Over the last month, we’ve woken up to many stories that sound a lot like this one, from the New York Times: “The Democratic Party emerged from this week’s election struggling over what it stood for, anxious about its political future, and bewildered about how to compete with a Republican Party that some Democrats say may be headed for a period of electoral dominance.”
But that piece was actually published on Nov. 7, 2004 — 20 years ago.
That doesn’t mean the story was wrong then or that the same notion is wrong now. It just means that the battle isn’t to figure out how to win the last war, but to win the next one.
The reality is that there is a need for Democrats to understand and learn about what happened in the 2024 election and how it can, and should, affect our approaches to the future. But the important part is focusing on approaches to the future.
So as Democrats in Washington and around the country prepare for a second Trump administration and Republican-controlled government, there are a few things we can do right now to drive down support for the GOP agenda and position ourselves to start winning again.
First, talk about “betrayal” instead of touting “resistance.” After the 2016 election, Democrats needed to show that there was still a heartbeat and build momentum for opposition to Trump’s agenda. But while that was successful and important then,........