It looks like, with the exception of establishment corporate Democrats, most of the party has figured out what we need to do to regain the trust of American voters:
Lower everyday costs for working families
Defend freedom and preserve democracy
Build a fair economy that works for all
Within those three simple tenets, you can fit a lot of policy, from universal healthcare and wealth taxes to election reform and trust-busting and beyond.
The framework is there, but the problem is execution.
Somewhere along the way, we started treating local politics as a farm system for national ambitions instead of the place where real change happens. We started measuring our success by how well we echoed talking points instead of how effectively we solved problems for our neighbors.
The result is a party that can raise millions of dollars and run sophisticated digital campaigns but struggles to explain why anyone should trust us with power. Voters can't figure out what we actually stand for beyond opposing Trump and Republicans, which is not too surprising considering our official party platform hasn’t been updated since before Biden dropped out of the presidential race.
To solve this, we can’t just use those three pillars up there as campaign slogans. We’ve got to use them as a framework for evaluating every party action, every policy proposal, every budget decision, and every candidate endorsement.
The beauty of operating under these three principles is that they give local organizers who really understand their communities permission to identify local problems and propose local solutions that align with our broader values.
Because winning elections should be the means to an end, not the end itself. The end should be better policy that improves people's lives.
When our neighbor complains about property taxes, we don't hand them a flyer about Trump. We talk about how we can restructure local tax policy to put more of the burden on wealthy property speculators and less on working families trying to stay in their homes.
When small business owners in our community are struggling with regulatory compliance, we don't dismiss their concerns as Republican talking points. We figure out how to streamline regulations in ways that still protect workers and consumers but don't crush enterprises that employ our neighbors.
When parents can't afford childcare, we don't just promise to vote for someone who might someday do something about it. We figure out what our city council or county commission or state legislature can do right now to help.
We meet voters where they are and talk about the issues that matter to them and then work alongside them to figure out solutions. The comradery and community that’s fostered when people work together to solve local problems is incredibly powerful.
That is how we build back trust. Not through messaging, but through action. Not through national talking points, but through local problem-solving and listening.
So here's my challenge to Democrats looking to make a difference: stop waiting for permission.
You don't need the DNC's blessing to push for better tax policy in your state. You don't need approval from headquarters to recruit candidates who will fight for working families instead of just donor interests. You don't need polling data to tell you that people want government to solve problems instead of just creating them.
Hell, you don’t even need to be officially part of a local party.
What’s required is that you understand your community well enough to know what problems need solving and understand our principles well enough to know what solutions align with our values. And then you need to care enough about both to do the work even when it's not fun or nationally recognized.
If thousands of local Democratic leaders across the country continue the steady, unglamorous process of redefining what it means to be a Democrat and focus solely on our core tenets, I strongly believe that we’ll begin to see our party’s approval tick back up.
The platform is clear: Lower everyday costs. Defend democracy. Build a fair economy.
Everything else is execution.
No more waiting around for someone to tell us what to do. The future of the party has always been in our hands. It’s time to get out there and start using that power to finally show voters we’re ready and willing to listen again.