1. United States
2. Ga.
3. Letter

The elections of November 3 present an extraordinary opportunity. But we must not mistake a rejection of the present for an endorsement of the past. The old political order did not simply fail to prevent this crisis. Its weaknesses helped make it possible. For decades, our democratic institutions depended on unwritten rules, mutual restraint, and respect for established norms. Their abandonment exposed how much democracy relied on voluntary compliance rather than enforceable safeguards. Meanwhile, concentrated economic and political power among wealthy individuals, corporations, and special interests eroded public confidence in government. That system was already failing too many Americans. Restoring that system without correcting its underlying weaknesses would not renew American democracy. It would leave the conditions for another crisis intact. We need Congress to pursue three fundamental priorities: First, rebuild our democratic and civic institutions with enforceable safeguards, genuine accountability, and renewed investment in education, infrastructure, scientific research, and public services. Second, restructure our economy so American workers possess greater bargaining power and share more fully in the prosperity they create. As artificial intelligence and automation transform our economy, we must ensure their benefits reach working families rather than becoming concentrated among corporate executives and investors. Third, and most importantly, confront the influence of concentrated wealth in our political system. Dark money, opaque political spending, and the disproportionate power of wealthy donors are incompatible with the promise of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Accountability for the abuses of the current administration is necessary. But endless investigations and political retribution cannot become substitutes for governing. Justice for the past matters. Justice for future generations demands that we build something better. This moment also demands new congressional leadership. I do not believe continuing with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries represents the change required. We need leaders in both chambers willing to challenge entrenched interests, not simply restore familiar political arrangements. The New Deal, the interstate highway system, and the civil rights movement remind us that America's greatest achievements required leaders willing to imagine a country different from the one they inherited. I ask you to demonstrate that same courage today. We must neither retreat into nostalgia for the America that was nor become consumed by retribution for what has been done to it. Our responsibility is to the America that has yet to be built, so that, in Lincoln's words, “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”