, a major fundraiser, calling on President Joe Biden to drop out of the race, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s name has been mentioned as a viable presidential or vice presidential candidate.

And if the octogenarian president were to bow out, Vice President Kamala Harris would be next in line. Harris is slated to speak at an Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote Presidential Town Hall in Philadelphia on Saturday.

And if Harris moves to the top of the ticket, various wags have said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, 51, as her vice-presidential running mate would enhance the Democrats’ chances of winning Pennsylvania, which is now trending toward Trump.

The latest Emerson poll has Trump at 46 percent and Biden at 43 percent nationwide and shows Trump at 47 percent to 45 percent for Biden in Pennsylvania. The 538, which averages polls, has Trump at 44.3 percent and Biden at 41 percent in the Keystone State as of July 11.

Biden released a letter on Tuesday saying he will stay in the race for reelection.

“This type of baseless speculation is just a distraction – and it is unhelpful to accomplishing what we need to do this November: defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box,” said Shapiro’s spokesman Manuel Bonder.

Shapiro, who grew up in Abington, has risen steadily through Pennsylvania political offices. He started as an assistant to former Montgomery County Congressman Joe Hoeffel (D-Montgomery), then successfully ran for state representative. After that, he served as chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, then served two terms as attorney general. Shapiro was elected governor in 2022.

Republican Bruce L. Castor Jr. served as a Montgomery County commissioner with Shapiro and praises him, although they had and have policy differences.

“Josh was a tremendous county commissioner,” said Castor. “A master at the organization, excellent at arriving at a consensus and one of the best administrators I have ever seen.”

“In fact, I used to tell people, I thought he was a better commissioner than me,” said Castor. One of Shapiro’s trademarks is being “well-prepared.”

Which is why Castor believes it’s unlikely that Shapiro would suddenly agree to run for president or vice president.

“It’s unlike the man I know to do anything without carefully planning,” said Castor. “And putting an organization together and having his ducks in a row.”

Shapiro planned his run for attorney general a year in advance “so this would be inconsistent with the man I know,” said Castor.

“I think the Democrats are playing with fire trying to swap out Biden this late in the game,” said political consultant Albert Eisenberg, principal with BlueStateRed. “The downside of Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket could be lower than sticking with the guy they’ve got, however enfeebled he obviously is. A hypothetical Harris-Shapiro ticket could be a strong one in Pennsylvania, theoretically, but with so many factors in play this late in the game, and voters gobsmacked by Biden’s performance and the Democrats’ covering for him, I don’t think there’s an easy path to winning or even a guaranteed way to stop the bleeding at this point.”

Guy Ciarrocchi, a political commentator who writes for Broad +Liberty, said, “It says a lot about today’s Democrat Party. The president is old and confused—and, now abandoned. They fear the vice president isn’t able to actually be president. So, they’re left considering the most unsuccessful governor in California’s history and Pennsylvania’s freshman governor who’s yet to actually achieve any policy goal.”

While Castor believes Shapiro is unlikely to jump into the race, he added, “There is the caveat to that. When the president asks you, it is very hard to say no. And having had that happen to me, I can attest to that, directly. So that would be the only thing that I think might tip the scale, if President Biden asked him to do it, otherwise I don’t see the carefully prepared, thoughtful man that I know, doing something so spontaneous.”

“He’s a thinker and a planner and he doesn’t go off half-cocked,” said Castor, who added he’s seen very few people like Shapiro in his 40 years in public life.

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Pennsylvania politicians are divided on President Joe Biden’s political future.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is an unapologetic ally, telling his fellow Democrats, “There is only one guy that has ever beaten Trump, and he’s going to do it twice and put him down for good.” His colleague, Sen. Bob Casey, says he has no concerns about Biden’s ability to serve four more years as president.

But U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, a Lehigh Valley Democrat, has publicly expressed her “concerns about President Biden’s electability at the top of the ticket.”

With Biden, who insists he will not drop out, facing another major test Thursday when he participates in what the White House is calling a “big boy” press conference, DVJournal asked Keystone State voters to weigh in on whether Biden should end his campaign for a second term or stay the course.

“It’s not good to have a divided party,” said Cassandra Willard of Warrington. “A lot of people think he’s too old to run for reelection.”

“I feel bad for him,” said Jeff Wimer of Penn Township. “I don’t think he’s capable.”

Willard and Wimer live in opposite corners of the state, but they seem to speak for millions of voters. And the chair of the Washington County Democratic Party declined to comment when reached by phone.

Berwood A. Yost, director of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, said that Democrats hoped voters would be reminded of why they gave former President Donald Trump the boot four years ago. Biden’s debate performance “likely buried that hope,” he wrote in a recent newsletter.

“In reality, the Democrats’ theory was more magical thinking than critical thinking considering what the polls have shown over time, starting with the way voters have judged President Biden’s performance and the stability of those judgments,” Yost said. “As we wrote in a review of state polling last July, President Biden’s average approval rating in the state aligns him more closely with first-term incumbents who have lost than those who have won.”

On June 27, the day of the debate, national polling averages between the two men showed a tie. Nearly two weeks later, those numbers are shifting. Trump has a 2.3-point lead, according to FiveThirtyEight.

There are similar trajectories in the battleground states where Trump is leading in Michigan and Wisconsin. In Pennsylvania, where the Biden campaign has been relentlessly pounding voters with TV ads since March, Trump is leading.

Still, some Keystone State voters said they’re prepared to stick with Biden — if they have to.

“He’s the lesser of two evils,” said Sean Clark of Penn Hills, PA. “It’s one person’s policies versus another person’s popularity.”

Marie S., who lives in Montgomery Township, PA, did say that Biden should consider dropping out of the race, but that she would still vote for him if he remains on the ballot.

“He’s better than the other one,” she said.

Requests for comment by Inside Sources from the Allegheny County Democratic Party, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and Allegheny County Executive Sarah Innamorato were not returned.

Radnor resident Prachi Soni said that while Biden has done a lot for the country, he should spend his remaining time with his family.

“I would not want him to run again, definitely,” Soni said. “He’s getting to a point where his age is affecting him.”

But others say it’s past time for Biden to give up the presidency.

Eldores, a northeast Philadelphia man who declined to give his last name, was making deliveries in Huntingdon Valley.

“I think he should quit right now because he’s not healthy,” he said. “Even my 5-year-old daughter knows this. He was a good politician, more than Clinton or Obama, but now it’s time to quit.”

Debbie McGinley of Skippack said, “He needs to drop out. I  look at Biden as a grandfather or my father. He would be in a home for dementia. He cannot serve our country. Jill Biden should be held responsible. She is his wife and caregiver. If this was Trump, he would’ve been out of office by now. Doesn’t matter if it’s Democrat or Republican, this is an issue about mental health.

“What they are doing to Joe Biden is elder abuse. His (late) son, Beau Biden, fought against this very thing.”

Since the debate, the national media has been publishing stories about deep, lingering concerns from Democratic lawmakers, operatives, and donors about Biden’s condition. The articles reflect a sense of shock that he had deteriorated from even just two years ago, but the stories also lay out in detail the lengths senior White House, campaign officials, and even Biden’s family have gone to isolate him.

Some Democratic lawmakers have gone on the record calling for Biden to step aside and allow the party to move Vice President Kamala Harris into the top spot on the ticket or initiate a process by which convention delegates could choose another nominee. Wimer of West Moreland County said that a candidate other than Harris would be preferable to Biden.

But Chalfont resident Jamie Walker warned against such a move, giving voice to what countless other voters are thinking.

“The leaders of the party clearly knew Biden’s flaws and they did not want their voters to have the opportunity to pick a new candidate in the primary,” Walker said. “The Democratic Party taking out their candidate elected by the voters is the total opposite of democracy, which is their entire platform.”

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You can’t watch TV without seeing a commercial from Sen. Bob Casey Jr. blaming inflation on corporations with “Greedflation” and “Shrinkflation” as the catchwords.

However, a new report is debunking Democrats Casey and President Joe Biden, who also uses the terms. According to the report from Americans for Prosperity, Casey has “cherrypicked” the data and does not account for corporate expenses before calculating profits.

The report, “The Bidenflation Blame Game: How Big-Spending Politicians Scapegoat Business,” by Kurt Couchman, AFP senior fellow in fiscal policy, andAFP Economic Policy Analyst Ilana Blumsack, lays the blame for inflation squarely on government spending rather than lawmakers’ businesses for higher prices or downsizing products.

Couchman told DVJournal “Congress and the White House need to get the spending and the debt under control. That is the urgent requirement for getting inflation and interest rates back under control. We need Congress to get serious about fixing the budgeting.”

Congress spent a lot and borrowed a lot during the pandemic and immediately afterward.

“And, of course, there had been rising deficits before that, but the pandemic spending splurge, all borrowed money, really drove up the debt,” said Couchman. “The Federal Reserve had to buy a lot of that debt. And then, it was the American Rescue Plan Act, $1.9 trillion of new borrowed spending, when the Democrats took control of everything that was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel’s back. That’s when we saw inflation immediately in March 2021, when they passed that thing, and then they kept building on it. They kept spending more and more money that we didn’t have. So that added to the inflationary fire.”

“The Biden administration approved $6 trillion in new debt,” he said.  In addition to the American Rescue Plan, there were the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips Act.

“And it only cooled off when Republicans gained enough seats to win control of the House of Representatives,” Couchman added.

As for Casey and Biden’s contention that the blame for inflation lies with greedy corporations, Couchman said that is not true.

His report shows corporate profits have remained relatively stable.

“Sen. Casey from Pennsylvania had claimed corporate profits were driving inflation over the last couple of years,” said Couchman. Casey’s November 2023 inflation report “just didn’t pass the smell test,” he said. “I looked at his methodology, and he used some funny timing. He looked at the second quarter of 2020, which was when the economy was pretty much locked down. And then compared it to two years after when we had basically recovered. And it turned out that he used a measure that wasn’t actually corporate profits because it excluded a bunch of really significant expenses, and profits are revenues minus costs.”

When you factor that in, “you see that corporate profits have only grown along with the broader economy,” said Couchman.

Casey did not respond to a request for comment.

Nate Sizemore, a spokesman for Casey’s Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, said, “Bob Casey is grasping at straws to distract voters from the truth. He rubber-stamped trillions in wasteful federal spending, fueling the war on energy, and creating the sky-high inflation crushing Pennsylvania families. Come November 5, voters across the commonwealth will hold Casey accountable for his disastrous economic record.”

AFP Regional Director Ashley Klingensmith said, “Real leaders own up to their failures when they’re wrong. What we’re seeing from members of Congress—including my senator, Bob Casey—is an immature and deceptive excuse to cover up a lousy voting record. Sen. Casey and many other lawmakers have voted in lockstep with President Biden but aren’t willing to own the consequences, apologize, or change course. But we at AFP-PA will ensure that Pennsylvanians know his voting record and encourage them to call his office and tell him to stop voting for an agenda that’s actively hurting the Keystone State.”

Couchman said there are major ramifications since the country’s debt is now nearly 100 percent of the gross domestic production (GDP).

“It’s estimated by the International Monetary Fund and others that somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of GDP is when debt drag starts to happen,” he said. “We’re at about 100 percent of GDP.” This could slow economic growth because “the government debt is crowding out the private sector.”  And people are starting to worry about whether the federal government can pay its “timely interest in principle on the debt,” causing uncertainty.

The housing market is already affected by higher interest rates on mortgages, credit cards, and car loans.

All this came from “too much spending, which came from bad decisions by Congress and the president,” he said.

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President Joe Biden released a letter Monday saying he would ignore calls to give up his campaign for a second term and stay the course.

“I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” the 81-year-old incumbent wrote, noting with nearly 3,900 delegates, he is the “presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin.”

The calls from members of his own party for him to leave the fray came after a calamitous debate performance last month.

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) is among those who are standing by the president, appearing with him at a Black church in Philadelphia on Sunday.

In her remarks at that church, Dean called Biden “an amazing man.”

“Take a look at what has been accomplished under this president. And I can tell you close up, and personally, the contrast couldn’t be greater.  I served two years before you became president with the former guy. They were very dark days in our country. We cannot go back.  It would only be worse,” said Dean.

“Democracy is on the line. There’s no greater patriot than Joe Biden to serve us,” Dean said.

Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh) disagrees. She has been among those ready to throw the elderly president overboard in favor of a more electable candidate as Biden’s sinking poll numbers might influence her own reelection chances.

A poll sponsored by Democrats for the Next Generation and conducted by Emerson College in the days immediately following the first presidential debate shows Biden losing to Trump in each of the six swing states by an average of 9.4 percent of the candidates’ vote count, or four percentage points of the total votes. That poll showed Biden is down 5 percent against Trump in Pennsylvania 43 to 48 percent.

A Commonwealth poll showed Biden has a 55 percent disapproval rating among state residents.

In his latest newsletter, Franklin & Marshall College poll director Berwood Yost calls it the “Democrats’ dilemma.”

“Last fall, 41 percent of Pennsylvania’s voters thought President Biden was too old to serve another term, compared to 4 percent who thought Mr. Trump was too old and 43 percent who thought they were both too old. That sentiment was unchanged throughout the early phases of the campaign, and it is difficult to imagine it has improved since the debate,” Yost wrote.

“There is no right answer, and I’m not in any way calling for a particular outcome,” he told DVJournal. “I simply wanted to point out the issues confronting the president and his party. We haven’t polled on any other candidates yet, so we can’t be sure how a change would affect the race, which is what makes a change risky.”

Long-time Democratic consultant T.J. Rooney believes Dean is on the right track.

“Early in my service in the General Assembly, an older member suggested the most successful politicians knew that ‘Every private thought doesn’t require a public utterance.’ I believe that’s true in this case,” said Rooney. “Nobody in the Pennsylvania delegation should be among the early voices calling for the President to step aside. Most people, at least at this juncture, don’t care what the members think. Why in the world would we be eager or quick to turn on ‘one of our own’?

“Rep Wild is particularly troublesome in that both the President and First Lady have traveled to the Lehigh Valley to help her out. I assume they won’t be doing that anymore,” Rooney added pointedly.

Not surprisingly, Republicans see things differently.

David Winkler, Dean’s opponent, said, “Madeline Dean seems more focused on maintaining temporary power than prioritizing the well-being of all Americans. She lacks credibility on this subject when she avoids addressing our campaign’s call to debate, denying the people the opportunity to hear from both candidates on crucial issues.

“President Biden deserves a peaceful retirement and quality time with his family. Advancing age is impeding his ability to lead effectively. It is concerning to witness what appears to be neglect or exploitation of his elderly status by the Democrat elite,” Winkler added.

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lower Macungie), who is challenging Wild, said, “It’s time for Susan Wild to tell the truth. While the American people are worrying about President Biden’s ability to do the job, Susan Wild is worrying about her political future. On a call with fellow Democratic representatives, Wild worried aloud about her own electability as a result of Biden’s unfitness for office. This comes after months of assurances from Susan Wild that President Biden was in great shape and requests that we ‘trust’ her about that.”

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Calls of “We love you, President Biden,” filled Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia as the president made a campaign swing to Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Some Democrats called for Biden to bow out of the race in the wake of a disastrous performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump last month. However, on July 7, Biden visited a Black church in Philadelphia hoping to showcase his continued strength among African American voters.

Biden, who lived in Scranton before moving to Delaware when he was 10, considers Pennsylvania his second home and has come to Philadelphia often, including eight visits this year.

Biden was supposed to speak at the National Education Association annual conference in Philadelphia on Sunday. But Biden’s campaign cancelled that event after the NEA’s own unionized employees filed unfair labor practices complaints over how the teachers union treats its own employees. Biden would have had to cross a picket line, so the campaign sent him to a friendlier forum.

The 538 poll average on July 7 showed Trump leads Biden by 3.2 points in Pennsylvania despite all those visits.

Biden thanked the pastor, Bishop J. Louis Felton, and the congregation for welcoming him.

“It’s good to be home,” said Biden. “I got my start as a public defender in the civil rights movement.”

“Our purpose is to serve others,” Biden said. “That’s our purpose. To know everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, to know faith without works is dead. We’re all called to be doers of the world.”

“In this nation, that means keeping our eyes on the north star, the very idea of America,” Biden said. “We’re all created equal in the image of God. And deserve to be created with dignity and respect our entire lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that. But we’ve never fully walked away from it either. That’s because of you and generations before you who led the church from slavery to freedom.”

Biden mentioned his accomplishments in dealing with the pandemic, having the lowest Black unemployment, and his plans to “make housing affordable.”

Along with ensuring “you can follow your dreams without the burden of student debt.”

“To keep our communities safe by getting weapons of war off our streets,” he said. “To give hate no safe harbor.  While there are those who want to erase history, Kamala and I want to make it. Black history is American history.”

“I’ve been doing this a long time, honest to God I’m never more optimistic about America’s future if we stick together,” he said. “We must unite America again. That’s my goal. And may God bless our troops,” he said.

Some Democratic politicians, including Sen. Bob Casey Jr., Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, attended the church service as well. Dean travelled with Biden on both of his Pennsylvania stops Sunday, as did one of the president’s most loyal supporters, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.

“There is only one person in the country that’s ever kicked Trump’s ass in an election —and that is your president,” Fetterman said. “He’s going to do it twice.”

Kenyatta, who is running for auditor general, said, “Joe Biden has delivered for Pennsylvania. Now we have to deliver for him and Democrats up and down the ballot to beat back the radical Project 2025 agenda of Donald Trump and Republicans.”

“Yesterday, Joe Biden couldn’t even be bothered to shake the hand of a Black supporter in the crowd, but today he’s continuing his minority pandering tour in Pennsylvania where his approval rating has dropped to 33 percent.  Clearly, Black voters are no longer buying the desperate and disingenuous faux outreach from Democrats,” said Janiyah Thomas,  director of Team Trump Black Media.

Republican Dave McCormick, an Army veteran running against Casey, said on X, “Today, Bob Casey is campaigning with President Biden in PA. Biden is not capable of serving as our Commander-in-Chief, and Casey knows it — he will lie all the way thru Election Day if he thinks it will help him win.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said, “Joe Biden only has 33 percent approval in the Keystone State because his policies have failed Pennsylvania families. From crippling inflation and housing prices that are making life unaffordable to police shortages and deadly fentanyl that are making communities less safe, it’s no wonder why Pennsylvania voters are lining up to Make America Great Again by supporting President Trump.”

“Short visits in front of overwhelmingly friendly groups are not going to alleviate the concerns the American people have about Biden’s ability to do the job – let alone run for another term,” said Christian Nascimento, chair of the Montgomery County GOP.

Casey was also with Biden to an ice social rally near Harrisburg later Sunday. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

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