Democrats MUST hit the ground running in January

Failure is not an option. The American people have spoken. If Trump vetoes legislation, let it serve as a signal to the people that Republicans can never be trusted to govern again.

If we accept that politics is, as many like to say, ‘complicated,’ we have to understand why and how complicated it is. We spoke yesterday about the makeup of the 2026 voter bloc. I’ve long said that elections aren’t won by either Democrats or Republicans; the kingmakers are self-identified independents. I’ve no doubt that activating a significant segment of the 90 million who sat it out in 2024 delivered a historic result that may prove to be the largest political poisoned chalice of opportunity in modern history.

For American democracy to rise from the ashes of its attempted destruction, lots of moving parts need to come together. The big question is what type of change America voted for. We know for sure what they voted against, but the ballot didn't include an option to say what they voted for, so Democrats have to be smart. They are the beneficiaries of a massive protest against tyranny, NOT an endorsement of a vision they never shared. For me, that’s a real problem.

We know establishment Democratic messaging has long lacked clarity and the ability to tell a story; never has that been more true than today. This is a moment when the public remains unclear and, to some degree, sceptical about what leadership intends to do to address the concerns that led to the victory they were handed. People are tired of being victims of rich men’s greed. The economy and corruption were front and centre, yet we seem to be listening to Democrat plans written on the back of a beer mat after their election-night celebrations.

This is a moment for serious people with genuine ambition for change, not indecisive career politicians afraid to shake things up for fear of upsetting donors. My real fear is that special interests are already setting the parameters for what they will allow to be delivered. That’s not how you achieve the transformative change this unprecedented opportunity presents. Even on the simple issue of whether healthcare should be a human right, leadership and corporate Democrats are like deer caught in the headlights, unable to articulate the argument, because there isn’t one. How can that be acceptable if you call yourself a representative of the people? The answer is really very simple: they are tragically ‘special interest first’ facilitators.

The burning question for me relates to the Hegseth vote that could have forced an impeachment vote. I simply cannot stress how much of an incompetent own goal it was to allow ELEVEN Democrats not to show up for the vote. It’s irrelevant whether this would have failed downstream. It was the first opportunity the Democrats had to draw a line in the sand and be the messenger for the millions of voters who demanded change. At best, it’s yet another Democratic messaging failure. At worst, it shows a bought-and-paid-for leader serving his corporate masters. I’ll leave you to decide which.

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It’s Hakeem Jeffries's job to whip the vote and get his people to do the job the American people have asked Democrats to do. What kind of excuse is it to tell the press he hasn’t had ‘a conversation with anyone on the floor team about what may or may not have happened’? He seems to have no problem having his attack dogs threaten newly elected members sent to Washington by THE PEOPLE. Rep.-elect Don Leonard (D-OH) stated that unnamed senior House Democrats told him his life would be made a misery over the next two years, and he would lose his seat in two years. Is THIS what the American people voted for? I think not.

At the very least, impeachment would have eaten up floor time in the House, and in the Senate had it passed, at a time when they are trying to apply the brakes on a dangerous president during the lame-duck session. It represents the very failure of leadership that voters punished Democrats for in 2024. As for Chuck Schumer sending out corporate Democrats to sing his praises, can I just gently remind everyone that this was the same guy who spent money in primaries in an attempt to defeat progressive candidates, not to mention he backed Haley Stevens against Abdul El-Sayed only for her to go on and endorse his Republican opponent. That’s before we even begin to talk about the appalling treatment of Zohran Mamdani when running for New York Mayor.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of listening to lame excuses for why NOTHING should be done other than dressing inaction in a new suit, pretending that if you roll a turd in glitter it doesn’t stink anymore. It’s not only an abdication of responsibility to those who voted for the opposite, but it’s also a testament to the fact that bold vision and audacity have been murdered on the altar of special interests. I’m really sorry if this sounds harsh, but frankly, I’m incandescent with rage right now; that, just a week in, Democratic leadership are dishing up beige political gruel, while attempting to dress it up as a banquet of hope. Do these people seriously think we all came down in the last shower of rain? WE DIDN’T.

The American people have delivered Democrats the tools to break the corporate stranglehold on US politics. They also sent a bunch of younger, more progressive voices to Washington to make it happen. Alas, I fear that they, just like AOC, will be locked in the Democratic attic, starved of power and silenced by a majority that will allow the new Speaker of the House to ignore their voices. I know AOC has already spotted the danger, and the progressives would be very wise to gather around her with the guidance of Bernie Sanders in the face of inevitable attempts to silence them. Instinct tells me to expect some necessary ‘good trouble’ from these new and determined ‘people first’ representatives. The more I think about it, the more I think AOC should stand for Speaker. She won’t, of course, because she’s smarter than that these days. What I think she is doing, though, is hinting someone else should.

Regardless of how power is distributed within her Party, it faces a much more pressing challenge. An economy propped up by the consumption of the top 10% (49.2% of US consumer spending, according to Moody’s Analytics) and the cap-ex of a handful of tech giants (AI accounts for about a third of US growth in 2026, according to ING). There’s literally no redundancy, no plan B, and Trump has bet the house and thrown in the car keys on an AI war that I suspect the US has already lost to China. In my view, AI remains a bubble waiting to burst. It’s hard to predict when a crash might occur because many tech companies hide mountains of debt off their books with financial instruments deliberately designed to confuse.

Even more concerning is the inbound implementation of measures in the Big Beautiful Bill designed to take effect just as power shifts to Democrats at the start of the 120th Congress. As a welcome present, they will be handed a shit stick and wished good luck. Then the real challenge begins, as Republicans point to them as the cause of further misery for families. For context, Medicaid work requirements start on 1 January 2027: 80 hours a month for expansion adults aged 19 to 64, with eligibility checks every six months. These new work requirements will hit already impoverished households, on top of the Obamacare subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. Never will messaging be more important for Democrats than it will then. Sadly, their track record does not inspire confidence in me.

So before drowning in the euphoria of midterm victory, pause for a moment. The challenges are significant. If we were to compare the Democratic Party to the corporate world, the entire board and management team would have been sent packing in November 2024. Instead, they remain like an infected wound inhibiting recovery. They desperately need a new brand identity, and the American people have given them one last chance to deliver. I have to admit that a strategy of “Stay in your lane, we’ll touch base next time we need your money” doesn’t exactly inspire me. You don’t reward failure with another opportunity to fail. You shake up the team and refocus.

How Democrats start the new Congressional term will set the tone for the next two years; they can’t even stop tripping over themselves in the waiting room. It is unwise to paint investigations as anything other than thorough and legitimate Congressional oversight. Then they need a lean, mean team to root out evidence of corruption and self-dealing that has appeared in plain sight. The American people will expect and deserve no less. However, this MUST go hand in hand with a comprehensive legislative agenda to restore Congress to its rightful role as a coequal branch of government. Democrats certainly have the majorities in both chambers to do that.

Trump’s promotion of Stephen Miller is not a spur-of-the-moment decision; he’s setting Miller up as the fall guy and his bullet catcher when the wheels fall off. He knows how much Miller is hated as the architect of Trump’s mass deportation policy and the abhorrent behaviour of ICE. This is a man who, in Trump’s first termMoody’s AnalyticsING, oversaw the separation of children from their mothers. Miller will now be like a dog with a bone when it comes to what they both see as a fight for survival against the ‘radical left’.

There’s no question in my mind: Trump will keep trying to rule by proclamation through executive action. As I see it, he has the DOJ in his pocket, along with the Supreme Court, so anyone who thinks this will be a walk in the park should go take a walk in the park themselves and reflect. I expect that, starting this week, they will launch an all-of-government effort to erect obstacles to investigations and start destroying evidence. I think you can take it to the bank that they will not answer subpoenas and will weaponise the judicial system as a shield.

Democrats need to pick their fights carefully; that’s why I'd advise a dual-track approach for the first legislative steps. One track should be preparing a slew of ethics laws to govern the conduct of those in federal public office. Ban stock trading and set strict rules for awarding government contracts. Require FULL disclosure of ALL financial interests for EVERY elected federal official and government appointee. Exclude family members of sitting members and appointees from bidding or benefiting from privileged information. Mandate prison sentences for ANY federal elected member or appointee found guilty of profiting from their position. I'm just using these as examples of the type of ethics legislation.

The second legislative track should be around inflation and affordability, and this is where I would take a very close look at how Democrats frame it. Much as Biden hung on to Trump’s first-term tariffs on China, I suspect a Democratic programme will do exactly the same, because the US economy has got used to tariff revenue. So don’t expect any attempts at abolition; don’t be surprised if they just trim around the edges, followed by a lap of honour. To be clear, Trump can veto it all, but that’s fine; just get every Republican on record voting time and time again against the best interests of the American people. I also think they should have a stab at getting comprehensive immigration reform and gun control. Democrats need to embark on a relentless legislative agenda from day one. Don’t just try to do stuff; be seen doing it.

In the next episode, we’ll take a look at the opportunity to wave goodbye to the Electoral College and what I believe is a sure-fire way to prove to the American people that Democrats are serious about delivering transformative change.

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