In 2006, a second-term Republican president was on the ropes. A wave of Democratic wins in the midterm elections showed the party was likely to win back the White House in the next election.
Democrats began planning immediately what they would do with that power, settling on a broad outline of a health care proposal that eventually became the Affordable Care Act.
Twenty years later, Democrats are already talking about a wave election. The results of recent races in Wisconsin and Georgia are just the latest signs, as they have consistently outpaced expectations in key races around the country.
Now people are starting to ask: What would Democrats do with that power?
It’s a more important question now than ever because, this time, winning will come with more risk and more responsibility. It’s imperative that they begin planning what they will do over the next two years, as well as what they will do if they win the White House in 2028.
Because if Democrats win one or both chambers of Congress in November, it will not just be a rejection of President Donald Trump. It will be an expectation that they can use power in a way that actually changes people’s lives.
It’s important to plan ahead. As it turned out, the window to pass the Affordable Care Act was seven weeks — from Sen. Al Franken’s belated swearing-in to the unexpected death of Sen. Ted Kennedy. If they had not been able to move quickly, the window would have closed.
This time, there is no guarantee of that kind of window. And that is exactly why the mindset must change.
If Democrats win both chambers of Congress, the default assumption will be that divided government means compromise. It does not.
If they win, it will not be because voters are asking them to meet Trump in the middle. It will be because voters are asking for something different.
The job isn’t to compromise with Trump. It’s to make him answer to a country that has already started to move on from him. And more than anything else, the job is to do something.
Not messaging. Not posturing. Not explaining why change is hard.
Democrats need to do something people can see and feel. They need to do something tangible that shows up in the cost of living, in the cost of rent and in the leftover money at the end of the month that helps a family breathe a little easier.
Republicans had a plan, although they denied it. Project 2025 was the product of years of preparation, outlining policies and screening people ahead of time. That’s why the first few months of Trump’s second term felt so overwhelming. The administration wasn’t improvising; it was executing a plan.
Democrats do not have a single document like that. For now, there is no Project 2027 sitting on a shelf with step-by-step plans for next year, much less a Project 2029.
But they do have something just as powerful. They have an agenda that is already written, tested and even partially built.
Pieces of the care economy, child care, housing and cost of living relief were debated, drafted and in some cases partially passed just a few years ago during the Biden administration. They did not fail because they were unserious. They failed because of tight margins and poor timing.
That means Democrats are not starting from scratch. They are starting with unfinished business.
Housing is the clearest example. For years, leaders such as Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., have pushed to expand supply, support renters and make homeownership more accessible. The need is urgent and the solutions exist. And increasingly, even some Republicans are feeling pressure to engage.








