Carte Blanche: Victory First, Vision Later

kelly sikkema

After losing both houses of Congress and the Presidency in the 2024 election, the Democratic National Committee commissioned a study to find out why. The subsequent report is called “Deciding to Win”. Over the course of eleven sections, the researchers review poll after poll of voter input. They review the likability of candidates and policies that the Democratic Party has fielded. One of the best examples of the study's intent is captured in a quote at the very beginning:

"Winning an election is a decision. You make a decision to win, and then you make every decision in favor of winning." — Nancy Pelosi

I have read more than a few things in my life that have been disappointing; the Democrats' study on winning elections is now part of that list. The Democrats’ Deciding to Win manifesto suggests a path to victory, regardless of the costs. They claim to want to shift the party to be more palatable to mainstream voters, and their focus on toning down the language—from academic to more common words and phrases—suggests they don't think much of how average Americans communicate. There is no confronting uncomfortable fiscal truths; only doubling down on buying votes and ignoring the elephant in the room—the $38 trillion deficit. At the same time, it highlights that expanding Medicare, increasing the minimum wage, providing free lunches for schoolchildren, and increasing Social Security benefits are popular among voters. It never discusses how the policies should be implemented, a prospective timeline, or how to offset the new expenditures. While at first the name of the study might sound misleading, the more you read it, the more honest the title becomes. It could've just as easily been written by a high schooler running for class president, promising two lunches and no more homework, as by the well-paid scholars who wrote it.

One of the rare moments of honesty is that the idea of socialism isn't that attractive to Americans because people don't really hate the idea of being rich, just others who they perceive as abusing it. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego highlighted this following his successful 2024 campaign in Arizona:

"These people want to be rich. They want to be rich! And there's nothing wrong with that. Our job is to expose when there are abuses by the rich, the wealthy, the powerful. That's how we get those people that aspire to that to vote for Democrats..."

Despite this brief insight into the average American's thoughts and beliefs, there is very little, if any, introspection about the Democratic Party's policies and practices. There is no focus on lessons learned from the Biden Administration; instead, it focuses only on what was unpopular and on how to change the platform to become popular again. The impact of runaway deficit spending and bloated social programs is never mentioned. What is the risk to voters regardless of party if the methods and views of the study were implemented? It will likely mean more of the same rhetoric and policies being implemented now, until the inevitable conclusion of endless spending and unbalanced budgets comes to fruition. However, another consequence is equally as dangerous, if not more so, and that is the focus of parties and politicians on winning elections and nothing more substantive. Nowhere in the study are the consequences discussed, or the costs of policies —both fiscal and practical— regardless of their popularity. While the authors warn that the party uses academic jargon rather than communicating directly to voters in understandable language, the entire study reads like a financial report rather than an attempt to understand itself or voters. There is a Machiavellian nature about the goal and the methods advocated by these authors. It attempts to paint the world in black and white, with the Trump Administration, and indeed the entire Republican Party, as the villain who will destroy the country, all the while ignoring any shortcomings of the Democratic Party or the Biden Administration in years past.

The Republican Party has not commissioned anything resembling the study in recent years. There is an attempt by Democrats to create a coherent plan and build unity within the party with a path forward. Even if that plan is simply winning elections alone. The Republicans have been even less introspective than their colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Does this mean Democrats are more likely to win and have their policies enacted? Only time will tell, and elections have never been an exact science. One of the issues that the study fails to acknowledge is what happens when they do win. What will things look like when the legislation their base wants signed into law becomes a reality? If the purpose of parties and politicians is simply to create laws and institutions that voters want, then who is to be held responsible for the costs and outcomes —the voters or the politicians? That would be a good place to start for both parties.

Somewhere along the way, the ideas of intellectual honesty and responsibility have been vacated by both parties. Deciding to Win is evidence of a lack of understanding or a desire to have uncomfortable conversations. The consequence of ignoring both simultaneously is that soon there will be an increase of mismanagement and finger-pointing. As long as popularity is more important than good governance, and rights are leveraged to impose the will of the few on the lives of the many, then calamity can only ensue for all those involved. There is a path forward, one that is neither costly nor harmful to the lives of Americans, regardless of party or income. Honest introspection, while it may be bitter, will be a better medicine than anything the government can fund at the cost of others. The study shows that a shift is slowly taking place in the priorities of both parties, with a focus on winning elections and giving voters whatever they want in return. If this continues, it will only make the problems that are being ignored worse. The choice is up to those casting the votes: continue on the path that is unfolding before the nation, or choose a new direction where hard truths are confronted and a path forward to a sustainable future is possible.