Oregon delegates respond to Biden’s withdrawal and Harris endorsement

President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election is reverberating across the nation and the Pacific Northwest’s political world. The news comes less than a month before the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to begin in Chicago. Earl Blumenauer, Democratic Congressman representing Oregon’s 3rd district, and James Manning, state senator representing Eugene, are among the local delegates heading to the convention. They join us to share their reactions.

Note: The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Dave Miller. We start today with President Joe Biden’s decision to not seek re-election and to instead endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris. It was the kind of news that was somehow both truly shocking, and unless you’ve just woken up from a very long, maybe very pleasant sleep, highly anticipated. We’re gonna get two perspectives on this development today from members of Oregon’s Democratic delegation, starting with Oregon’s longest serving member of the U.S. House. Earl Blumenauer represents Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District. Welcome back to the show.

Earl Blumenauer: My pleasure, Dave. How are you?

Miller: I’m doing fine. There is a lot to talk about, so let’s get straight to it. Just broadly first – what went through your mind when you heard the news yesterday late morning, early afternoon?

Blumenauer: I was pleased. As you know, I have been suggesting this from the outset – one of the first to go public with those concerns. I really did feel that, ultimately, President Biden would do what was right for the country. He always has. This is obviously a very difficult decision for him because, frankly,

he’s had the best record of any president, with the possible exception of Lyndon Johnson … since FDR … amazing success. So it was obviously difficult for him, but I was pleased that he did it and I’m pleased that it’s coming in a timely fashion, so that the other pieces can come together.

Miller: As far as I’ve been able to see, you were not just the first, but the only member of Oregon’s congressional delegation to explicitly call for President Biden to end his re-election bid. That was a couple of weeks ago. That was obviously after his disastrous debate performance. You’re also the only member of the delegation who is not running yourself. We talked months ago after you announced that you would not be seeking re-election. Do you think those two facts are connected?

Blumenauer: I think not. I mean, I’ve always called it as I see it. I’ve been out on a limb before, as you know. Over the course of the last 28 years, I worked real hard to not have election considerations color my actions, because you go down that path and it’s, as they say, a slippery slope. No, this was something that I felt strongly about. I think it’s the right thing to do. And I think it was important for as many people as possible to help provide the perspective to President Biden.

In terms of my comments, both that were quoted in Oregon and with national media, I always was clear that Joe Biden has a critical job to do for the remainder of his term. I mean, he’s dealing with war and peace in Ukraine, problems with Gaza, implementing the biggest infrastructure bill in history. We’re halfway through, but we’ve got a lot of work to go. The Inflation Reduction Act, health care. This, for anybody, would be a massive undertaking. The good news is that this plays to Joe Biden’s strength. He doesn’t have to be on the stump performing. He deals extraordinarily well in settings with people in terms of persuading, cajoling, discussing, and he is uniquely qualified to be able to get these things across the finish line. And I’m …

Miller:  Well, let me switch that question around, though, for you. As I’m sure you know, the Speaker of the House – Johnson – and other Republicans have said, wait a minute, if he is now acknowledging what we and many Democrats have been saying loudly for weeks now, that he’s not up for running for president again and being president for four more years, they say that it also follows that he shouldn’t be president now. What’s your response to that?

Blumenauer: We’re going to talk about disqualification. People who don’t understand what the economic performance has been. They don’t remember what a terrible state we were in in the final years of Donald Trump’s administration. Not fantasyland at their convention, but the real facts on the ground …

Miller: No, no … but, this point isn’t about … sorry, sir … this point is not about what happened over the last three-and-a-half years. It’s what will happen in the next six months. Do you think that President Biden has the cognitive and energetic abilities to still be president for the remainder of his term?

Blumenauer: No question in my mind. These are things that he has guided. He has a great team around him, his wisdom and guidance in terms of these inner relationships and dealing with the fine tuning of the policies. No question that he can do that and he will do that. The real question, Dave, is what’s the problem with the Republicans that have amnesia about how desperate the situation is, and that they deny the facts of the economy and what we are doing and how bad it was. That ought to concern people in terms of cognitive abilities more than anything else.

Miller: Those will be some of the issues that likely will come to the fore in the coming months as this race newly sorts itself out. But just for a second, I do want to stick with President Biden for a question or two more.

He’s now done something that no president has ever done, stepping down from a reelection bid after all the primaries are over, just three-and-a-half months before the general election. That is historic. It was an act of humility and a recognition, I think, of reality. It only happened after an enormous erosion of faith in him from Democratic leaders like you, and according to polls, many democratic voters. Do you think he took too long to bow out?

Blumenauer: Dave, if you were Joe Biden and had just compiled the best record of any president in the last 50 years, and the fact that people are refusing to acknowledge what this is and what he’s got going forward, and people chipping away, for example, who don’t support protection of Ukraine, it was difficult for him to make that adjustment. I believe that. I understand it. If it were me, I’d feel the same way. But Joe Biden put the country ahead of his own personal interests and we’re all going to be better off for it.

Miller: Can you give us a sense, if you’re able to, for the behind-the-scenes conversations that Democrats have been having over the last three weeks?

Blumenauer: People have been concerned about the erosion of support. They want to be able to make it easy for the president, with dignity and respect, to be able to make a change. That was my statement all along. People have to recognize the record that Joe Biden has accomplished and what that means to somebody, in terms of accomplishing something that should be a cakewalk for the campaign, and then listen to a torrent of lies nonstop – that’s very disorienting and hard.

So some people wanted to increase pressure. I just think pressure was the wrong thing to do. I think, respectfully, working for him to be able to make this transition, to make the adjustment mentally, and then be able to do it with grace and forethought, and I think it’s come to pass. I think he did what he should have done in terms of putting the country first. And I dare say that people on the other side of the equation aren’t putting the country first, in terms of telling the truth, in terms of focusing on the elements of the campaign. I think he is a great example, and I wish Donald Trump and the Republicans would follow putting the country first rather than character assassination.

Miller: Let’s turn to the future. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, Governor Tina Kotek, and your House colleagues – Representatives Bonamici, Hoyle and Salinas – have all, in the last 24 hours, endorsed Kamala Harris. The last I checked, you have not. First of all, did I miss an endorsement?

Blumenauer: Not yet. I will. I’ve been dealing with the other messages that I think are important, but I will be a part of that. That’s why I came back early to our nation’s capital – to make sure that I’m able to do that in a reasonable and timely fashion. I’ll be there. Not a problem.

Miller: You have the opportunity now, as we’re talking, as you’re talking to Oregonians all across the state, to give your support to her now. Is that something you’re prepared to do at this moment?

Blumenauer: Dave, I’m happy to give you a scoop for the first announcement, publicly, that I am supporting the Vice President in her quest for the presidency. You’re welcome.

Miller: Well, I appreciate that. I’m not in the business of trying to get scoops, I’m just trying to get information and you stood out as, I think, the only member of the delegation who had not yet said that publicly. I ask because another person who hasn’t is former President Barack Obama. He wrote yesterday: “We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead, but I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

Are you not interested in that kind of open process in the coming days or weeks?

Blumenauer: I think that it is appropriate for us to coalesce around Vice President Harris. I’m trying not to mix my messages, Dave. I have been focusing on the President’s withdrawal, support for it, why it makes sense. Plenty of time to be able to mix it up for the general election, and support for Kamala Harris and the ticket, which I think will come together relatively soon. There are many storylines for me to keep track of. I want to be clear about what I am doing with great precision. I am a super-delegate, so I don’t even get to vote for the first time around. So it’s entirely appropriate for me to do this according to my own time frame, and it will be relatively soon. I just did it.

Miller: You did it. It’s relatively soon, in the recent past.

Many of the very people who had been seen as potential nominees in the various future theories that had been circulating over the last couple of weeks, have already endorsed Kamala Harris in the last 20 hours or so. Various governors from midwestern states, or moderate governors, say, of Kentucky or Pennsylvania. So I’m curious what the process that former President Barack Obama – what he said he was hoping for yesterday – would even look like, if nobody else steps forward?

Blumenauer: I don’t know, Dave. I respect President Obama. I respect other people getting to the point where it’s appropriate for them, for their constituents, for their view of this campaign. I just shared with you mine. I’m not going to speculate. Barack Obama is his own guy. He has his own relationship with President Biden and Vice President Harris. And I think that will fall in place. There are lots of people who have lots of opinions, and I think getting clarity as soon as we can, but let people do it on their own time, not trying to force it. I think you will see a great unanimity come together.

I mean, the convention is still a month away. I just think people … this just took place. Let people process, get to the point where they want to be, clarify their own message in their own time with their own phrasing. And I think that’s not too much to ask.

Miller: Earl Blumenauer, thank you as always for your time. I really appreciate it.

Blumenauer: My pleasure, Dave.

Miller: Earl Blumenauer is a Democratic U.S. Representative from Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District.

James Manning is a Democratic State Senator from Eugene and a member of Oregon’s Democratic delegation that’ll be heading to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month. He joins us now. It’s good to have you back on Think Out Loud.

James Manning: Thank you. Glad to be here.

Miller: What went through your mind when you heard the news yesterday?

Manning: Sadness and disappointment.

Miller: Do you mind elaborating on that?

Manning: I think that President Biden has done a remarkable job. The things that he has done: appointing the first Black female to the Supreme Court, the infrastructure package. Oh, he did so much for all Americans. And I was saddened to hear the news, but I respect his decision.

Miller: Saddened, meaning, you had hoped that he would remain the nominee and run for president?

Manning: Just like Congressman Earl Clyburn, I was “Ridin’ with Biden.”

Miller: So, you weren’t worried by what you saw in terms of, for example, his debate performance a few weeks ago?

Manning: You know, everybody has bad days. I get that. I’ve had them, everybody. I think that his schedule that he had was so compact and so complex. I think that perhaps it wasn’t a good time to have it at that point. Jet lag and everything else. But, he still came forward. The tenacity, the honesty, the dedication that Joe Biden has used throughout his career of public service. It’s something that I hope all will one day aspire to emulate.

Miller: What do you plan to do now as a delegate? I mean, the first question is, are you, today, prepared to support Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee of the party?

Manning: Well, I can only speak for myself. And since President Biden had nominated the Vice President, then I certainly support Vice President Harris.

Miller: How do you respond to the criticism that I’ve seen – I should say I saw this in recent weeks – when Republicans and others were talking about the possibility of the President not seeking re-election? And I’ve seen it as a kind of crescendo over the last 25, 24 hours, the idea that going with Kamala Harris automatically as a nominee is a “coronation” – that’s the word I’ve seen – as opposed to a democratic selection. That yes, primary voters overwhelmingly chose the Biden-Harris ticket in largely uncontested primaries, but that’s not the same thing as Democratic voters in primaries around the country choosing Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee herself. What’s your response to that?

Manning: Well, the ticket was Biden-Harris. It was a combination, it was a package. So if one, for whatever reason, was unavailable, the packet still runs. That means the next person steps up. That’s the way I see it. We voted for them as a package deal. And I feel that rightfully so, with the President making the endorsement, from my perspective … and I don’t speak for the Democrat party of Oregon or no one else. I speak as a United States Army retired veteran. The Commander in Chief has designated his successor. And I believe that’s the process, and that’s what I’m going with.

Miller: Are you among the group of Democratic leaders and members of  the convention, who see the possibility of an open convention – going into Chicago without an official nominee – as dangerous? There are others who see it as potentially energizing for the party and maybe even for disengaged voters. I’m curious how you see it?

I asked this question knowing that every five minutes it seems like there’s a new endorsement for Kamala Harris. So this is increasingly an academic question. Nevertheless, I’m curious as somebody who’s, I think, going to Chicago. What do you imagine the benefits, potentially, or drawbacks of an open convention?

Manning: You know, I harken back to Hillary v. Sanders.

Miller: 2016.

Manning: What that did to the party. It opened the door for criminal, felon, Donald Trump to assume the Presidency of the United States. I see, if that’s a pathway that people are trying to explore, they are trying … my opinion only … to do the same thing that will allow a dictator, a 34[-time] convicted felon to go back into the White House.

If you are joining the military, you cannot have a felony on your record. You will not be accepted. Why in the world would America want a felon, 34, to become commander in chief of our armed forces? It makes no sense. This is a time to unify and ensure Donald Trump, convicted felon, never ever sets foot in the White House again.

Miller: Let’s say that the growing party momentum behind Kamala Harris continues, and she is the pick, I’m curious what it would mean to you to have a woman of color, the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee?

Manning: Aside from her being highly successful as a prosecutor, her time in the U.S. Senate, all the things that she has accomplished, I wish that people would start looking at a person’s potential.

I had a conversation today in Eugene about the displacement of early Black people that had to live outside the city limits of Eugene. And my comments – when we start looking at people, their contributions, their qualifications, what they have achieved that benefits all of society, and start focusing on those areas, we can move past the complexions – what a person looks like, what a person’s background is in terms of cultural diversity – and then start to embrace those things and start moving toward that preamble that said, “... to form a more perfect union …” I think that those are the things that we as Americans need to embrace instead of looking at divisions – what a person looks like, their voice, their language. If we start looking at those things, Donald Trump and a lot of “MAGA” Republicans have already defined, through their own marriage and lifestyle, for foreign-born people, that they have embraced. We are in a state of confusion, and I hope that we can get past that.

Miller: Before we have to say goodbye, Republicans are already trying to tie Kamala Harris to voters’ unhappiness with the border, with inflation. Do you fear that it’ll be harder for the campaign to turn the page on parts of a Biden administration that may not resonate with some key swing voters in a handful of swing states?

Manning: I think so. But I think that the Democratic Party needs to stop accepting being slapped around and taking on the message that’s put out by the extreme “MAGA.” I think that Democrats need to start standing up, pointing out the damage that Donald Trump has done. People that talk about “the economy was better … " We went through COVID. Millions of Americans died. The economy was not great. I think that Democrats need to focus on countermeasures to counter these false claims that are being thrown out there. I think we need to stand up for America.

Miller: James Manning, thanks very much.

Manning: Thank you.

Miller: James Manning is a Democratic State Senator from Eugene District 7, one of the members of Oregon’s Democratic delegation. That delegation will be going to the National Convention in a few short weeks.

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