Democrats have gotten a bit of an energy bump since Joe Biden's State of the Union Speech on Thursday. But in the back smoky rooms of the Democrat National Committee, they have to know that Joe Biden spells bad news for their chances in 2024. Whether Joe slept all day on Thursday or it was something else that got him to appear that focused and rejuvenated could be up for debate. But what is certain is that the Democrats are nervous. Part of what makes them nervous is third-party candidates, but they also may have their sights set on something else that could be a problem for them in November. 

The left: if we could just put Trump in jail, get rid of the electoral college, ban voter ID, and censor free speech we’d be able to save democracy!

— Kevin Sorbo (@ksorbs) March 10, 2024

For those not old enough to remember, former Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO) was the House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. He was a recent guest of "Morning Joe" Scarborough on MSNBC to talk about a group that he is heading up — a bipartisan group called "Citizens to Save Our Republic." The group is asking the "No Labels" party and other third-party candidates to drop out of the race, especially in swing states, to avoid becoming election spoilers. In other words, they want third-party candidates to drop out to help Joe Biden. 

Gephardt blathers on about how the 2024 election is "the most consequential election since 1864." He goes on to regurgitate the standard Democrat talking point that if Donald Trump is re-elected, "our democracy is done." Gephardt is careful not to just pick on No Labels but says that all third-party candidates need to "think carefully about what they're doing, and the consequences of what they're doing on this election outcome." Gephardt and his Joe Biden cheering squad may have good reason to worry. Third-party candidates are on the ballots in a total of 41 states. Jill Stein and the Green Party in 21 states, No Labels in 16 states, and independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornell West are both on the ballot in two states. 

They are working around the Electoral College.

Wake up. https://t.co/hHTLibrl7W

— Mr. Sausage (@MrSausageGet) March 5, 2024

Gephardt argues that Trump has a locked in voter base of 45 percent, so there are 55 percent of Americans that have an opportunity to consider an alternative to Biden. It's a possibility that a good chunk of those voters are frustrated by both Democrats and Republicans, but will still lead some to vote for Trump. It seems that they view Kennedy as the biggest threat to dragging Biden across the finish line. Fellow panelist, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pointed to the fact that the Kennedy name still holds sway among many voters, and asked if he helps or hurts Biden. Gephardt rightly says that Kennedy would take votes from both Biden and Trump, but that polling for the group he has paid for indicates that not only Kennedy but all third-party candidates help Donald Trump. 

It was here that Gephardt made a very interesting comment. Scarborough tried to float the idea that Democrats have won the popular vote in seven of the last eight elections. He goes on to claim that, if it were not for Ralph Nader and Jill Stein, there would not have been a Republican elected this century and that it could happen in 2024. It is a reference to the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections. But whether any of those third-party candidates got enough votes to sway either election could be debatable. 

Gephardt's response to Scarborough: 

"It's hard to have a democracy, where repeatedly, you put the minority in the control of the government. That's a problem. Now, we all know why it is, we have the Electoral College. that was a compromise they made in 1789, we know that. So we gotta work around it. It is what it is. We have to work around it, we will work around it." 

Did Gephardt just let the 2024 Democrat game plan out of the bag? Work around it? What exactly does that mean? And does he know that the minority often being in charge of the government is how it is supposed to work? It is truly a chilling comment, and Americans have the right to know what he meant by it. But we shouldn't let Gephardt fool us into thinking that Democrats don't know the purpose of the Electoral College. They know; they just don't like it when it doesn't favor them. 

Democrats usually have their eye on abolishing the Electoral College when they lose. Republicans had better be fully prepared for election shenanigans by Democrats. What does Dick Gephardt know that we don't?