The Moment Democrats Became Afraid Of Democracy

From shutting down challengers to punishing dissent

Something has been sitting with me for a long time, and I need to get it out. What happened with Joe Biden, the primary that never happened, the reaction from Democrats, the way the process unfolded, and the way people treated anyone who questioned it. It exposed something that should bother every single one of us who claims to care about democracy.

This is not a hit piece on Biden or on any individual candidate. This is about the system. The insiders. The culture. And yes, the voters.

This is insider baseball, but it needs to be said because it revealed major cracks in how we practice what we preach.

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The Delegate Process: My First Red Flag

As a candidate for Congress in Ohio’s 7th district, I went to the Democratic delegate selection meeting at a union hall. This is where regular Democrats elect delegates who will go to the Democratic National Convention to represent the voice of the voters.

At least, that is how it is supposed to work.

When I walked in, they handed out what was essentially a loyalty pledge. It said that if you wanted to be a delegate, you had to vote for Joe Biden. Period. If you wrote down Dean Phillips, your vote would not count. If you said you supported anyone else, you were disqualified.

This was before Biden’s meltdown debate performance. Before the panic. Before the pressure. This was when Dean Phillips was simply a longshot candidate doing what democracy says you are allowed to do: run for president.

But the party insiders made it clear that dissent was not allowed. The primary was a formality. The choice was predetermined. The process was locked down before voters ever had a say.

And look, I get it. The party is a private organization. They can technically do whatever they want under their bylaws.

But the entire thing felt wrong. It felt icky. It felt predetermined in a way that made it obvious that the voter was not the key part of the process. The party was.

Democrats love to say we defend democracy. But democracy without competition is not democracy. It is a coronation.

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The Debate That Changed Everything

Then came the debate. The line that will be remembered forever.

“We finally beat Medicare.”

It was rough. No amount of excuses could spin what voters saw with their own eyes.

In the weeks leading up to that debate, I was doing call time for my campaign. Hours a day. Five days a week. Calling donors. Calling supporters. Calling activists.

The number one question was not about my race. Not about my opponent. Not about policy. Not about ideas.

It was this:
“What are we going to do about Joe Biden?”

Nine out of ten calls asked the same exact thing. Not exaggeration. People were worried. People were confused. People were scared we were going to lose everything because voters were losing confidence in the top of the ticket.

It became impossible to raise money. Not just for me. But for Senate candidates and congressional candidates across the country.

Every Democrat running for anything was forced to defend Joe Biden rather than run their own campaigns. We were babysitting the top of the ticket instead of fighting our own races.

So when Sherrod Brown called for Biden to step aside, I agreed publicly. Not because I hated Biden. Not because I wanted chaos. But because the voters were clearly signaling that they had lost confidence, and we were losing elections right now because of it.

Then the emails came.

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The Unhinged Emails From Our Own Side

The reactions were some of the most toxic messages I have ever received.

Emails telling me to shut up.
Emails telling me I was betraying the party.
Emails telling me to eat a bowl of dicks.
Emails telling me I was helping Trump win.
Emails telling me to get out of politics.
Emails telling me I was “not a real Democrat.”

And these messages were not coming from Republicans.
These were Democrats.

Democrats who claim they support democracy.
Democrats who say they want open debate.
Democrats who scream about norms and institutions.

But the second someone raised a legitimate concern about our nominee, they acted like the same people they criticize.

There was no “when they go low, we go high.”
There was only “go low.”

And it was eye opening.

See below for actual emails.

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The Switch To Kamala Harris: Proof We Were Right All Along

When Biden finally withdrew and Kamala Harris became the nominee, everything changed overnight.

Money poured in. Over a billion dollars raised.
The panic stopped.
People breathed again.
Campaigns could finally run their own races instead of defending the president.
Supporters came out of hiding.
Volunteers returned.
The energy came back.

It proved exactly what we had been saying for months.
It proved that voters were ready for a new nominee.
It proved that denying a primary was a mistake.
It proved that ignoring the concerns of the people was hurting us.

We still lost the presidency, the Senate, and the House. But here is the truth:

If Biden had stayed on the ticket, we would have lost much more.

Kamala Harris prevented a total collapse. She gave voters permission to remain Democrats. She saved countless races from complete wipeout.

But the damage from the non-primary was already done.

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The Larger Issue: Are Democrats Afraid Of Democracy?

Democrats say they love democracy.
Democrats say primaries are healthy.
Democrats say debate is good.

But when it mattered, they shut the door.
They cleared the field.
They told candidates not to run.
They told donors not to give to challengers.
They told voters they had no choice.

And the grassroots, instead of demanding debate, attacked anyone who even asked for it.

If you questioned Biden, you were called a traitor.
If you suggested a primary, you were attacked.
If you raised concerns, you were blocked, unfriended, and screamed at.

Republicans behave this way too. But Democrats pretend they do not.

We need to stop pretending.

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A Real Democracy Needs Real Primaries

We should want hard debates.
We should want more candidates.
We should want the marketplace of ideas.
We should want accountability for incumbents.
We should want real choices.

Cuyahoga County is the perfect example. In Northeast Ohio we regularly see races where only one Democrat runs, and because the county is deep blue, the primary is the election. Yet we discourage challengers. We clear the field. We silence dissent.

That is not democracy.
That is not representation.
That is not how a free people choose their leaders.

And when members of our own party respond with rage and profanity toward anyone who wants a real primary, it shows we have adopted the same tribal behavior we condemn in others.

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Kamala Harris And Again The Primary We Never Had

One thing that still bothers me is how Kamala Harris became the nominee without a real primary. And let me be clear. It opened the floodgates for fundraising. It allowed down-ballot candidates to finally run without carrying Biden’s baggage. It was the right move under the circumstances.

But it was not democracy.

When Biden stepped aside, the Democratic Party closed ranks and immediately coalesced around Kamala. There was no rapid primary. No debates. No town halls. No policy contrasts. No competition. No moment for voters to ask questions or compare visions for the future. It was a handoff. A controlled transition. A “trust us, we got this” moment.

Democrats love to say we defend democracy against authoritarianism, but when the moment came to practice the democracy we preach, we skipped it. Again.

This was another example of the party deciding for the voters rather than with them. And it sent a clear message.
Your vote is important in November but optional in the primary.

Kamala raised over a billion dollars because people were relieved Biden was gone. That does not mean the process was healthy. It means the situation was desperate. We never got to hear from other Democrats who may have stepped forward. We never got a competition of ideas or a reset of the policy agenda. We never got a moment for the party to show voters what the next generation stands for.

Kamala Harris won by default, not through a democratic process.

And that is the larger issue.
Democrats cannot keep claiming we are the defenders of democracy while eliminating the very thing that makes democracy real: choice.

This is not an attack on Kamala Harris. It is a critique of the system that crowned her. If Democrats want to restore faith, we need to stop skipping primaries and start trusting voters again.

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We Must Do Better

I am glad I received the angry emails.
I am glad the masks came off.
I am glad people exposed how they really think.
Because it reminded me of something important.

We are not morally superior by default.
We are not automatically the “good guys.”
We are not immune to the same authoritarian instincts we criticize.

Democracy means choices.
Democracy means debate.
Democracy means disagreement.
Democracy means accountability.

Not blind loyalty.
Not coronations.
Not gatekeeping.
Not shutting down the people we claim to represent.

We need robust primaries.
We need open debate.
We need to stop treating dissent as betrayal.

And we need to stop acting like “Republicans” when we get mad.

We Must Do Better