Moreover, according to a senior Democratic official, the party leadership would have much more control over choosing a replacement if Biden were to drop out after receiving the nomination than if he did so beforehand. Once a candidate is officially nominated, there is a process for the Democratic National Committee members to choose a successor. Biden is the dominant force at the DNC, and his preference for a successor would surely carry sway.
If Biden were to exit before that, his delegates might do what he asked of them — but they wouldn’t be bound in the same way they are now. In that scenario, the delegates could nominate anyone, and there could be a political brawl at the convention.
This is not the left cannibalizing itself. This is the democrat leadership taking advantage of a candidate who will end democracy and instead propping up progressively worse candidates election after election. Instead of going with a candidate that is even moderately popular with the left of the party, the democrats put in a candidate who is best known for compromising with the right.
It’s, frankly, the result of the wealth of the democrat party stomping down anyone that would potentially raise their tax burden.