Rep. Dean Phillips Calls Out Democrats' small-d democratic Deficit
The Democratic Party needs to embrace democracy.
It’s not easy to suggest challenging an incumbent president with broad-based elite support — if not the support of actual Democratic Party voters — but that’s what Rep. Dean Phillips, a moderate Democratic congressman from Minnesota, did yesterday on CBS News’ Face the Nation.
Democrats are telling me that they want, not a coronation, but they want a competition. The New York Times poll from this week shows 55 percent of Democratic voters want some alternatives to the current people in the primary. 83 percent of those under 30, Democrats under 30, want alternatives. And about 76 percent of independents…If we don’t heed that call, shame on us. And the consequences, I believe, are gonna be disastrous. So, my call is to those who are well-positioned, well-prepared, of good character and competency — they know who they are — to jump in, because Democrats and the country need competition. It makes everything better. That’s my call to them right now.
Phillips made clear that he respects President Biden — “an amazing man” — but that his call for a competitive primary “is not about him, but about listening to people.”
Asked about Vice President Harris entering the race, Phillips repeated his call for more competition: “I’m glad you asked the question and my answer is really simple: competition, as many people as humanly possible — with the talent, the time, the energy, the ethics to enter a primary — should do it. We have 12 Republicans as options for Republican primary voters. Right now, we only have three on the Democratic side. I believe in competition.”
Phillips then noted that the Democratic Party is currently experiencing a democratic deficit: “We’re the Democratic Party. Democracy means the freedom to make choices and we don’t have many of them.”
The reality is that Democrats have not enjoyed a truly competitive primary since 2008. In 2012, there was a popular and energetic incumbent. Four years later, there was Hillary Clinton’s 2016 coronation, which tragically resulted in Donald Trump’s presidency. In 2020, there was the coronavirus pandemic — Americans were told to “stay home as much as possible” — which negatively impacted voter participation.
Unsurprisingly, Ronald Klain, Biden’s closest confidante and former chief of staff, did not take kindly to Phillips’ call for more competition. In a series of tweets, Klain lashed out at the call for a competitive primary.
Notably, Klain’s first tweet included a lie. While Democrats would vote for Biden against Trump, they do not “overwhelmingly support his re-election” — poll after poll has shown Democrats would prefer a different nominee.
When Phillips said he believes the consequences of not embracing more small-d democracy and competition “are gonna be disastrous,” he was almost certainly referring to Trump’s possible re-election. Despite his legal troubles, Trump is tied with Biden in both general election and swing state polls. In 2018, Phillips turned a red district blue for the first time since 1958. He is an effective politician and when he speaks, Americans should listen.
While I think the ideal situation is for Biden to step aside before a competitive primary, time is running out and I understand some Democrats of good conscience may wish to consider alternatives. The reality is that the Democratic Party suffers from a small-d democratic deficit and, in 2016, this deficit paved the way for Trump’s shocking victory. The stakes are very high.