One of the differences between the two parties is in their respective focus on long term vs. short term.
Remember, Policy is Politics and Politics is PolicyTM. We only get the policies we want if we elect representatives and officials who will promote and vote for those policies. And we can only elect those favored candidates if we engage in politics.
Republicans spent decades building up a political ecosystem to support both electing their candidates and finding the weaknesses in our political system to exploit (and, sometimes, downright trample). From the Federalist Society (law) to the Heritage Foundation (philosophy/Overton window) to Rush Limbaugh/Fox News (media), over time they built a machine and an echo chamber that has resulted in Republicans being elected despite (not because of) espousing and implementing policies that are unpopular and economics that both don’t work and hurt most Americans).
OTOH, Democrats have relied mainly on charisma at the top. I know - it’s hard to believe, but Democrats primary tactic has been to try and find incredibly charismatic candidate for President (Kennedy, Clinton, Obama) and kind of hope that solves everything. It’s our version of “trickle-down”; start at the top every four years, hope we’ve found the right person, have them talk about detailed policy that glazes over “normie” voters’ eyes, then bank on the dream that that person’s charisma will “trickle-down” to bolster other candidates in down ballot races.
It’s not working for us. There needs to be a better way.
That being said, candidate charisma absolutely DOES matter, but it must be combined with political ecosystem development that breaks into voters’ collective Circle of TrustTM.
Luckily, I believe we have several generational talents who have both the requisite charisma and recognition of the need to build and connect.
Some examples (yes, they’re generally familiar names to many Democrats, but they still need to be highlighted):
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC did an interview the other day where she was asked if she had aspirations for higher office. IMHO her response was pure strategic/tactical gold:
Democratic strategist David Axelrod directly asked Ocasio-Cortez whether she planned to run for either while he hosted a conversation at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.
“What’s funny is they assume my ambition is a title or a seat,” the Bronx US House representative replied. “My ambition is to change this country. Presidents come and go. Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go.”
“But single-payer healthcare is forever,” she added, in reference to the kind of national healthcare platform she has long supported over the private system entrenched in the US.
Ocasio-Cortez then ran through a litany of her other signature policy positions, saying: “A living wage is forever, workers’ rights are forever, women’s rights, all of that, and so anyways … to a finer point to your question is that when you aren’t attached, when you haven’t been like fantasizing about being this or that since the time you were seven years old, it is tremendously liberating.”
Later in the exchange, Ocasio-Cortez said she wanted to “make decisions from a place of how are we going to change the country”.
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Zorhan Mamdani. I’ve written before about Mamdani’s talents and ability to connect with a coherent, strategic message.
First, Mayor Mamdani. Yesterday, Mayor Mamdani followed through one of his promises: to tax the rich. In addition, he’s been doing something very simple yet effective (that, unfortunately, Democrats generally don’t do very well): showing New Yorkers the inner working s of government and all the positive things government does for regular people (like highlighting the 311 call center). His joyful, pragmatic and clear messaging combined with concrete actions are also driving the Epstein Class nuts. I agree with this Bluesky post:
The fact that Mamdani just seems like a cheerful normal guy who's policies are things like "we're going to tax second homes to fund pothole repairs" or whatever and yet this generates panicked responses like "This is basically Stalin's great purge turned up to eleven" is... telling. It tells things.
The other day, Mamdani announced major penalties on slumlords for treating their tenants no differently than the rats that thrive in these tenants’ buildings (bold emphasis mine):
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and housing officials announced a big win against two landlords in the Bronx on Wednesday morning.
Mayor Mamdani said the city won a $31 million settlement against the owners of Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers.
City officials said tenants had complained for years about a range of issues, including lack of heat and hot water, elevators often out of service, crumbling balconies and vermin inside apartments, while continuing to pay rent.
During a press conference, several tenants became emotional, saying they could not believe the day had finally come. Others asked the mayor whether they would be reimbursed for years of unmet basic living needs.
"I shouldn't be boiling water to bathe in 2026," a tenant said. "That's completely unacceptable, so I'm hopeful."
As part of the court-ordered judgment, necessary repairs and upgrades to the properties are set to begin immediately. A chief restructuring officer will be hired to oversee the repairs, and landlord accounts have been frozen…
"This is more than just a conversation of patchwork solutions," Mamdani said. "It's about shattering a time of abuse and neglect. We will ensure the end of this impunity for those landlords. It will ensure better living conditions for those forced to live in negligence."
Mamdani is building a movement through both skilled use of the media (pointing the way for other democrats) AND, importantly, concrete actions that directly and positively impact the majority of the people he is representing (sorry, billionaires - you’re not in that group).
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Kat Abughazaleh. While Kat lost her primary, she far outperformed pundits’ initial projections. Mister Mix has written about her several times, and his last post about her highlighted her groundbreaking long-term strategy to better position Democrats within voters’ Coircle of TrustTM (bold emphasis mine):
I encourage you to watch the whole thing, but the tl;dr is that she’s keeping her campaign office open in Chicago, she’s still going to do community aid, and she’s starting a non-profit that will try to assist other progressive candidates in the upper midwest…
She rightly points out that the way that most campaigns are run are that they’re set up and then, poof, they disappear immediately after the election. She’s trying something different. My normie wife was touched by her first campaign effort, collection and distribution of menstrual products. It’s the obvious counter to the cyncism of people who hear “I will fight for you” all day from politicians, and see them doing nothing. She did something.
The other aspect of this that I like is that she’s clearly in it for the long haul. And, I’m afraid it’s going to be a long haul. She’s got the right attitude. And, as Kay would say, no whining. There’s certainly none of that on display here.
Kat is young, energetic, charismatic and, most importantly, HAS A PLAN. Dems should take notice and emulate.
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Jon Ossoff. Ossoff has taken the lead in stitching together seemingly disparate issues (corruption, inequality, cronyism, healthcare, housing, affordability) into one coherent and compelling message. I’ve recently written about this HERE and HERE. This is NOT about whether he is the “golden boy” for 2028 - all candidates have their strengths and weaknesses, and Ossoff has both. This is about a long-term message that resonates.
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JB Pritzker. No - he’s not the most charismatic politician we’ve ever seen. Yes, he’s an inherited billionaire. Yet not only is Pritzker espousing very progressive policies, but he is also - much like Mamdani - relentlessly promoting those policies, the actions he has taken to further them and the direct impact these progressive policies have on his constituents’ lives. He highlights even the most seemingly mundane “nuts and bolts” successes:
This list is not meant to be comprehensive - just instructive.
The challenge for Democrats is to not waste these talented candidates/elected officials - and their long-term outlooks - by assembling their own political ecosystem to rival that of their opponents.
This means supporting independent media while constantly challenging the legacy media, utilizing progressive think tanks to develop strategy/tactics, developing a consistent and sustained strategy for a more progressive and less partisan-hack judiciary, and harnessing the money (yes, among others, I’m looking at you Democracy Alliance) required to sustain these efforts.
Who’s up for the challenge and how does the grassroots push it to happen?
