The Voice of Democracy

Democracy spoke last week, and its message was loud and clear: America can do better. 

Make no mistake, the election was a clear rebuttal of Donald Trump and of Republicans in Congress who have tolerated his corruption, cruelty, and countless lies and have refused to insist that the costly tariffs, of which he is so fond, and his costly—and deadly—decision to attack Iran be approved by Congress. Beginning January 3rd, both the House and Senate will be led by Democrats. For the first time in decades, the majority of governors will be Democrats. 

Trump’s party collapsed on a Tuesday night on live TV. It was a rout. No party has lost so many seats in Congress and in state offices since 1958 during a serious recession. Why now? Tariffs and the unprovoked attack on Iran are major reasons, but so are Trump’s open corruption, his sending of armed ICE agents into cities to terrorize and capture illegal immigrants, his pardoning hundreds of January 6th convicted criminals, his appointing unqualified people like Pete “Testosterone” Hegseth to cabinet positions, his cozying up to right-wing dictators from Putin to Orban to Kim Jong Un, his alienating and even insulting NATO members and other allies, and more.

Another reason for the rout was Republican mid-decade redistricting in seven states. Knowing their policies were so unpopular that that they would likely lose congressional seats, they chose to cheat. Ironically, they lost most of their newly drawn “safe” districts. Most Americans dislike cheaters. 

One observer said the election “wiped out a generation of Republican leaders.” The question is how Republicans can salvage anything from the wreckage. The first step is to use their best judgment regarding legislation and not just rubber-stamp what Trump wants. The next step is to stop thinking of Democrats as enemies but as colleagues with differing opinions about how best to serve the people. Another step applies to both parties: less ideology and more practicality. If, for example, Medicare for All can be shown to provide high-quality care to everyone at lower cost, do it. The test is not what “ism” some might call it; the test is how well it works for the people. 

What should Democrats do with their new power? Hakeem Jeffries, who may become Speaker of the House, proposes to introduce four pieces of legislation in the first 100 hours after January 3rd, all having to do with affordability:

• Reinstate expired Affordable Care Act health care premium subsidies.
• Reverse the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts included in the president’s domestic policy law.
• Move to end Trump’s tariffs and restore congressional power over trade policy.
• Direct Trump to end the war in Iran or seek authorization from Congress to continue it.

All these proposals are popular with voters and should attract bipartisan support. Beyond these, other Democratic priorities include banning stock trades by lawmakers and investigating Trump’s pay-for-pardons industry, corruption in public contracting (including no-bid contracts), bribery, extortion, and more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency going to the Trump family from anonymous sources. Other investigations will be of human rights violations by ICE and Homeland Security and the release of the Epstein files. An unqualified cabinet member or two may be impeached.

Democrats should take care not to spend too much time and energy on investigations. The priorities are to improve the lives of ordinary people by making goods and services more affordable, to begin rebuilding America’s respect in the world, and to tackle the looming dangers of climate change and AI.

Donald Trump likes to visit the Reflecting Pool and tell reporters how wonderful he is. Perhaps he should go there alone, ponder the Lincoln Memorial, and reflect on why Lincoln was a great president while Trump will never be.