Delaware Democrats to Their Joyous Party: ‘Et tu, Brute?’

[Pelican Press 0]

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Delaware Democrats to Their Joyous Party: ‘Et tu, Brute?’

Joyous Democrats have descended on Chicago, a city awash in Kamala Harris merchandise, memes and crowds of people eager to celebrate her White House candidacy, having long moved on from President Biden’s ill-fated run.

Then there are the Delawareans.

As Democrats from Mr. Biden’s home state gathered at a private breakfast on Monday, some couldn’t help reflecting that this was intended to be his Democratic National Convention — until he bowed out of the race last month under staggering pressure from fellow Democrats who feared he would lose and bring the party down with him.

For the long-tenured Delaware Democrats who can rattle off the endorsements Mr. Biden, 81, received in his 1972 Senate race — and can tick through details of his county council term before that — the idea of state and national politics without him is unimaginable. Before his Monday evening speech handing the reins to Ms. Harris, they were already bracing for the waterworks.

“We were banking on him having four more years doing this,” said ****** Michael Beals — sometimes called “

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” because of their longstanding relationship. He predicted tears.

Asked whether he thought Mr. Biden had been treated unfairly by his party, Mr. Beals responded by noting that a

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this summer put on the play “Julius Caesar.”

“There’s this scene with, ‘Et tu, Brute?’ where all of his allies are taking knives and ******** poor Julius Caesar,” he said. Turning back to Democrats’ revolt against Mr. Biden, he added, “I just couldn’t help but feel that some of them were his colleagues who have been around him for so long and — it was painful to watch.”

In

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, 93 percent of Democratic voters approved of his decision to drop out, reflecting longstanding worries about his age that were supercharged by a disastrous debate.

And in interviews with convention attendees from Delaware, most made a point to stress their support and enthusiasm for Ms. Harris. She ******* her party around her candidacy with blazing speed, and the campaign reset has fueled a surge in Democratic energy after months of apathy and dread about November.

“We have fallen in very nicely behind Vice President Harris, and we intend to support her with all the vigor that Joe would expect of us,” said Lydia E. York, Delaware’s state auditor. But, she acknowledged, “I’m not going to tell a tale, there’s a little bit of mixed emotion.”

The election began with a “favorite son” at the top of the ticket, she said. “Now we’re arrived at convention, he’s not on the ticket.”

Even as many Democrats have been eager to turn the page, Mr. Biden’s allies in Delaware are focused on ensuring that he feels his party’s gratitude.

“He’s at peace with it, he’s optimistic about it,” Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a close Biden ally and co-chair of Ms. Harris’s campaign — who is also scheduled to speak Monday night — said in an interview. “My small role this evening is to help focus and emphasize just how grateful we all are for what Joe Biden’s done.”

At the breakfast, he led attendees through a practice round of “We Love Joe” chants, encouraging them to “go nuts” with the cheer during his speech. Some collected buttons that read, “I know Joe ’24.” The line was reminiscent of one from Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, whose endorsement of Mr. Biden in the 2020 campaign — “I know Joe. We know Joe. And most importantly, Joe knows us” — helped revive his floundering candidacy.

State Representative Kerri Evelyn Harris, the Delaware national committeewoman, said she thought Mr. Biden’s speech would generate excitement.

But, she added, noting the close personal connections many in the small state feel to Mr. Biden, “there’s going to be a sense of loss.”

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#Delaware #Democrats #Joyous #Party #Brute

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