Joe Biden needs to transfer his power peacefully.
Is Dean Phillips the reform candidate America needs?
Old man Biden is lashing out at the “elites.” The press that once covered for him has now turned on him. The party is slowly distancing itself from him. It’s only a matter of time before Biden steps aside. We should move on from debating whether he should run and debate who should replace him on the ticket.
By minute twelve of the first Presidential debate, the American people saw what Biden’s inner circle surely sees daily, and it can’t be unseen. In one minute, it was evident that the “elite” that Biden is now attacking was really propping him up. It unmasked his delusion and the administration's weakness. This is why, when Biden does step aside, Kamala Harris should not be the nominee.
After a disastrous debate performance, a week of inaction, excuses, sinking poll numbers, and calls from his own party to drop out, Biden finally sat down for an interview on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
In the interview, Biden maintained his Wilsonian delusion that he is the “most qualified person to beat him (Trump).” He continued the excuses, saying he had a “bad night” and wasn’t “in control” due to inadequate preparation and a lingering illness. At times, Biden exuded a Trumpian flare, saying, “I took on big pharma. I beat them. No one said I could beat them.” His performance did not calm the nerves of anxious Americans who believe democracy is on the ballot.
Like Woodrow Wilson, Biden has been enabled by those near him, and the American people have been betrayed by the administration behind him. After Wilson's stroke in October 1919, Edith Wilson controlled the information to the President. In 2024, Jill guides Biden off-stage and speaks for him. And much like Wilson’s Vice President Thomas Marshall, who “dreaded the great task” of the Presidency, Harris has whimpered at the responsibility, failing to lead the administration to enact the 25th amendment.
So, the question remains, if not Biden or Harris, then who?
If we take the position of the New York Times editorial board and agree that this is a “chance to protect the soul of the nation,” then the question must be asked to the whole nation, not just the democratic faction.
I propose Dean Phillips. He entered Congress as a reform candidate, defeating five-time incumbent Erick Paulsen. He recognizes the plight of the common man and the next generation, saying, “A majority of our neighbors live paycheck to paycheck … unable to get ahead and save for their dreams.” He acknowledges that the “Chaos at our border and in our cities is growing.”
It’s important to remember that while Kamala Harris and the administration have been telling us for months that Biden’s age is not an issue, Phillips was challenging him for the Democratic nomination in a primary system that MAGA and progressive supporters might consider “rigged.” Phillips campaigned telling voters he believed Biden “is at a stage in life where his capacities are diminished.”
So, while most of the Democrats cleared the field for Biden, Phillips was the only one with the courage to tell voters the truth. It’s also worth noting that Phillips is the only serious candidate who ran in a democratically elected campaign for the Presidency. How much democracy would take place if Gavin Newson were to have the nomination?
A majority of Americans disapprove of Congress. Phillips should capitalize on that by introducing a reform plan focusing on Congress. This plan should include campaign finance reform to limit the George Santos of the world from winning elections, term limits that require leaders to step aside when their time has come, and increasing the capacity of the Congress to provide the legislative manpower needed for a post-Chevron world. These issues resonate with most Americans and focus on the core of our republic's failures.
Phillips could unite the progressives, old-guard Democrats, and Never-Trump crowd by giving them a candidate who can defeat Trump and save democracy. He could entice MAGA supporters tired of Trump's stick and lack of accomplishments by offering a reform plan for the “rigged system” and doing what Trump failed to do: “drain the swamp.”
After suffering his stroke, Wilson still believed he was the most qualified man for the job. During the 1920 Democratic convention, he maintained the delusion of a third term so much that he never threw his support behind another candidate. Biden shouldn’t make the same mistake; he should step aside and support a candidate who can defeat Trump.
The idea that out of 330 million people, there is only one person who can defeat Trump and “save democracy” is as silly as Biden beating Big Pharma or Trump building the wall—the only people who believe that are those trapped inside the bubble of power. Everyone else wants a guy who isn’t corrupted by power and who doesn’t cower from it, either.
America needs leaders with courage, knowledge, and talent. America needs a leader like Dean Phillips, who believes “in the American people” and that “it is time to walk from the shadows of darkness into the bright sunshine of the future.”