Originally Published in the New Hampshire Union Leader
New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley has burned his candle out. His lengthy term as leader would make even a Tammany Hall alumnus blush; but in the face of his many contradictions and changes of course, it has become increasingly clear that his prolonged term must now draw to a close.
I previously criticized Mr. Buckley in this paper, on account of his notoriously acid tongue being unwilling to cash the checks that it had written (at the time, Buckley was energetically blocking several press outlets who had disparaged him on social media). However, the issues surrounding his management of the Democratic primary process and the subsequent resignation of Joe Biden are more deeply concerning.
On July 11, Buckley signed onto a full-throated endorsement of the incumbent when he joined the Eastern Region Caucus of the DNC in declaring their “unwavering support of and solidarity with President Joe Biden.”
Apparently — and incredulously — the chairman did not detect any concerns with his candidate in those early weeks of the month.
A breath later, Buckley announced his “full support and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the office of president of the United States (7/21/24).”
To his newfound delight, the entire New Hampshire DNC delegation subsequently pledged their support for Harris in rather short order. It seems that our self-proclaimed “defender of democracy” now has at least two dodgy “victories” under his belt.
First, he successfully cudgeled New Hampshire voters into selecting a primary candidate (Biden) who refused to acknowledge or participate in our long-cherished first-in-the-nation primary process. Even well before the nomination was secured, Buckley’s Democratic Party and its ideological kin effectively functioned as arms of Biden’s reelection campaign, to the exclusion of other candidates like Dean Phillips or Marianne Williamson. Pretensions of official neutrality aside, under Buckley’s rule it was made all too clear that the only choice for orthodox Democrats was the incumbent.
Second, Buckley has actively abetted the usurpation of this first imperfect process by anointing an even more untested candidate for our highest office, without any final concern for the electorate. Let’s not forget that in 2019 Kamala Harris dropped out of the presidential race before reaching New Hampshire due to a crushing lack of support.
The mental and physical decline of President Biden cannot have come as a shock to one who purports to know the man and who oversees the highest echelons of Democrat Party politics in our state. For Buckley to have intentionally advanced a decaying Biden, with the understanding that a replacement would inevitably sweep away the popular choice, would be wicked.
If Buckley was innocent of the knowledge that Biden was hopelessly unfit to continue campaigning, then he is recklessly ill-informed on the most important issues under his purview.
Both parties have tremendous opportunities for growth within the state and are surely availing themselves of the many national dollars that flow into potential battlegrounds like New Hampshire. Political organizations must embrace new, more dynamic leadership styles to operate in a world made all the more confusing by these late events.
Having debased our role in the primary process and confounded us with ever new political chicanery, does anything beyond nostalgia maintain Raymond Buckley in his position? He is a crude ogre, seemingly content with scoring cheap points against his ancient rivals, while ignoring the mounting catastrophes which his leadership has wrought in the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
At long last, Chairman Buckley ought to resign.
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Dover’s D. S. Dexter Tarbox Jr. is a conservative author and commentator. He is an opinion contributor at NewEnglandTake.com, NH Journal, and Granite Grok, among others.
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