The Democrats' True Problem: The Old Guard

For the last few months I sat with information that I could not believe. Early on this year some people who knew I was a political podcaster (albeit small and niche) DM'ed me information about a politician I had great respect for. Due to my personal rule of never divulging private messages, I suppose this sender felt safe giving me the information they did. Little did I know after initially scoffing at it, how right this information was. You see people often send me political information, sometimes it's just Hill gossip. Other times it can be blatant lies. I had one such issue with an anonymous Twitter user who sent me a link to a site that condemned then Representative Cori Bush as antisemitic. It was a hard lesson on doing better due diligence after I ran with the story with my only verified source turning out to be an odd blog post under a pro-Isreal website. The sender's account was either self-nuked or banned. Either way after that I became very careful on what information I would vocally share on my cast.

But this information sat in my mind for weeks before I even began to allude to Nancy Pelosi's scheming. When hit pieces from people like George Clooney came out questioning President Biden's competence. The private message I received truly began to push itself from the back of my mind to the forefront. As our nation watched the media strategically engage in a coordinated attack. Not helped by the debates where President Biden, (who should have asked for a postponement) gave his best shot, but his sickness that night was used against him. Soon the wheels of the Judas Caucus began to take its destructive turn. Names of people such as Representative Pelosi, Raskin, Schiff, to name a few along with Actors Clooney and Jon Stewart. There was a coordinated effort to not only oust Joe Biden whose policies not only advanced our troubled nation after the first four years of Trump but had a genuine desire to work across the board and bring Bipartisanship back to our political arena.

But Nancy had other plans, you see her California connections included a Governor who most only knew for his sassy shitposting on Twitter. Govenor Gavin Newsome was the man Nancy had wanted Joe to pick as his Vice President in his first bid. Something that many including myself believed would have tanked his attempt to beat Trump in 2020. Nancy because she is one of the old guards, a group of Democratic politicians in their seventies and in her case eighties who still run under the guise of king/queen makers. And she believed the only way to hold the Democratic populace together was to have an all-white male ticket. Fortunately for Joe Biden and our country a southern elder and clear strategist in Representative Clyburn made it clear that the path to victory would come if President Biden picked someone who had the momentum, and a group rallied behind her. Was it a bold move? Could it have backfired? Yes, but it worked, because groups such as the KHIVE, made it so. The largest grassroots organization that used both social media and our vast connections across many fields to motivate voters of all demographics but especially black voters to support this ticket. And this chance paid off when we won in 2020.

But Nancy from everything that I had learned was not too happy that her desire to see Gavin in that VP slot, thus preparing him to make his own bid for presidency harder. It was then her tendrils of treachery truly begun. Articles on whether Kamala Harris was "competent" at being Vice President cropped up. It angered a lot of us but we figured the media was just being its normal misogynistic bigoted self. Then talks of my own state's governor Gretchen Whitmer being a potential replacement, when Big Gretch offered no such overtures and loudly shut down such nonsense. But also, the rumbling of President Biden choosing a new VP pick for his second run had the information that I sat on really hit home. In fact, the only reason I didn't run with all of it was because a lot of the names that were floated to me still hit hard. People we looked up to and admired playing a game of dangerous politics, all because Joe Biden did not want to follow their ridiculous rules. Hubris and ego destroyed the peace this nation fought so hard to have after the 2016-2021 years.

And now as we brace for 2025 new articles are cropping up to show Nancy is not done with her shenanigans. As if she cannot tarnish her legacy more, especially after giving such disastrous interviews where she proudly states she "petitioned for an open primary against an incumbent president." And openly surmised that the results of November 5th were due to President Biden not caving to the pressure to bow out sooner, and once again driving a false narrative that Kamala Harris was "not ready." All in favor of a Governor that outside his own state (and to be honest isn't really that beloved there either) would have an iota of a chance with the 80% and the 92% of black Democratic voters. Her hubris spurned on by years of being lauded as a no-nonsense wonk, a person who stood up to Trump and helped pass the American Rescue Act, her years of service and friendships with people such as Representative Maxine Waters. All of that is now tarnished under her 2024 crash out over not getting her way.

And now like so many Democrats I loudly wonder if the time for a new guard, a crop of fresh face, eager to not only legislate but resonate with the American populace such as Laureen Underwood is needed. Nancy had her time in the political spotlight, she was a warrior in the arena for a very long time. Long enough to go from being a hero to an outright villain in my eyes. Between Pelosi, Schumer, and several others I now side eye, I believe it's beyond time for some younger, diligent Democrats to take the mantle. The old guard refuses to change, and due to that our party will suffer the stagnation their attitudes have wrought upon us.

Tynisa (Kalarigamerchic) is an independent writer and author of the novels Axiom, and Taara Destiny’s Chosen.