Desperate times call for desperate measures.

For Democrats, a party I left more than a quarter-century ago in favor of unaffiliated status and independent mind, their current situation would seem to qualify.

Arguably, the same would apply for a broader swath of Americans if we are to take seriously concerns as to what a second Trump presidency could bring.

To the partisan lens first, Democrats need not be in a full-blown panic. But what is the alarm bell just one step shy of that?

Here in late January, Democrats find themselves with a hollowed-out, underwhelming incumbent with approval ratings deeply underwater. On top of that, the issue set for huge numbers of voters works against them.

Joe Biden carries something of the political odor of Jimmy Carter late in that failed presidency. His allies can recite statistics and talking points all day long, but the reality is that the largest chunk of the country feels less secure and more vulnerable. That is hardly the desired baseline for a reelection campaign.

Unlike Carter circa 1980, Biden also bears the burden of age and perceived frailty. For many voters, including more than a few among Biden’s major constituencies, those concerns are deal-breakers. His public appearances tend to affirm that judgment rather than rebutting it.

Biden’s immediate risk is less that voters disagree with him than that they write him off and tune him out.

You name the core Democratic group and Biden’s numbers are lagging behind how he performed in 2020 and what he requires to win this year. This is the case with Latinos, Asians, Black women, younger voters, go down the list. It is not a hemorrhage, but a serious bleed across the board.

On the issues, countless Americans continue to wince under the cumulative impact of multiple years of inflation. The southern border is a porous mess and our showcase cities are unable to cope with migrant numbers.

Wars in both Ukraine and Israel add to the deep-seeded insecurity, even as Biden deserves more plaudits than barbs for his handling of both. The headline excesses on college campuses and other precincts of the ever-so-enlightened left are like nails on a blackboard across much of the land.

All of which brings us to the rematch to which we seem to be moving, slowly, inexorably, like an unfolding train wreck, but one from which virtually every sentient American would gladly turn away.

Maybe Nikki Haley will surprise in New Hampshire and then in her native South Carolina. Maybe she can then assemble a narrow Republican majority as the non-Trump candidate. Maybe, but not likely.

Nine years after Trump rode the escalator and burst onto the political scene, this is very much his Republican Party. Look at the other leading GOP figures. Mike Johnson, Tom Cotton, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, even Ron DeSantis – all are cut from Trumpian cloth. Those few who know better are cowed and compliant. Looking at you, Marco Rubio, and your unbecoming endorsement on the cusp of the Iowa caucuses.

In 2016, Trump managed a hostile takeover of the Republican Party long before he took down Hillary Clinton. No such conquest in now needed. The GOP is fully his, heart, mind and lack of spine.

Indictments and court dates have so far not stopped him. In fact, they have provided fuel and propelled him within his own ranks. Up is down and down is up in terms of normal political rules.

Consider that roughly two-thirds of caucus-attending Iowa Republicans regard Biden as an illegitimate president. Among those supporting Trump at those caucuses, that number is a frightening 90 percent.

With that as the lay of the land, the call here is for Biden to scramble the equation. Why play this as a straight line to a highly uncertain end when you can bend the arc?

If Biden is unwilling to step aside, and if Democrats don’t see a consensus alternative (no, not you, Kamala Harris), then overhaul the ticket. Do something bold, shocking and unprecedented.

Hold your gasps and envision a bipartisan, unity ticket of Joe Biden and Liz Cheney.

It takes no particular imagination to hear the howls of protest from every corner of the Democratic left. “But, abortion.” “But, gay marriage.” “But, renewables.” “But, Iraq.” “But what if Joe doesn’t make it through a second term?”

“But, but, but, but, but.”

All are fair points. In a typical year, any would render this a non-starter.

However, this is anything but a standard-issue political year. Democrats view Trump as a mortal threat. Others join in approaching this election in almost existential terms.

If democracy is truly on the line this November as many contend, why not take every step, no matter how unconventional, to forestall that downside risk?

If these fears are sincere, don’t policy differences on energy, , budgets, abortion or foreign affairs recede to distinctly lesser importance?

If the preservation of our democratic traditions is to be the cornerstone of Biden’s bid for a second term, then who better to put by his side than the loneliest Republican who was willing to sacrifice her career to speak truths to a party unwilling to hear them?

For sure, plenty of true-blue progressives will squawk and threaten to sit on their hands. Against Trump, that is a bluff to be called.

Internal politics dictate that Harris cannot be pushed aside for another garden-variety Democrat. But for this daring stroke, no doubt a comfortable landing pad can be arranged.

Accuse me, if you will, of being unrealistic. I’ve been called worse. But if American democracy sits on a precipice, then it borders on the foolish and irresponsible to allow parochial, partisan interests to stand in the way of putting forward the most potent ticket.

Come November, this could provide a three-fer for those with such rooting interests. It could re-elect Biden, shortcomings and all. It could deliver a political death blow to the Trump menace. In the process, it could break the torturous stranglehold of our toxically divisive, overly partisan politics.

Biden-Cheney. You read it here first.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann