“2026 and 2028 – Until Then?”

By Daniel Rose

On November 5, 2024, American voters expressed their feelings – that they approved even less of aging President Joe Biden and his hand-picked candidate for succession than they disapproved of the alternative.

Today, thoughtful and responsible voters – members of both major political parties and of all political persuasions – must ponder how to react creatively to the unprecedented socio-economic perplexities we face in the next two years. For example, the sitting Governors of all states should be encouraged to use legally available state powers to thwart threatened anti-social federal initiatives. As individuals, we each can actively support such important non-profit civic groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Urban League, and other ‘good government’ entities.

In the elections of 2026, we can propose for office prudent and pragmatic centrists as potential members of the House of Representatives, who can restrain or neutralize the most egregious of the threatened administrative excesses of the incoming presidential team. In 2028, voters can elect Senators and a President who can restore to America a national government meriting their confidence and respect.

In the interim, the Democratic Party must reinvent itself as the non-elitist political vehicle representing the best interests of the poor, the working classes, and the middle classes, all hoping to achieve their God-given personal, professional, and life-time potentials.

Revitalized, galvanized Democrats must avoid promoting destructive, counter-productive and widely unpopular efforts such as “defunding the police” or of encouraging excessively lenient (and job-threatening) immigration policies. Democrats must be, and be publicly seen to be, promoting employment creation, new housing production, appropriate vocational training, and vital public health measures. At all levels of government – federal, state, and municipal – support for effective public education for qualified students must be a high-priority concern (especially for pre-school and elementary school reading programs and, at appropriate universities, for scientific research).

Taxation – the universally hated but sadly unavoidable means of financing desirable governmental expenditures – must be publicly seen as fair and proper, with no “free-riders” and with justifiable incentives for the production of wealth benefitting the general good. Our society believes in the economic efficiency of free-market supply-and-demand competition and (to the extent it is realistically feasible in actual practice) of “equality of opportunity.”

The most destructive expression in the history of American politics was Hillary Clinton’s use of the term “deplorables,” and the Democratic Party must make explicitly clear to all its respect, sympathy and compassion for those unfortunates who, for whatever reasons, may feel unfairly deprived or disadvantaged.

The American public today is anxious and deeply disturbed; voters are worried about their economic future, and the Democratic Party must convey to all its vision of cooperative efforts to help achieve constructive and positive steps to universally desired goals.

Even in the current political climate, with the three branches of government in hostile hands, this is not the time to sit back and merely whine, groan and whimper; it is indeed the time for dynamic action, in identifying and actively supporting those who share our vision.

We all must help prominent Democratic leaders with promising futures to become better known to the general public. These would include Gretchen Whitmer, the esteemed Governor of Michigan, and Pennsylvania’s popular Governor, Josh Shapiro.

Highly regarded African Americans with favorable political prospects must become better known, and more widely supported, than by only their local advocates. Barbara Lee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, is an excellent example, as is Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland. Others would include Donna Brazile, Chair of the Democratic National Committee; Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s widely admired Attorney General; Donna Edwards, Representative from Maryland; Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former Mayor of Baltimore; and Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia. All are likely to be heard from in the future.

Friends, our society faces formidable challenges, and our compatriots should be encouraged to react energetically and constructively. We must feel that our nation’s future is in our hands, because IT IS!