Biden, whatever his flaws and whatever he did subsequently, was a moderate (as coded in DC) Democrat when he ran in the primary in 2019-2020, not a "Democrat who hates Democrats." There is a difference.
"I think a lot of people would like to see a mini primary," Manchin said. "That's the process — find out if you have the strongest candidate, whether it could be Kamala or whoever else."What the fuck is he (or any of these people) talking about? What is a "mini primary"? How does this happen?
There is actually going to be the "open convention" everyone dreams about, and if someone want to make it competitive they can. Just don't expect people to applaud! Go on TV, make the case, call some delegates and convince them to support you! That's politics, baby!
But what observers often miss is that under the existing rules, the convention will already be “open.” Any candidate willing to run who can identify 300 delegates (no more than 50 from any one state) supporting them can have her or his name placed in nomination. This would be true for either a “virtual roll call” (what the DNC is currently planning for the week after August 1) or for a traditional convention roll call.
The flip side of this open process is important, too: Biden’s stepping aside means there is no mechanism for him to transfer support to Kamala Harris or anyone else. If Democrats think his endorsement of Harris as the nominee is a bad idea and someone’s willing to go public with a challenge and can amass 300 delegates, the nomination could go elsewhere. So you don’t really have to invent some elaborate new process to hold an “open convention”; the 300-delegate requirement operates as both a window for competition and a limitation on chaos.