Lisa Desjardins:
Exactly my question.
There are a few reasons. One, wording of the letter is difficult, especially for front-liners. Some of those front-liners, I’m told, would like letter that says, this is — he has been a good president. They would like praise for the president in this letter.
Other front-liners are nervous about signing that kind of letter, because President Biden may not have won in their district before, may not win again. So, wording is one issue. Another, of course, is the politics here.
There is a lot of calculation about, how do you influence this president. Some believe that publicly coming out, asking him to step aside, is exactly the kind of thing that would have this president feel more embattled, more likely to dig in. There’s a discussion about that.
Then there’s also the politics for members. Some are worried that, if they come out publicly, there will be retribution later, should he win. Some are worried that, if they don’t come out publicly now, if he loses, there could be retribution for missing this moment.
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