Nov. 3 midterms is shaping up to be, one way or another a rebuke of Trump's policies...economic and military while padding his pockets with epic corruption. However,r what are Democrats proposing as alternatives? Disgusted independents and non-MAGA Republicans may register their objections, but that is not good enough for 2028, and Democrats as a party have miserable favorability ratings now.
I have ideas to share that are relevant and popular today and for the next two years. They may never get signed by Trump or even be veto-proof, but at least they could be "on the record" for a unified Democratic Party in preparation for 2028. None of these are original ideas to me, but they seem to me to have legs and potential for support from the non-MAGA majority. To make an impact between now and then, the focus must be like a laser and unified. While so many of these proposals will be stonewalled in the Senate, even if it flips blue a bit, by presidential veto over the next two years, getting MAGA legislators on the record will lay the groundwork for Democrats' success in 2028.
So much depends on what those elected to Congress Nov. 3 will do in these next two years. Just exposing the criminality, corruption, and inhumanity of the Trump administration in House hearings cannot overwhelm the party if it wants to make itself an acceptable alternative to those same swing voters two years from now. So what are the alternatives with legs, anyway? Here are my nominations.
One slogan might be to "reform for the better".those Trmp policies which anger the swing voters the most. Yes, it is reactive to Trump's excesses, and so long as he sits in the White House Oval Office for the next two years, that is the fact of political life and will still be the driver of the 2028 presidential cycle..
Obviously, what needs to be addressed in the next two years is to come up with a believable plan of "what will Democrats do to improve the cost of living." No pie in the sky, but rolling back the Trump tariffs might be a start. Make the bi partisan house financing bill that Trump nixxed be veto -proof. Support financing to build affordable housing. Depending on what happens between now and then, get the heck out of Middle Eastern wars...and stop the one we are in now to reduce fuel prices. . For the young people, reduce the debt burden of student loans. Infuse Obamacare ACA with funds to lower premiums and restore Medicaid support to prior levels while planning for Medicare for All (polling very popular these days). While MAGA may object to all of these, at least get their nay votes on the record in preparation for 2028's attack ads. One of the reasons the socialists have been successful is that their solutions are generally popular, specific, and doable. That is the page Democrats can take from them while not embracing the rest of their planks.
The next set of issues needing reform is to restore checks and balances of the three branches and fight corruption.. These two issues are related to one another; one enables the out-of-control urge of Trump who sees his presidency as his business opportunity, and it is enabling fulfilling his lust for wealth and power. for himself. That could start with legislation to reverse treating corporate dark money as "people" by forcing daylight disclosure into political funding of even those entities.. The other: Supreme Court term limits of 18 years, staggered to give a greater chance for both parties to get their approved candidates on the bench. One with wistful thinking is to reaffirm that the president is not above the law and can be criminally prosecuted while in office. That most insane SCOTUS decision the Court has ever made was exempting the president from criminal prosecution while in office. It has made him insulated from accountability, and the pardons he can issue on exit will shelter him in his retirement. It has turned out to be is the greatest gift any wannabe corrupt autocratic president like Trump could have received. It has greenlit his ability to ignore and abuse any laws that have stood in his way of enacting his epic corruption. and power grabs. Penalties and prosecution must be strengthened to keep future presidents from taking or making money on foreign investments and gifts, and it must be made illegal for Trump to pardon himself or his immediate family for eternity afrer office holding.
The next is to stop divisive racial hatred and pass the Voting Rights Act. Anti-DEI is a thinly disguised policy to restore white supremacy; inclusion must become the norm again. All attempts to federalize elections need to be fought tooth and nail since that is one essential method a wannabe dictator can use to destroy our democracy. Keeping voting in the hands of 50 separate states is much harder to subvert than some national binding policy controlled by whoever has the power in Washington. This should resonate with those who fear some far-left lib in the future could do unto them what Trump did to those disloyal to Trump. What goes around comes around.
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