With Donald Trump’s low approval rating amid his assaults on our democracy, economy, healthcare and foreign policy, Democratic leaders and candidates have an extraordinary opportunity to deliver for the American people and make significant gains in November.
To energize voters who feel left behind, Democrats should offer both a compelling critique of the Trump administration and a popular, positive agenda. They should champion policies that Americans are demanding to help make life more affordable, protect people’s health and retirement security, hold powerful interests accountable and reduce the human and financial costs of endless war.
Why settle for a blue wave when there can be a blue tsunami?
Trump’s policies are hurting people in New Hampshire and across the country. The promised tariff rebate checks never arrived. Neither did the promised DOGE dividend checks. Gas prices are over $4 a gallon, while diesel costs are over $6. Home heating will be unaffordable for many this winter. New Hampshire families will pay an estimated $5,900 more per year to cover rising costs for food, gas and other essentials. Meanwhile, more people are taking on debt as they cover everyday expenses with high-interest credit cards.
This is just a snapshot of the nightmare ordinary Americans are living through.
Democratic leaders and candidates can turn this widespread frustration into electoral gains. Here are five commonsense priorities Democrats should embrace to improve people’s lives and build the broad coalition needed for a decisive November victory.
- Guarantee universal healthcare through Medicare for All. Rising healthcare premiums hurt businesses, tie people to jobs they don’t want and leave millions of gig workers without affordable coverage. Medicare for All would provide healthcare coverage to all Americans at a lower overall cost than the current system. A recent Yale University study estimates that implementing Medicare for All could save approximately 100,000 lives and $1 trillion annually.
- Strengthen Social Security and expand its revenue. Older Americans deserve to retire and live with dignity and financial security. The artificial cap on wages subject to Social Security taxes should be eliminated, and an updated formula should be used to calculate Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment.
- Protect our environment and civil liberties by placing a moratorium on hyperscale AI data centers. This is one of the topics that unite most Americans across the ideological spectrum. A moratorium on hyperscale AI data centers would protect our land and water resources and stop utility costs from rising. We must also end AI-enabled mass surveillance and warfare that undermines human rights and accountability.
- Reduce Pentagon spending and end war profiteering. Endless, expensive wars are costing lives, draining public resources and hurting our economy. Democratic leaders and candidates must support ending U.S. complicity in genocide, starting with the Block the Bombs Act, and propose an end to war profiteering starting with support for the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act.
- Get big money out of politics. Corporate interests, wealthy donors and powerful lobbyists should not dictate our political future. Democratic leaders and candidates should reject corporate, special-interest and foreign-aligned lobbies, and return political power to the American people. They should support the Abolish Super PACs Act as part of a broader campaign finance reform effort.
These are not just policy proposals. They are a chance to show that government can work for ordinary people, not just for the wealthy and well-connected.
Democratic leaders and candidates should offer voters more than an anti-Trump platform. They should present a compelling vision of economic security, universal healthcare, accountable government, environmental protection and peace.
The Nov. 3 election is a chance to turn widespread public frustration into meaningful change. Democrats should not settle for a blue wave when there can be a blue tsunami.
Karishma Manzur, PhD, is the State Director of NH Progressive Democrats of America and a former U.S. Senate candidate.