Joe Biden must simultaneously thrown down the gauntlet and agree to step away
Joe Biden’s approach to leadership has failed. He now must go for broke in the midterms with bold plan of what the new Congress will do in the first weeks of January 2023.
He must couple that with a pledge NOT to run for reelection in 2024, vowing to turn over the country’s leadership to a new generation.
This speech is Joe Biden’s last — and only — chance to create a REAL legacy.
“My fellow Americans. During the past 18 months, I have tried to lead America the way I was taught: with optimism and consensus, and attempts at respect for political opponents and a willingness to compromise. However, today, I must admit that I have failed.
When I took office I believed that the decency of the majority of Americans would once again win the day. That extremists and hateful bigots would be sidelined. I believed that respect for democracy and the American Ideal would light a path forward to a more perfect union.
That belief has been shattered.
Today, we have an opposition Republican party which acts in contradiction to the will of the solid majority of Americans on virtually every major issue: Gun Laws, Climate Change, Fair Taxation, a living Minimum Wage, Voting Rights, Access to affordable healthcare, to name just a few. The Republican party in Congress is hostage to an evil cabal of lobbyists for big business and the rich & powerful. The Republican Party worships dictators and despots like Vladimir Putin — and despises our trusted foreign allies. The Republican Party is driven by hate for others, fear of progress, and deceit — including the BIG LIE about the 2020 election.
To make things worse, we now have a Supreme Court which is controlled by vindictive, spiteful, religious zealots. They have eviscerated a century of progress in America. They’ve denied states the right to regulate firearms, they’ve denied voters the right to freely cast a ballot, they’ve bulldozed the sacred wall that separates Church and State. They’ve granted rights to corporations at the expense of regular citizens. They’ve allowed the rich to buy elections with unlimited spending. And now they’ve denied the women of this country the right to choose what they do with their own bodies. Destruction of gay rights and access to contraception are next on their list.
In the November 2022 mid term elections, Americans must decide that enough is enough, that we want to retake control of our country with legislative and judicial branches that believe in the abiding by the will of the people. We must vote for Democrats — not because our party is without fault — we do plenty of things wrong — but because the Republican Party has brought an era of destruction on all of us and there is little time to fix things.
If you vote in November 2022 for a Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, with new generation of leaders, those legislators will be sworn in on January 3, 2023.
Here is what the Congress will do in the first week of the new term:
- In the very first hour, the Senate will abolish the fillibuster once and for all — ending forever the tyranny that a minority can exert on the will of the people
- At that exact moment, I will deliver a letter to Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, demanding that they step down by the end of the week. These two aged Justices have broken their oath to serve, and instead have unleashed a hateful vengence on America that has festered in their angry souls for decades.
- At the same time, Congress will make a referral to the Justice Department to prosecute Justice Brett Kavanaugh for perjury during his confirmation hearing testimony.
- If Justices Alito and Thomas agree to IMMEDIATELY resign, the Senate will then vote before the end of the week to confirm two new justices, Sri Srinivasan and Jacqueline Nguyen, which will return a majority of the court to sanity
- If Justices Alito and Thomas do NOT agree to immediately resign, the Senate AND House will instead immediately vote to expand the Supreme Court from 9 justices to 13.
- Following that vote and my signature, the Senate will then confirm four new Justices, with Merrick Garland and Paul Watford joining Srinivasan and Nguyen on the bench
- Then the Congress will pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which will guarantee access to the voting booth for all, and prevent all attempts at voter suppression.
- Finally, in the first week, both Houses will vote to convey Statehood for Washington DC and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in time for the 2024 election, bringing four new Senators and five new Repesntatives to Congress who believe in the will of the majority of Americans.
The actions during the first week of the new Congress are vital to preserving our Democracy, and protecting our citizens by denying the Republican party the ability to destroy our rights and freedoms. But just keeping Republicans out of power — and rebalancing the Supreme Court are not enough.
We realize that Congress must also enact immediately enact vital legislation that benefits America and the American people.
Here is what the new Congress will do in the first 30 days:
- Pass the“Pete Buttigieg Medicare for all who want it” Act, granting the right of all Americans to choose between public and private health insurance
- Pass the “Bernie Sanders “Living Wage Guarantee Act,” which will raise the minimum wage to $20.25 by the year 2025, thus raising millions of working Americans out of poverty — and lifting many others towards income security.
- Pass the “Sandy Hook and Uvalde Protect Children from Gun Violence Act”, which will PERMANENTLY ban military style assault weapons, high capacity magazines and provide for huge legal judgments against the murderous gun industry and its supporters.
- Pass the “Elizabeth Warren Fair Tax Act” — which will decrease taxes for most of the middle class, while increasing taxes on the top 2% of the wealthy, who for too long have flouted the system to enrich themselves.
- Pass the “Dreamers Act” — which will give young immigrants the chance to remain in the only country they know while contributing to our economy, our military and our culture.
- Pass the “My Body, My Choice Act” — which restores the right to women to control their bodies AND also legalizes the use of Marijuana across all 50 states.
The actions of the new Congress in the first 7 and 30 days will be known as The Great Leap Forward Pledge.
Every Democratic candidate will run on this pledge. For once, Democrats will have clear and convincing message to the American people.
Finally, it would be wrong for me to call for a new generation of Congressional leaders without acknowledging that Americans also would like to see a change at the top as well.
Therefore, I will not seek, nor will I accept, the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of the United States in 2024. In addition Vice President Kamala Harris also will not seek election to higher office in 2024.
Instead, the two of us will devote ALL of our energies in 2023 and 2024 to enacting the sweeping changes most Americans desparately crave. We will be able to do the right things, and say the right things, without the slightest concen for our own political futures.
Meanwhile, the door will be open to a new generation of national leaders, who bring the fresh ideas about the economy, the climate, healthcare, world affairs and human rights to the fore.
In 2024, I hope Americans will have a choice to elect a new President and Vice President who captivate their imaginations and cultivate their best angels. I pray that these new leaders inspire Americans to seek a more perfect union.
My fellow Americans. It’s clear that the path I have tried to take since being sworn in to office has not worked. I truly believed I was the right person to lead our country — and tried to do so in the best way I know how. It is not easy to admti that my leadership cannot continue into a new term.
However, If I can leave office in January 2025 knowing that the Congress and the Supreme Court have been restored to their rightful role as the soul and conscience of America, that will be the greatest victory I have ever won in my half-century of public service.
The future will be in the hands of the American voters in November 2022.
God Bless You. And God Bless the United States of America and protect our troops.
