Joe Biden claims he's not a socialist because he beat Bernie Sanders in the Democrat primary. However, Joe adopted Bernie's socialist policies as they banded together to propose the most radical leftist platform in the history of American presidential politics, The Biden-Sanders Unity Manifesto:
End Cash Bail, releasing dangerous criminals onto the streets
“Democrats support eliminating the use of cash bail...” “End Cash Bail: Withhold funding from states that continue to use cash bail...” p. 9, 59
Abolish death penalty
“Abolish the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example.” p. 59
Appoint social justice prosecutors to free violent criminals
“Appoint people committed to criminal justice reform to key prosecutorial positions, including AG, DAG, and U.S. Attorneys...” “Support Progressive Prosecutors.” p. 58
End mandatory minimums
“Empower judges to determine appropriate sentences, by fighting to repeal mandatory minimums at the federal level and give states incentives to repeal their mandatory minimums.” p. 59
Incentivize prison closure
“Incentivize jail and prison closures as populations decline. Ensure the resources saved are invested directly into those communities that have been most impacted by mass incarceration.” p. 60
End solitary confinement
“End solitary confinement in all but rare, exceptional cases.” p. 60
Free federal housing for former inmates
“[W]e will ensure that 100 percent of returning citizens have access to transitional housing upon reentry from jail or prison.” p. 18
ABOLISH SCHOOL CHOICE
End School Choice
“Democrats oppose private school vouchers and other policies that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from the public school system.” p. 24
End Tax-Credit Scholarships serving disadvantaged students in 26 states; Oppose 14 million Americans with Education Savings Accounts
“Oppose any and all voucher and neo-voucher programs such as Education Savings Accounts and Tax-credit Scholarship programs” p. 83
Eliminate school choice in DC
“Discontinue funding of the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act. This voucher program authorizes the diversion of $20 million annually to private schools in the District of Columbia...” p. 83
ABOLISH CHARTER SCHOOLS
Abolish for profit charter schools
“Ban for-profit charter schools.” p. 82
Ban funding for charter schools in poor neighborhoods
“Require that federal funding for charter schools in any district be conditioned on a district's review of the financial and academic impact of a new charter school or a charter school that wants to expand on that district or neighborhood. The Department of Education would have the ability to deny federal funding for charter(s) if the district’s analysis shows that it is (1) financially distressed or (2) the charter would systematically under-serve the neediest students.” p. 82-83
ABOLISH EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
End standardized tests
“Eliminate high-stakes standardized tests that unfairly label students.” p.83
ABOLISH SUBURBS
Enforce Obama-Biden’s radical AFFH regulation that threatens to strip localities of federal affordable housing funds unless they change their zoning laws to fit the federal government’s demands.
“Implement the Obama-Biden Administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule requiring communities receiving certain federal funding to proactively examine housing patterns and identify and address policies that have discriminatory effects.” p. 64
ABOLISH ENERGY
Rejoin Paris Climate Accord & seek even higher level of restrictions
“We will rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and, on Day One, seek higher ambition from nations around the world, putting the United States back in the position of global leadership where we belong.” p. 1
Mandate net-zero carbon emissions for HOMES, OFFICES, and ALL new buildings by 2030
“Net-zero emissions for all new buildings by 2030, on the pathway to a 100% clean building sector.” p. 3
Mandate zero carbon emissions from power plants by 2035
“Eliminate carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 through technology-neutral standards for clean energy and energy efficiency.” p. 47
Mandate net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
“We agree with scientists and public health experts that the United States—and the world—must achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, and no later than 2050.” p. 2
Mandate all 500,000 school buses and all 3 million government vehicles be changed to zero-emission vehicles within five years
“...transitioning the entire fleet of 500,000 school buses to American-made, zero- emission alternatives within five years..transitioning the 3 million vehicles in the federal, state, and local fleets to zero-emission vehicles.” p. 3
Install 500,000 taxpayer-funded charging stations nationwide for electric cars
“Support private adoption of affordable low-pollution and zero-emission vehicles by partnering with state and local governments to install at least 500,000 public charging stations from coast to coast. Make charging infrastructure accessible, with strong labor, training and installation standards, through federal grants to states and localities.” p. 3
ABOLISH BORDERS
Abolish immigration detention
“End the use of for-profit detention facilities and use detention as a last resort.” p. 106
“Democrats will prioritize investments in more effective and cost-efficient community-based alternatives to detention.” p.40
Stop all deportations
“Enact a 100-day moratorium on deportations of people already in the United States while conducting a full-scale study on current practices to develop recommendations for transforming enforcement policies and practices at ICE and CBP.” p. 103
End prosecution of illegal border crossers
“...end indiscriminate prosecutions, including of asylum seekers. End mass prosecutions of individuals who cross the border...” p. 103
Support Sanctuary Cities
“Direct DOJ to drop funding restrictions (and related litigation) relating to state and local decisions regarding their role in enforcement of federal immigration law.” p. 106
Incentivize illegal alien child smuggling
“End use of the unaccompanied minors program as an enforcement trap against family sponsors, including where such a trap is facilitated by the use of information sharing between ICE and ORR.” p. 106
Expand asylum for all new illegal aliens
“...expand the existing asylum system and other humanitarian protections, including provisions in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) and the Flores Settlement Agreement for arriving unaccompanied minors.” p. 107
“Reverse policies that prevent victims of gang and domestic violence, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community, from being eligible to apply for asylum.” p. 107
Cancel all Asylum Cooperation Agreements in the Western Hemisphere
“End the Asylum Cooperative Agreements the U.S. has signed with Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.” p. 103
“End the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) also known as “Remain in Mexico” and other policies that effectively deny protection and due process to asylum seekers.”p. 103
Taxpayer-funded lawyers for illegal aliens
“Ensure access to counsel and establish federal funding to provide representation and ensure that individuals in DHS custody have meaningful opportunities to secure counsel.” p. 106
Abolish immigration enforcement against illegal workers
“Enforcement should sanction employers, not workers. End workplace raids and ensure that I-9 audits do not undermine workers’ ability to organize and assert their rights.” p. 108
Grant work permits to illegal aliens
“Reverse changes made by the Trump Administration to restrict work authorization for asylum seekers and others under ERO supervision.” p. 108
PROVIDE TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES AND WELFARE FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS AND NEW IMMIGRANTS
Government healthcare for Illegal Aliens
“ [T]he Task Force recommends extending Affordable Care Act coverage to DACA recipients, [and] allowing undocumented immigrants to purchase unsubsidized coverage in the ACA marketplaces...” p. 108
Federal student aid and free community college for illegal aliens
“Ensure dreamers are eligible for federal student aid and included in proposals to access community colleges without debt, including those who transfer to a four-year HBCU, TCU, or MSI from a tuition free community college.” p. 108
Sign new immigrants up for welfare immediately
“...lift the five-year waiting period for low-income lawfully present immigrants for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program eligibility.” p. 91
End requirement for immigrant self-sufficiency and maximize welfare
“Immediately halt enforcement of and rescind the Trump administration’s new public charge regulations... [Ensure] that the public charge determination is not used to deter access to essential public benefits, healthcare services and other key resources.”p. 103
MASSIVELY EXPAND IMMIGRATION DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, TAKING JOBS FROM UNEMPLOYED AMERICANS
End all travel bans, including from jihadist regions
“Immediately terminate the Trump Administration's discriminatory travel and immigration bans that have had disproportionate impact on Muslim and African people, and invite visa reapplication for individuals from these countries.” p. 38
Grant Mass Amnesty
“Create a roadmap to citizenship for the nearly 11 million people who have been living in and strengthening our country for years. Eliminate unfair barriers to naturalization and reduce the citizenship backlog; reject unreasonable application fees, which make it impossible for families to stay together.” p. 104
Vastly expand low-skilled immigration to the U.S.
“Support legislation to provide legal status and fast-track access to green cards, with an eventual path to citizenship, to agricultural workers based on prior agricultural work history.” p. 104
Increase refugee admissions 700 percent
“Increase the annual global refugee admissions cap to 125,000 in the first year and seek to raise it over time. Support passage of the Guaranteed Refugee Admissions Ceiling Enhancement (GRACE) Act, and commit to complying with statutory requirements to consult with Congress prior to issuing refugee determinations.” p. 107
Nine of the Most Radical Proposals in the Unity Document
1. “Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement … on Day One.” Even many on the left agree that the Paris Climate Agreement does little to slow climate change. It is a symbolic commitment by the rest of the world to reduce emissions, while most of the burden falls on the United States. Our economy has reduced emissions anyway on its own, thanks to the shift to natural gas and the advent of fracking technology, which the left hates and wants to phase out over time.
2. Shift the entire “fleet of 500,000 school buses to American-made, zero-emission alternatives” in five years. This is among the more wild-eyed proposals in the platform’s climate change section. It is not clear who will produce these buses (presumably to run on battery power), or what is to be done with half a million currently functional buses that run on ordinary fuel, and how local school districts are meant to afford the cost. The platform provides no further details.
3. “End cash bail.” The platform calls for eliminating cash bail across the country — a radical experiment in criminal justice reform that has only just begun in California and New York, with results that are deeply concerning. The idea is to reduce inequities, but in practice the end of cash bail means releasing violent criminals to commit more crimes. One suspect in antisemitic attacks in New York City late last year, for example, was repeatedly re-arrested after her releases.
4. “Stop the practice of arresting children for behavior that ought to be handled in the principal’s office.” The Democrats want to stop what they call the “school-to-prison pipeline,” arguing students of color suffer disproportionate suspensions and arrests (which would mean that liberal teachers are racist). But as Andrew Pollack points out, failing to arrest violent children could allow them to buy guns as adults, which is how the Parkland, Florida, shooting happened.
5. “We will repeal so-called ‘right to work’ laws.” It is not clear how Democrats will actually do this, since these laws are made at the state level. But “right to work” laws — freeing employees from being forced to join unions — have been a huge economic boost to states that have adopted them. Working-class Americans — especially minorities — have voted with their feet, moving from the highly unionized Rust Belt to the “right to work” South, where there are more jobs.
6. “Democrats will recognize unions with majority sign-up—via so-called ‘card check’ processes.” The “card check” violates the right to a secret ballot, and allows organizers to intimidate workers into voting to certify unions. The idea is so radical that even George McGovern, the left-wing Democratic presidential nominee in 1972 who lost to President Richard Nixon in a landslide, came out against it the last time Democrats tried to mandate it, in 2009.
7. “Oppose private school vouchers.” There is growing support for school vouchers that allow students to escape failing public schools in their local districts by choosing alternative schools — including private and religious schools. Vouchers are especially popular with minority families, who are desperate to escape the failing system in which the teachers’ unions have trapped their children. Democrats also want to restrict the expansion of charter schools, too.
8. Provide a “public option” toward universal health care. This idea was so radical ten years ago that Democrats left it out of Obamacare. But it is the beginning of “Medicare for All,” which Sanders wants to impose on everyone, and Biden wants to offer as a choice (for now). There is no thought of achieving universal health care outside government, building on the recent reforms under the Trump administration, such as tele-medicine — just more federal bureaucracy.
9. End the border wall and “provide a roadmap to citizenship for the millions of undocumented workers.” A Biden administration would stop the construction of the “unnecessary, wasteful, and ineffective wall on the southern border” — thus allowing an open border — while also giving voting citizenship to the eleven million-plus illegal aliens who are already here, permanently changing the American electorate and enshrining Democrats in power forever.