INDEPENDENT

A former Biden press secretary bids farewell to the Democratic Party.

“The first Black person, immigrant, and openly queer woman to be a spokesperson for the president of the United States,” Jean-Pierre represented Joe Biden, his administration, and, at some remove, the agenda of the president’s party. Now, free to speak critically, Jean-Pierre excoriates the leadership of the Democratic Party for fumbling the matter of Biden’s mental acuity after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, its halfhearted treatment of Kamala Harris, and, more than anything, “the way it has responded to the Republican assault on our democracy in a shockingly weak manner.” Being a Republican is out of the question, she adds, but so is being a Democrat: “The Democrats’ blue tent that once felt big enough to hold all the pieces of a Black, queer, immigrant woman like me has collapsed,” she writes, adding that “choosing political independence is a revolutionary act.” Whether Biden, as Jean-Pierre seems to suggest, could and should have remained the party’s candidate is debatable, but her disdain for several named leaders is clear, as is her view that the party failed to connect with its constituency. More usefully, from the point of view of practical politics, Jean-Pierre urges a personal policy that favors utility over purity, which “may mean fighting to protect immigrants side by side with someone who believes in more restrictions on abortions than you do.” She also advocates for independents to be able to vote in open primaries while at the same time pointing out the inadvisability of voting for a third party. Jean-Pierre’s call for a more engaged citizenry is welcome. Still, given the unlikelihood that enough states will allow for those open primaries to admit independents, some might be tempted to read this as an exercise in self-defeat; for all her longing for a polity “beyond red and blue silos,” that’s exactly where we are.

A heartfelt critique that seems unlikely to land where it’s needed most.