By Al From
Because they hold majorities in both the House and the Senate, I believe Republicans have a special responsibility to exercise congressional prerogatives written into the Constitution — like advice and consent and the power of the purse — to block President Trump from fulfilling his campaign pledges to seek retribution against his political adversaries and to be a dictator on day one.
But stopping Trump’s retribution rampage and his unwise and often illegal efforts to expand presidential power and diminish our democracy is a bipartisan responsibility.
Democrats have a vital responsibility too. We need to redefine and remake our party so that we can earn the confidence of the American people, win back the White House in 2028, and govern effectively once back in office.
It’s not very complicated. Donald Trump, to me, was a despicable candidate with low approval ratings who told us exactly what he would do if elected — and is doing now. But bad as he was, we couldn’t beat him. He won the election decisively. He won the national popular vote — only the second time a Republican candidate has done that since 1988 — and all seven contested swing states.
What does that say about the Democrats? It tells me we’re trying to sell a product the American people don’t want to buy.
I’m sure I’m old-fashioned, but I still believe that in politics, what you stand for matters.
Let me give you an example.
Democrats believe in an activist government that government can and should play a positive role in our national life. Unlike the Republicans, we don’t believe government is an alien institution. It is the agent of our collective will and our instrument for helping Americans help themselves and each other.
But because we believe in government, we must be the champions of reforming and reinventing government. We have a special responsibility to make sure it is efficient and effective and that it is constantly modernized to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow. As Franklin Roosevelt told us: “New conditions impose new requirements on government and those who conduct government.”
We also need to be careful stewards of the public purse. We need to spend the taxpayers’ dollars wisely. One of my mentors, the late Senator Ed Muskie of Maine, once said: “What’s so damn liberal about wasting money?”
Here’s something to ponder. Fifty years ago, when I was working for Senator Muskie on the Congressional Budget Reform and Impoundment Control Act (which Trump and Elon Musk are now violating), the entire federal budget was under $250 billion. Last year, it was $6.17 trillion — a 25-fold increase. But real household incomes for Americans without college degrees are at best, flat or down slightly from half a century ago.
Is there any doubt why the majority of Americans who are not college graduates are angry — or why they are skeptical of Democratic claims that more spending and bigger government will improve their lives?
The bottom line is this: we cannot expect voters to return us to national power as long as they have no confidence that the government will improve their lives. So, as a first step for building the foundation for a new Democratic majority, we need to get on the right side of the government reform issue.
We can do it. In the 1990s, when President Bill Clinton made reinventing government and spending taxpayer dollars wisely centerpieces, his administration produced eight years of peace and prosperity — and balanced the federal budget four years in a row.
I’m not suggesting Democrats should go along with Elon Musk and his taking the meat axe helter-skelter to federal programs he doesn’t like. Nothing good or constructive will come from that effort, which must be stopped.
To the contrary, I am suggesting that Democrats could be more effective in stopping Musk’s Manson-like rampage to destroy the government if we had a better plan for fixing the government so it worked for the benefit of the American people.
I discussed one potential Democratic reform idea and other ideas to help remake our party last Friday on Night Owls, the podcast of legendary journalist Joe Klein.
Here is that podcast.
