How Democrats should take power
Some basic guidelines for how to undo the damage of the Trump presidency.
Publicly track all of the problems Trump is creating. Frame them all as temporary problems that will be resolved in 2028. The point of this is to not let Trump ratchet in a new normal where people forget about just how much damage he did (particularly early in the term) and to begin laying the justification for ambitious action to fix all of it. It will also serve notice to Trump that he needs to play ball with Democrats, otherwise everything he does can be obliterated in the next term. I recommend just launching a simple website that keeps a running list.
Begin building a Project 2029. This should be framed as a restoration agenda that brings America “back to normal” and prevents a recurrence of a Trump-style assault on the government — even though it will actually be far more ambitious. For instance, the solution to Trump’s cuts to Medicaid should be Medicare for All, and universalizing it should be sold in part as a measure to prevent future cuts and repeals. The next president should add six new Supreme Court justices, but this should be sold as merely fixing the politicization of the Court under Trump and previous Republicans.
Campaign for a Senate supermajority. Democrats should run in 2028 and 2026 on the explicit claim that they will need a supermajority in the Senate to pass their agenda in the face of inevitable Republican obstruction.
Prepare to prevent a potential coup. Meet with international leaders and prepare them for the possibility that they will need to threaten sanctions if it appears that the GOP will not honor the results of the election. Hold a press conference on election security and at some point publicly remind police and military that they their primarily responsibility is to the Constitution and that they also have a legal responsibility to disobey unlawful orders.
“Lame duck” Trump immediately after the election. Point to the precedent the GOP has set that if the party in power loses the election they should not take any controversial actions until their term ends.
Prepare for a day one blitz. The president should be prepared to sign a whole raft of executive orders immediately after being sworn in. Congressional Democrats should be prepared to propose and vote on a whole docket of legislation as soon as they take office. All of this must be explicitly defended as a fulfillment of their mandate and with “elections have consequences” rhetoric. The first days in office are for establishing that this administration has a mandate to take extraordinary, radical action as quickly as possible.
Consolidate power. Democrats should prioritize entrenching themselves in office and making it more difficult for Republicans to repeal what they have done. Immediately enact voting reforms to expand the franchise and make it easier to vote. Vote in Washington, DC as the 51st state. Offer all federal employees who were unjustly terminated under Trump their jobs back. Prepare to vote on as many judges as possible. No “looking forward, not backward” politics; prepare to prosecute Trump officials for their crimes.
Lay out an eight-year plan. Do this quickly and claim that this is a part of your mandate. The plan should set expectations for how long it will take to pass and implement the various programs you propose. And it should also make clear that you will need all eight years to do it.
Give stuff to voters and claim credit for it. No more “submerged state” nonsense where benefits are buried in obscure tax cuts. Find excuses to send the voters checks with your name on it. Launch generous welfare programs and free government services, and make sure they know who did it. Giving the voters stuff should be seen as a policy end in and of itself because it’s what gets you re-elected.
Elect socialists. The Trump presidency is ultimately a problem of plutocracy, and if you don’t address the extreme concentrations of wealth and power in our country you’ll inevitably have to deal with the reactionary bourgeoisie again. Democracy cannot co-exist with extreme wealth; their holdings must be expropriated. Enact rules redistributing firm stocks to its employees. Make the Rule Against Perpetuities a federal law. And so on. This only happens if you elect socialists.
Thanks for reading! My blog is supported entirely by readers like you. To receive new posts and support my work, why not subscribe?
Refer enough friends to this site and you can read paywalled content for free!
And if you liked this post, why not share it?