We won big by naming what is wrong and convincing voters that we were willing to take on a rigged system in order to fix it. Shocker. But here's the thing: What happens next?
It would be a tremendous breach of faith with the people who voted for us to spend the next two years, ahead of the 2028 election, railing against Trump and waiting for a future Democratic trifecta to deliver meaningful change. Democrats must spend the next two years fighting to deliver for working people right now. Right now. And yes, even with Donald Trump in the White House β or what's left of the White House.
Democrats need to come into the majority like Republicans come into a majority: with a plan. With confidence in their mandate. Ready to pass an ambitious agenda secure in the knowledge that this is what they were elected for. Not starting out with a compromise proposal and then compromising some more. This is true at the federal and state levels, in places where Democrats picked up state-level majorities.
Internalize this: If Republicans had had a win half this big, they would have swept in ready to upend decades of law, break governing institutions, and rig the entire economic and political system in favor of the very wealthy. Democrats have the built-in disadvantage that it is more difficult to build than to destroy, but they should be no less ambitious and aggressive in pushing their agenda.
Step one is getting rid of the filibuster.
Step two is passing bill after bill. End the Iran war. Anti-corruption legislation. Minimum wage. Dismantle ICE or at least defund the hell out of it. Undo Republican cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. Bring back the expanded Child Tax Credit β you know, the one that kept millions of kids out of poverty. There's a lot to do! And all of it will be easier if you get rid of the filibuster, or at least very significantly reform it.
Step three is making sure that people know what you've done. The thing about New York City Zohran Mamdani isn't just that he's doing things to improve people's lives, although that is definitely important. It's also that he tells the world what he's doing. Democrats should be following his lead by relentlessly creating extremely shareable videos about what they are doing β and what Republicans are blocking. It would be better to pass good laws and make people's lives better, but the next best thing is drawing a strong contrast with Republicans. Let voters across the country see that Democrats have what it takes to fight.
Democrats must deliver popular, meaningful legislation to Trump's desk, and then dare him to veto it. Dare him. Dare him to veto an increase to the minimum wage for hard-working Americans. Dare him to veto a ban on price-gouging. Dare him to veto a ban on AI surveillance pricing. Dare him to veto a ban on stock trading. Dare him to veto legislation that gets money out of politics, so no one buys our democracy. You can't win what you don't fight for. And if we don't fight β if we hang back and sand down the edges of our economic agenda, or trim our ambitions because we're worried about what rich donors or giant corporations might think, then shame on us.
The thing about Trump, too, is that something might get through. He is just erratic enough that he might sign one in 10 or 20 pieces of legislation that reaches his desk, and if it's good legislation, that would be a win not just for congressional Democrats but for the nation. Democrats will have plenty of other things to beat him up for vetoing β they can let a win be a win, if one comes. Take a victory lap and then beat the hell out of him for the stuff he vetoed, and out of congressional Republicans for voting against it.
Do good policy, and know that the best politics β the best preparation for 2028 β is a show of strength, and a demonstration that Democrats are here to make the lives of non-millionaires better.
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