Yes, the Democrats still can

Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race for three reasons. The main one is that he failed to reverse — after the disastrous first debate — the perception that he was not the candidate we remembered, even among Democratic voters. When a candidate has a smaller electoral diameter than his party... the end is near. That diameter had shrunk considerably over the last 17 days.

The second is that the political and civic coalition around him had irreparably cracked. It was not only the public and private calls from Democratic leaders in Congress and the Senate, but also the respected voices of Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. But, above all, the civic coalition of donors, celebrities, media, and activists who expressed their bewilderment, if not outrage, at the Democratic paralysis to react adequately. The drop in individual and major donor donations has proven a nail in Biden’s political coffin. Independent Senator Joe Manchin’s laceration has been key.

And, finally, because after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, his reaction, and the set of fortunate circumstances that saved his life, the Republican candidate seems different and — at the same time — more Trump than ever. The attack has surrounded him with an aura, somewhere between miraculous and energetic, that offers a new version of Trump: apparently not vengeful, serene, surrounded by his entire family — without fissures — appealing to a divine mandate to “make America great again.”

What can the Democrats do to win? In my opinion, the candidacy and the presidential ticket must respond to the three reasons why Biden has fallen.

The candidacy must think about more than the party. As a whole. It must be able to attract moderate voters and former Trump voters, while re-establishing the deep bond with the African-American and Hispanic communities. A party candidacy would be a losing one. It must be a candidature of the American Democratic culture beyond the party itself.

The candidacy must re-establish an electoral campaign strategy that presents itself as “Trump against us,” or “Us or Trump.” A choral, youthful, activist, and mobilizing us, a great cultural battle that goes hand in hand with a revitalized programmatical proposal. The election will not be won by the party; it will be won by united, activated, and energized Democrats and progressives.

And, finally, the candidacy must be imbued with a new spirit. It is necessary to beat someone who seems to have the gods on his side, an opponent as invincible as he is detestable, a resilient person who has managed to survive everything: from the trials to the attack. This will also require the emotional, almost spiritual, character that the new candidacy will have to invoke, promote, and lead. A new energy. Voters vote for what they feel and think about what moves them. That must be the key. A campaign in which every progressive and Democrat in America feels that this is the campaign of a lifetime, the most important political moment of their lives as citizens, one to which they can respond with a unique and exceptional combative energy to the great American question: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country,” (John F. Kennedy).

Antoni Gutiérrez-Rubí @antonigr, is a communication advisor.

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