What Joe Biden’s Speech Should Have Said

Joe Biden recently gave a speech in Philadelphia about democracy in crisis in America. Here's what I wish he'd said:

My fellow Americans. We are facing a crisis of democracy. 64% of Americans believe our democracy is in crisis for different reasons. Polarization is getting worse and worse.

It would be easy for me to stand up here and say vote for Democrats, because I’m a Democrat. And yes, I do think that Democrats are better at defending democracy than the current version of the Republican Party, which has now succumbed to Donald Trump and his vision of a state where autocracy governs and the rule of law fades. I feel we have to defeat Donald Trump and make sure he never sits in the Oval Office again.

But the truth is that it’s not enough to simply vote for Democrats, because the problems are bigger and deeper than that.

First let me say that the Democratic party has adopted some practices that I will now apologize for and pledge that we should never do again. We have boosted election-denying extremists like Doug Mastriano and Joe Gibbs for our own political purposes against more moderate Republicans, including even figures like Peter Meijer who voted to impeach Trump at great personal cost. How can we argue that democracy itself is at stake and then spend millions of dollars supporting candidates who represent that very threat? We will never do so again. We will defend those who defended our democracy.

Second, we have spent millions of dollars combating ballot initiatives around measures like ranked choice voting and non-partisan open primaries that would open up our democracy and give people more real choice. Again, we have done this for our own political purposes, and are doing it right now in Nevada. We will instead begin to support these measures as good for our democracy, as was recently seen in Alaska’s non-partisan primaries.

Third, we have systematically kept minor parties off the ballot in states around the country, from North Carolina to New York, because our own party’s dominance mattered more to us than people having a say. Democrats will begin to stand for democracy in fact as well as name.

The Republican Party has become a cult of personality around a single man, and it has demonstrated to us just how fragile our system is. How can it be that if one party’s leadership sours that we are all at risk? But this gives us an opportunity to invigorate our democracy to stand the test of time.

The fact is that 90% of Congressional districts are uncompetitive in the general election and up to 70% of the nation’s local races are either uncontested or similarly uncompetitive. We have declined to 28th in the world in basics like public education and clean water regardless of which party is in power.

There is a bill in Congress called the Fair Representation Act. It would shift our current Congressional districts with one representative to new, bigger districts that would have multiple representatives from different parties. Some would be neither Democrats nor Republicans. This would give rise to new voices in our country and make us more resilient to authoritarianism because there would be more seats at the table that are not beholden to leadership of one party or the other.

I’ve always believed that we need to make way for the next generation. That is why Democrats should now support term limits for elected representatives, something that is supported by three-quarters of Americans. I believe this would help restore faith in elected leaders as working on behalf of the people and then coming home.

Democracy has been the source of our country’s strength and prosperity for generations, and it now lies in jeopardy. The measures that will be required to defend and modernize it go beyond traditional partisanship – and I now ask all Americans, whether Democrat, Republican or Independent or some other affiliation, to join me in doing so. The reforms I've enumerated here are just the beginning. Together, we can pass on a vibrant democracy to our children and grandchildren and ensure that America’s future remains brighter than its past.