Normally, this provision should not raise red flags. However, there are members of the House, including Speaker Mike Johnson, who will do anything to retain power. And, as Mr. French points out, there have been other times when this power has been exercised by House members to advance partisan purposes. French also points to the Republican playbook as proof that they are trying to discredit election results and sow seeds of doubt.

Using time-worn “Red Scare” tactics — demonizing Democrats as communist sympathizers and Bolsheviks, threatening state election officials, and accusing “illegals” of voting — are the talking points of House Republicans, Mike Johnson and the other Trump toadies in Republican leadership. We should assume that they will do anything in their power to please Trump and retain the ability to push through his destructive agenda.

There are varying estimates of the number of seats Democrats are able to win given the recent gerrymandering successes of Republicans. Whatever the numbers, it is most likely that if Democrats win a majority, it won’t be in overwhelming numbers, and enough races could be contested to either reduce the number of seats won in an effort to create a razor-thin majority or actually overturn the needed number of House races to keep the Republican majority.

What are the steps we need to take? There are four obvious ones:

1. Federal and State elected officials who care about the integrity of elections and the democratic process should band together to protect voter interests. Democrats and Republicans need to unite in this effort.

2. Democrats and their donors should expand the field and increase the number of seats on their target list. Voters in districts that have been redrawn to advantage Republicans still care about the same bread-and-butter issues as voters in all other districts in the country. The new lines don’t mean a thing to them in terms of their concerns about being able to elect officials who will help them support their families and afford the basics.

3. Ongoing communications and organizing efforts need to be funded now and at much higher levels. Donors who felt “burned” by 2024 need to get over it. You may have the luxury to walk away from political investments; the rest of us aren’t so lucky. We live the consequences.

4. Democracy defenders need to play for the long-term and use different investment strategies. 2032 is around the corner, so understanding how to invest in ways that build majorities for the future is needed. Central to this strategy is a change in the operating and attitudinal environment in which elections are held and public policies debated.

Democrats do not want open borders and have not advocated for that. President Biden’s failures in stemming immigration should not be seen as a Democratic Party position. Democrats want safe neighborhoods and communities. But there is a recognition of the unequal application of “accountability” when it comes to crime. Democrats recognize trans individuals and want to ensure they have all the rights and privileges of those who live here. There certainly are biological differences that need to be recognized, but how and when to apply rules around those differences are situational.

What Republicans do, and Edsall reinforces, is take the position of some and represent them as endorsed by the many. One example becomes a metaphor and is representative of an entire party’s position.

Democrats absolutely have a brand problem, some of which is of their own making — reinforced in many cases by the Republican message machine. The quintessential Republican tactic is to try to paint one group of people — in this case Democrats — as existential threats to the country and individuals. Republicans have been very successful in defining Democrats as only responding to their “special interests.” Edsall, once again, reinforces this when he states that Democrats are willing to sacrifice the interests of the working and middle classes in favor of special interests’ constituencies. This is just plain nonsense and is not really supported by the facts or policy proposals offered by Democrats in Congress or in the states.

The issues of immigration, urban disorder and transgender rights need to be understood as cultural issues. Anti-immigrant sentiment does not just stem from the type of border policies we have. Immigrants have been defined as a threat to the well-being of “real” Americans. Crime, same thing. Crime should not be tolerated, and those who commit crimes should be held accountable, but “crime” is framed as a problem of race and, increasingly, age, and who threatens whom. The trans issue is, above all else, a cultural issue and used cynically by Republicans. Certainly, there are legitimate issues, but, again, the trans community is being defined as a “threat.”

The Democratic Party needs a lot of help, but I would argue the “solution” comes not so much from playing defense around the cultural cudgels of Republicans, but rather from their inability to govern in a way that helps everyday Americans manage their increasingly difficult lives. The public sector is not working for the public. Our economic system is not working for the majority of Americans. Our health care systems, educational systems, housing structures, childcare infrastructure and on and on are not working for the vast majority of Americans.

There has been a long evolution of Democrats from the party of the working class to the party that leaned in to favoring business interests, oftentimes at the expense of working people. Maybe if Democrats started delivering in tangible ways that people could understand and experience, their brand would improve.

America has grown as a country in fits and starts. Some of our leaders have been scoundrels. Some have also challenged and inspired us to become better people who build a better country — one that fulfills the promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. America seems to be a country that is always striving to live up to its ideals. A country of revolution in the pursuit of enlightened self-governance and a beacon of hope for the world.

Our country has had many dark chapters in which we have failed ourselves and failed the promise of the revolutionary notion that we are all equal under the law. And yet, throughout history, there have always been those voices urging us to be better, more just, more equal and to live up to what the idea of America should be — not what it is.

A recent Politico article pointed to the fact that most Americans embrace their patriotism. And yet, patriotism is seen as an expression of Right-wing sentiments. Most Americans, although currently disappointed in the country and its leaders, are not right-leaning. In fact, they are just the opposite. Some use the word “patriotism” as an “us-versus-them” tactic. Their definition of patriotism is used to increase our divisions, losing the very thing that makes our country great — people who come together despite their differences to determine their own fates through self-governance.

No one person or group owns the flag or the right to call themselves patriots. Left, Right, center — we can all love our country while recognizing its shortcomings and disagreeing about its path forward. Yet, there are some who choose to foster division for their own narrow purposes.

Us-versus-them-ism produces winners and losers. Those who foster this want to be the winners in power, wealth and status while giving false promises to others. Let’s be clear; the “in group” promises membership while ensuring that no one else gets in except for the select few.

We are all Americans, and we want our country to live up to its ideals. We have a unique history. We are a nation that always strives to realize itself, almost every two years or over decades. As we reflect on our 250^th year, let us try to understand the causes of our differences and keep working toward the realization of our shared dreams for our country and ourselves.

His guest columns usually appear in the “Need To Know” newsletters:

Need to Know: Who's In Your Media Market

Understand your media market's key players and what they are saying.

By Page S. Gardner

Donald Trump is finding that he can’t play his old tricks to wiggle out of the problems he creates for himself. But some things are the same — he can’t help himself. Because he hated Barack Obama, Trump tore up the Iran deal. Then he launched a disastrous war, producing no better outcome than Obama’s original deal — and leaving the United States worse off. True to script, though, Trump is trying to message his way out of this problem by characterizing it as a historic victory.

The reflecting pool disaster is classic Trump, a political satire on steroids. Award a no-bid contract to a crony convicted of fraud, paint over granite and concrete, pour in peroxide to kill algae and then blame the ensuing mess on leftist “vandals.” It is a lie so preposterous and insane that Orwellian doesn’t do it justice. Trump is a pathological liar, but this one is spectacular even by his own standards. It is a distraction but also a perfect metaphor for the Trump era.

The amount of taxpayer money wasted by Trump through crony deals with his family and donors will be staggering if the Democrats can unravel it. The Republicans always campaign on cutting federal spending and the deficit, and they always blow up both. Rinse and repeat. The Democrats need to campaign heavily on this Administration’s and Trump’s personal corruption at an enormous cost to everyday Americans.

Pundits will say Trump’s financial corruption is baked in the electorate, but most Americans have no idea of the extent or costs of the self-dealing. The Wall Street Journal states that Trump has increased his net worth by at least $4 billion since 2025. This is not only about him and his family’s personal enrichment. His self-dealing is compromising America’s security and ability to innovate in the future.

The ideological GOP partisans on the Supreme Court continue to do what they can to shore up the failure of the Trump Presidency. They have unleashed Stephen Miller and his ICE soldiers to go after immigrants who formerly had “protected status” and upended the asylum process at the border.

The Court pretended that Trump’s statements about Haitians had nothing to do with race. They twisted and turned to upset decades of precedent to allow Trump to fire independent regulators. Three Justices ignored the Constitution, and Justice Kavanaugh tried to have it both ways by a split decision. The Right wing hates the 14^th Amendment and would do away with it immediately if feasible. Instead, they will use the Court to weaken it wherever possible.

Trump celebrated the Court’s decision to end limits to party and candidate coordination. Money, not voters, should rule, according to Trump and the elite 1%. The RNC at the last report had eight times the cash as the DNC and no debt. The DNC has more debt than cash. The GOP House and Senate Committees predictably have more cash than their Democratic counterparts. This may somewhat weaken Super PACs, but they are not limited to the funding limits that political parties are. These GOP Justices are like referees who tip the scales for one team while calling “foul ball” on the other.

The mainstream press is looking for a story. While the Democrats are still in their primaries, they are pushing the silly frame of the socialist “Left” versus the establishment. There is serious fire among many activist Democrats about the failure of the Democratic leadership to fight back against the disastrous Trump regime, as well as to govern in the interests of the majority of Americans who work hard and play by the rules. It is way past the time for Chuck Schumer’s “strongly worded letters.” However, the Left versus the “establishment” isn’t the point, really, and it is not just in select primary races.

NYC is our media capital. Consequently, the triumph of three candidates backed by Mayor Mamdani against two incumbent Democrats and one open seat is treated as the harbinger of … everything … from the 2028 Presidential race to the future of the Democratic Party. More likely, these results are the peculiarities of the New York electorate. However, there is no doubt that this cycle favors “outsiders” who have not been a part of the problem. Once again, we are in a change election.

The Right will attempt to make some candidate wins as a threat to America and invoke Cold War fears. Democratic socialists in New York and other states are labeling themselves in a way that signals they are different from the insiders in the Democratic Party and have had enough of business as usual. Voters agree. Voters will show everyone during the midterms that voter suppression efforts won’t work and that they want a new paradigm for America.

A Look at the Senate

Donald Trump continues his low-key war against Senate Republicans by vetoing the bipartisan housing bill. He insists that the SAVE ACT, which limits who and how Americans vote, be passed first. The GOP in the Senate doesn’t have 60 votes to pass this bill, and they won’t blow up the filibuster. Trump has kicked away any chance that the GOP had to campaign on affordability.

One of the more interesting developments in the Senate races — whether it is Graham Platner in Maine or James Talarico in Texas — is Democratic campaigns’ focus on the billionaire class as responsible for stagnant living standards and the affordability crisis. Growing inequality is now a major political issue, productivity and wages have been severed, and the financial gains have flowed to the top.

We will soon enter the summer lull when Americans typically are less concerned about political news than if, where and when, they can take a vacation.

However, the political dynamics still go on. Dan Osborn, an independent former union leader, is running again in Nebraska. He received 47% of the vote in 2024. The Democratic nominee, Cindy Burbank, is expected to drop out to support him — believing an independent has a better chance of defeating the GOP in Nebraska. Osborn’s opponent is Pete Ricketts from the billionaire TD Ameritrade family. It will be uphill, and Osborne must use Ricketts’ self-funding against him.

There continues to be favorable polling for Sherrod Brown in Ohio. The Republicans figured Ohio was easy, given recent trends and Brown’s 2024 loss. But Brown was up 53-45% in a June Fox News poll. He has high name recognition against a Republican appointed to the job.

Roy Cooper has a double-digit lead according to two recent polls, but a GOP Super PAC committed $71 million dollars to his GOP opponent. Cooper has a 24-year record in North Carolina politics, but a good deal of misinformation and lies are headed his way. The GOP will have to spend money in Texas, and the airwaves will be flooded. Ken Paxton is a flawed candidate, but he does have traction in Texas. His character flaws may have been baked in.

A Look at the House

According to Mike Johnson, the race to win the House is between those saving a constitutional republic (laughably, the GOP) and Communism. Democrats have now graduated from Socialists to Communists. Someone should let Hakeem Jeffries know. In a speech to a group of GOP donors and “influencers,” Johnson lied about Democrats in the House with florid language and said he was the “protection” against the Democrats investigating the people in the room. The diminutive Johnson sounding like a mid-level mob wise guy is funny.

But this GOP propaganda will be shouted from every MAGA rooftop and media outlet. Johnson is panicked because the generic vote continues to indicate enough of a margin to flip the House despite the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. The generic advantage in June polling for Democrats ranged from 2 points to 11. The NYT, Marquette and Quinnipiac (A-rated pollsters) are all in the higher range. Given the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, the handing of districts over to the GOP and the over concentration of Democratic votes in blue cities, it is important to push this generic advantage into double digits. Democrats aren’t popular, but Donald Trump is at 31% approval in the latest Fox News poll. No one can accuse Fox of running a partisan poll.

The GOP has stood up a couple of fake groups with Democratic-sounding names to promote whomever their polling indicates would be the weaker primary candidate in the fall. AIPAC has also had a very difficult primary season, as the group has utilized straw groups to try to defeat the more progressive candidates who generally have been most critical of how Netanyahu has prosecuted his wars in Gaza and Lebanon. He has badly damaged the reputation of Israel both here and internationally. It will have ramifications in our politics for years to come.

Scholars now agree that negative partisanship has become a defining feature of U.S. politics and is here to stay.

Double Negative Voters: A Sizeable Number of Voters Who Decide Elections

Pew Research has found that 25% of voters fit this negative profile going into the 2026 midterms.

This might possibly be underestimating their strength. In May of 2026, a NYT/Siena survey showed that 43% of voters are dissatisfied with both parties.

During the 2024 election cycle, the team at Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy conducted historical research that demonstrated the importance of this cohort in determining election outcomes. Post-election polling suggests that these double haters tipped the scales in Trump’s favor in both 2016 (when he won them by 17 points) and 2024 (when he won them by 20 points). During the 2018 midterms, Republicans broke even with these voters, even though they lost the popular vote by 8%. In 2022, these voters gave Republicans a 17-point advantage.

A first look at these voters in 2026 suggests that they skew a bit younger and older, more of them are unmarried, and they are more secular. These voters self-report that they do plan to vote in the midterms.

2026 Offers A Unique Opportunity

Some recent surveys have suggested that these voters are likely to support Democrats in this midterm election — possibly by double digits. It is more important than ever to be able to reach these voters to secure more wins and expand the map of competitive seats.

Messages That Resonate

These voters are economically stressed, like most Americans. They also think that this country has left them behind and cares little about their day-to-day struggles. Messages that tap into and evoke emotions often give these voters a sense of agency. Their lives are increasingly hard to manage, and they want elected officials who understand that. These voters are cynical, and corruption looms large. They don’t think that the economic and political systems are working and need major change. They certainly believe the current economic structures are unfair, and they no longer believe that “if you work hard and play by the rules,” you will be successful. They want boldness and courage from their elected officials.

A Need for a Double Negatives Model — Going Beyond Traditional Targeting

Double negatives differ from the types of persuasion voters typically identified by existing analytics tools in the space. A vote choice model or partisanship model identifies a persuasion universe by selecting for “middle scores.” While a middling probability score in the context of partisanship or vote choice may well be a proxy for volatility or persuadability, statistically speaking, it is more literally an expression of uncertainty in the model’s prediction.

This is why IFPG proposes to build a Double Negative model in 2026. When completed, this model will predict the likelihood that an individual voter holds negative or unfavorable feelings about BOTH the Democratic and Republican parties as well as their candidates.

The Double Negative model will provide practitioners with a custom-built tool for finding and communicating with the disaffected voters Democrats must win back to regain control of Congress and ultimately win back the White House. Middle-scoring partisans or likely ticket splitters identified using existing modeling tools are also critical candidates for a persuasion program, but are fundamentally different on cultural, attitudinal, and behavioral dimensions than the cohort of Double Negatives that we need to target with this tool.

The Double Negative model will be available as an important resource to campaigns and organizations.

The Short and Long-Term Impact

Double negative voters will have an outsized impact on the 2026 midterms. If Democrats are successful in moving some voters away from the MAGA Republicans in the midterms, this will provide strategic guidance as we look to 2028 and beyond. Today’s investment could lead to future advantages, investments that will be sorely needed as we face not only 2028, but the new map that will result in 2032.

His guest columns usually appear in the “Need To Know” newsletters:

Need to Know: Who's In Your Media Market

Understand your media market's key players and what they are saying.

By Page S. Gardner

“I don’t care about Americans’ financial situation.” …. Donald Trump.

He has finally shown for anyone not paying attention that his priority is and always will be benefitting himself and the people who pay $200,000 to join his tacky club in Palm Beach. It is hard to imagine a more damaging political unforced error. Trump has shattered the illusion for his white downscale voters. His cult will never break, but according to a New York Times poll, his approval rating is an abysmal 37%. He is deeply underwater with Independents, young people and Latinos.

Trump is in far worse political shape than in 2018 when Democrats retook Congress. He is unpopular on both the economy and immigration. The latter is from the well-publicized, out-of-control behavior by ill-trained ICE agents. For instance, agents just pepper-sprayed Senator Andy Kim outside an ICE detention camp in New Jersey.

Trump’s image of strength comes from his narcissistic need to project dominance, but it hasn’t benefited him politically. His failure in the Iran war and his servile performance in China after years of bashing the country has punctured his image. It also doesn’t help that he routinely falls asleep in meetings. Paging Jake Tapper.

All his cultural clothing as Joe Regular like cage fighting, fast food, and grade school grammar were signals to working-class voters that Trump was one of them. Despite his fortune and gilded lifestyle, Trump portrayed himself as not one of the “elite.” Or as the expression during the Depression noted, one of the “swells.” When Americans are struggling with record-high prices for the necessities of daily living, one can imagine what would’ve happened if Joe Biden had said he didn’t care about Americans’ finances. The press would never let it go. Now it is a one-day story. So, it is up to Democratic politicians and their communications teams to pound this statement into voters’ heads.

Now it is on to the next outrage: using taxpayer money to establish a $1.8 billion slush fund to give to his allies who were “hurt” by the Biden DOJ. Merritt Garland bent over backward not to prosecute people associated with the attempt to overthrow the election. It took the Select committee established by Nancy Pelosi to move Garland. But the money will flow to the insurrectionists? Even the normally compliant GOP Congress resisted. Fortunately, a federal judge halted it, and Trump’s DOJ gave up on the fund.

Also buried in this fake settlement of his extortionist lawsuit against the IRS is a get-out-of-jail card for Trump and his family for any tax fraud. He was facing a potential 100-million-dollar liability for questionable deductions on his building in Chicago. The financial corruption by Trump is beyond all previous political laws of gravity. One estimate is that the Trump family increased their net worth by $1.7 billion dollars in less than two years. That is what could be reasonably calculated from the crypto (bribery?) schemes with foreign governments and other shady ventures, but not including his apparent insider stock trading. It is astonishing that this is now somehow normalized. Every day is another obscenity against the rule of law, broad-based prosperity and our standing in the world. One would be hard pressed to document if Trump was indeed a Manchurian candidate, what would he do differently?

Senate

Trump is exacting political revenge on any Republican Senator who doesn’t demonstrate absolute fealty. First down was Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, who allowed RFK Jr. to become HHS Secretary despite knowing his vaccine views were ridiculous and dangerous. Next was his endorsement of the scandal-plagued Texas AG Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn. His own party impeached Paxton in the legislature. Texas Republicans just threw out a conservative with 24 years of seniority and the winner of 9 statewide races for an utterly corrupt politician. Cassidy and Cornyn are popular with their colleagues, and Senate Republicans are angry with these Trump primary challenges.

Texas just got much more expensive to defend with Paxton as the nominee. Democrat James Talarico will need some Republican voters to sit out as well as record Democratic turnout, but he has a chance — perhaps the best chance for Democrats in decades. The White House is worried enough that Stephen Miller was trotted out to say Talarico has no “testosterone “and bleeds “soy milk.” These fake macho men in the Administration and the right-wing media seem to be the guys who were picked last for any grade school sports team. The Christian nationalists are apoplectic that Talarico, who is studying for his Divinity degree, has said God is nonbinary, including the divine feminine. It makes their Old Testament brains explode.

Trump doesn’t have a legislative agenda beyond what Miller and Russell Vought want, so he doesn’t really care about the Senate Republicans’ priorities. He wants his ballroom, bunker and arch to continue his vengeance tour against his enemies and his ongoing profiteering. These Senators are loath to anger him and his base unless they are freed from reelection, so most are mute. There is no effective system of checks and balances as outlined in the Constitution in the GOP House and Senate, but there are glimmers in the Senate now.

The Cook Report just moved Ohio, North Carolina and Alaska closer to the Democrats in the fall. The GOP-allied groups have plenty of money but are going to have to spend it in states that were perfectly safe six months ago. Graham Platner will be the Democratic nominee in Maine. Chuck Schumer had persuaded Governor Janet Mills to run, but she had little traction and suspended her campaign. Platner has heavy political baggage in his past that he has apologized for, and Republican Susan Collins has proven difficult to defeat. The mainstream press is fixated on Platner’s “scandals,” not Collins’ fecklessness. The NYT did a long story on Platner’s dating life, more words spilled than on Trump’s thousands of mentions in the Epstein files. But the political atmosphere is far worse for the GOP than her last election.

Shumer and his allies spent heavily to push St. Rep. Josh Turek over the more liberal Josh Walls in the Democratic primary in Iowa. He will face MAGA Rep Ashley Hinson. It will take a perfect race for Turek to upset Hinson unless rural and small-town Iowa changes its voting patterns for the GOP. But it is listed as a lean GOP race, and Rob Sand, the Democratic state Auditor, is making a strong race for Governor.

Senator Ossoff is running one of the more impressive campaigns for reelection. He is clearly pointing out the egregious behavior of Donald Trump in a state that is barely purple. Meanwhile, his GOP opponents are tripping over themselves to demonstrate their allegiance to Trump, who posts pictures of himself with dead rhinos as his RINO hunting. It will either be Representative Mike Collins or a football coach named Dooley. Tommy Tuberville isn’t enough?

Governors

The swing state elections in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania are at the top of Democrats’ concerns. Josh Shapiro’s approval rating in Pennsylvania will make this the easiest race to defend. One recent statewide poll has him up by 24 points. Katie Hobbs has been an effective Governor in Arizona. The Arizona GOP is so extreme that she is favored over Rep. Andy Biggs, the Trump endorsee, in the rating services. The Democrats will have little trouble holding Minnesota with Senator Amy Klobuchar and Colorado, though the Democratic primary is increasingly contentious between Senator Michael Bennett and the AG, Phil Weiser. Michigan would have been relatively easy with popular SOS Jocelyn Benson, but the mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan, is running as an Independent with considerable money behind him. Wisconsin may be the most difficult, with a record number of candidates. Democratic primary voters will have to judge carefully who is best positioned to win the general, even in what should be a Democratic year. It is listed as a toss-up, and Democrats need to hope the most right-wing Republican wins their primary. Georgia is also listed as a toss-up with former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the candidate. There is a runoff in two weeks for the GOP nomination. As a sign of optimism for Democrats, there were 150,000 more Democratic early votes in the primary than Republican. GOP turnout issues magnified.

Tom Steyer spent well over $200 million to come in 3rd in the California jungle primary. His advertising was positive for months, but then turned relentlessly negative against former AG Xavier Becerra, the eventual Democratic winner. He spent 20 times more than Becerra. When all the votes were counted, he finished ahead of Steve Hilton, Trump’s candidate. Becerra will be heavily favored in the fall and would be the first Latino Governor in the state. LA Mayor Karen Bass defeated MAGA reality TV “star” Spenser Pratt. He was completely unqualified for the job and is a friend of Alex Jones, a fellow Sandy Hook shooting denier. Pratt sells crystals online and went all in on the Mayan Apocalypse. Trump had a meltdown on Meet the Press because mail-in voting in California favors Democrats in the late counting. Trump claimed fraud with no evidence and will do so in November, if he hasn’t called some fake national emergency by then. Bass was seriously hampered by her decisions that led up to the devastating LA fires. LA is also suffering from a drought in TV and film production, rising unemployment and affordability issues. Bass will face City Council member Nithya Raman in November.

House

The Democrats have suffered serious setbacks from the partisan judges on the Supreme Court and the Virginia Supreme Court. The gutting of the VRA and rushed redistricting in the South will cost the Democrats seats both now and in 2028. The Virginia decision costs up to 4 seats now, but the legislature can fix this for 2028. Still, the Democrats should win the House unless there is some dramatic and unforeseen change in the political dynamics. But partisan gerrymandering and these court decisions give Republicans a head start of presumed safe seats. The GOP claims it is 10 seats. Maybe by 2028, but not this year. The generic advantage in the NYT poll for Democrats was 11 points and 14 among likely voters. Democrats must ensure voters know the moronic statement by Mike Johnson that members of Congress should be able to trade stocks, presumably with inside information, to support their families, as the $174,000 salary isn’t enough. The federal minimum wage is $7.50 an hour.

Our work must adopt a 2032 lens, given that the country’s political makeup will be changed substantially after the 2030 census — impacting every state legislative and Congressional district, as well as the Electoral College. This calls for a different, strategic frame and different types of investments.

Five major forces are coalescing to threaten the future of our country:

1. America’s Changing Demographic and Geographic Makeup

America is rapidly diversifying from a majority white Christian population to a more racially and religiously diverse nation. Along with these demographic changes are geographic ones. The next census will record larger populations and result in more districts being drawn in the South and West. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Utah and possibly Idaho are all expected to gain seats.

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2. Different Investment Strategies Between the Right and Progressives and Democrats

Democratic money is structurally optimized for campaigns, while Republican money is structurally optimized for infrastructure. Electoral victories for Republicans are the result of long-term, strategic, institutional investments. Their investments are focused on long-term power-building. The Democratic strategy has involved a cycle-to-cycle reset that treats elections as the end goal. This shortsightedness has played a major role in undermining our multiracial democracy.

3. The Right’s Strategic Takeover of the Courts

In 1980, Michael J. Horowitz, a conservative lawyer, wrote a report commissioned by the Scaife Foundation arguing that conservatives need to do more than fund litigation. They needed to build a pipeline to cultivate conservative ideas on elite law school campuses, identify and credential young conservative lawyers, and create the institutional infrastructure to place them throughout the legal profession and federal and state benches.

Right-wing political operatives and institutions, including the Federalist Society, strategized to elect and or appoint conservative ideologue judges to state supreme courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, six of the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have ties to the Federalist Society.

These appointments have operated as a wrecking ball to our democracy. The most recent decision of Louisiana v. Callais is a nail in the coffin of the highly effective 1965 Voting Rights Act. These decisions were the return on investment for those who invested in the Federalist Society and state supreme court races to advance conservative ideologies and stop decades of work to expand the rights of individuals and communities.

4. The Right’s 50-Plus-Year Campaign to Control State Legislatures

The work to invest in state legislative bodies as a center of power began in the 1970s and 1980s. The strategy reached a watershed moment in 2010 with the creation of REDMAP, which netted approximately 680 state legislative seats across the United States. Republican wins in state legislatures included a number of trifectas and super-majorities that thwarted Democratic governors and Democrats in Congress for decades.

As a counterpart, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee was founded in 1992 but was underfunded and almost irrelevant until the 2020s. As in other arenas, Democrats are playing a game of catch-up.

5. Right-Wing Narrative Dominance

The Right’s investments in narrative dominance through universities, media, think tanks, mega churches and business societies were sparked in 1971 by the Powell Memo, then spread to the judiciary as a result of the Horowitz Report in 1980.

Systematic media ownership as a strategy to influence attitudes, control the political narrative and impact electoral choices began in the 1970s with Rupert Murdoch. Another early player was the Sinclair Group. Their strategy was to buy up local TV stations across the country and centralize conservative-leaning content (including mandatory “must-run” segments) across hundreds of local affiliates.

The result of these ever-expanding efforts has been to provide everyday Americans a narrative that explains their lives, identifies who is to blame for their struggles, fosters distrust in the public sector and promotes a zero-sum game mentality. These narratives are designed to promote fear, polarization, racial animus and an “us versus them” view of the world.

The Future Needs to be Re-Imagined and Investment Strategies Changed

The Callais decision should be a wake-up call, forcing those who care about our constitutional democracy to rework strategic planning with a longer timeline. The aggressive redistricting mid-census is accelerating an effort to lock in an overwhelming structural advantage for Republicans, not only in 2026, but more importantly, in 2028 and through 2032. Again, this does not negate the fact that 2026 and 2028 are important election cycles, but they are short-term milestones; if we don’t focus on the future, we lose it all.

There is no way to out-organize these structural advantages in the short term. Democrats may out-raise Republicans and take back the House — and maybe the Senate — in 2026, but they will face a changed country and different electoral calculations in 2028. The 2030 census will only make matters worse. There needs to be an ongoing effort that includes around-the-clock organizing, creates community and comity, and fights for the definition of how Americans understand their lives.

An Effort to Restore and Expand Basic Rights Starts in the States

State legislatures are the centers of power now. A coordinated, new strategic approach that focuses on state legislatures and the future control of the levers of government is required. There are three cycles and five months to begin a comprehensive effort that would include different segments of the progressive infrastructure. The groundwork for this effort would start now and increase in intensity in 2028, 2030 and 2032.

To be the most effective, each state needs its own investment strategy that is comprehensive and inclusive of candidate recruitment, electoral strategy, around-the-clock media strategies, community building, funding security, and the professionalization and secure funding of state organizations.

There are only a small number of national organizations and a mixture of state groups that focus on state legislatures. These need funding, but so do new efforts. Funders must invest in 2026, but invest in ways that create multi-faceted plans and strategies that go through 2032.

Currently, there are 28 state legislatures under full Republican control, 18 under full Democratic control and four have split control. There are 23 Republican trifectas (governor plus both legislative chambers), 16 Democratic trifectas and 11 states with divided government.

The ability to secure a House majority and the White House begins in state legislatures, governors’ mansions and the ability to change hearts and minds.

Recommendation: An Integrated Program Up and Down the Ballot

A 2032-specific fund should be established and given the necessary billions to wage a multi-cycle and multi-faceted campaign that unites efforts and results in an integrated, values-based political and policy strategy.

No single group should feel that this effort shortchanges their own ability to raise the funds they need. Every cycle is “the most important.” The one-cycle frame needs to change to — at the very least — the next four cycles.

The foundational purpose of all these efforts is policy change. Policy change requires a new distribution of power. This should result in policies that make the lives of Americans better, more rewarding and affordable while removing the punitive policies that have been put in place that make it difficult for individuals to access needed services.

Americans yearn for elected officials who are committed to real policy changes that meet the needs of ordinary Americans and who are not beholden to corporate dollars or individual large donors with their own agendas.

Americans are hungry for community. Americans are hungry for bravery.

If we fail to act, the country will continue to diversify, but its leaders will not. As Americans become more tolerant of differences, the opposite will be true of their elected leaders. The rights of Americans will diminish, and wealth inequality will continue to increase.

There are two important steps. One is to recognize the need for a comprehensive plan through 2032, combined with an aspirational policy agenda. The second step is to appreciate the resources required to achieve our goals. The crisis in which we find ourselves demands new and longer-term strategies, new thinking and secure resources.

His guest columns usually appear in the “Need To Know” newsletters:

Need to Know: Who's In Your Media Market

Growth and Divergence: The Spending and Messaging Split Shaping 2026

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3 months ago · 2 likes · 1 comment · Page S. Gardner

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Chaos and spectacle are the coin of the realm in the Trump regime. Whether it is Trump’s inflammatory posts and wild pronouncements or the antics of his unqualified Cabinet — like RFK Jr, Kash Patel or Pete Hegseth — there is something bizarre or profoundly stupid that occurs and makes news every day. The breaking news of crazy and corrupt never stops. The Administration operates in a fact-free zone where narrative control trumps the truth. This spectacle provides cover for the ideologues to implement Project 2025 and the rest of the right-wing agenda.

Social media was very good to Donald Trump during his first Presidential run. Trump is foremost a creature of television and follows the maxim of veteran newsman Daniel Schorr: “If you are not on TV, you do not exist.” This is the social media era, however, and Trump very effectively used Twitter in his first term. Now when he picks up the phone, the rants of the old man at the end of the bar are the result. What he seemingly cares about most is his grotesque ballroom.

Trump’s disastrous war in Iran has him threatening war crimes and ending with an insane post on Easter with “praise be to Allah.” Then he attacked the Pope as “weak on crime and nuclear” for upholding Catholic “just war” theory. Next, he posted an AI-generated picture of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick. His evangelical base was not pleased, so he claimed this was just a post of him as a doctor, which led to widespread ridicule. Twenty percent of Americans are Catholic, though many cradle Catholics are infrequent Church attendees after the sexual abuse scandals. But attacking the Pope like he is a congressman is a bridge too far, particularly since he is an American. It has started to splinter his electoral coalition.

Trump’s war in Iran and potential agreement will probably look a good deal like Obama’s one that he tore up. His major negotiators are two real estate guys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with all their conflicts of interest. Diplomatic expertise is no longer in vogue. As Trump’s Fox News weekend host turned DOD chief, Pete Hegseth, said, “We negotiate with bombs.” Hegseth then gave a speech quoting a fake Bible verse used in the movie Pulp Fiction. You can’t make this up.

The militant regime in Iran is just as entrenched. Our economy will take a hit, and the number of new jobs since the Trump regime resumed office is abysmal. New college graduates are having a difficult time finding employment, even before the full effect of the AI transformation occurs. Trump’s approval rating on the economy sits at 34% in the recent New York Times poll.

JD Vance continues to demonstrate his political magic touch. Trump sent him to campaign for Hungarian strongman Victor Orban on the eve of Orban’s landslide loss. After this political belly flop, Vance attended a sparsely attended Turning Point conference. A Catholic convert in 2019, Vance lectured the Pope to be “careful” in matters of theology and doctrine, and that his words must be “anchored in truth.” Apparently, the Pope, who holds a doctorate on the subject, is wrong and needs to do his theological homework. Vance is a brazen piece of work.

The Trump regime will never lose its base of Fox News diehards. But they have dug themselves into a considerable hole of public disapproval. The full weight of gas prices, an unpopular war with a slowing economy, and Trump’s online tirades and blatant corruption reflect his approval numbers in the 30s. Maybe this will cause the Democrats to up the pressure on the GOP, and they can start by uniformly opposing the budget and the absurd $200 billion in extra money for the Pentagon.

Senate

In Alaska, Mary Peltola raised $9 million in her first quarter. She is running on very local issues, particularly the fate of the fishing industry. Her opponent has a long history in GOP politics, but has become just another Trump supporter in the Senate. James Talarico raised an astonishing $27 million in the first three months of 2026 for his Texas Senate bid. Meanwhile, the Republicans are in a bitter runoff, and Trump has withheld his endorsement after one poll showed the ultra MAGA AG Ken Paxton leading the incumbent John Cornyn. Texas may be fool’s gold, but it will force the GOP to spend heavily there. Roy Cooper, Jon Ossoff and Sherrod Brown all posted healthy first-quarter numbers for their respective races.

Unfortunately, the GOP Super PACs are flush with money. Casino mogul Miriam Adelson gave $40 million to the GOP House and Senate Super PACs. The Senate organization has $109 million to $75 million for the Democrats. Trump’s Super PAC has $300 million in cash, though who knows how that will be spent, since Trump only cares about his personal survival. The no-regulation team for AI and sports betting industries are firmly in the GOP camp. The DNC will be of little help, with under $16 million in cash to the RNC’s $109 million. The New York Times reports that official GOP Committees and allied organizations have a $600 million advantage over the Democratic ones.

There will be, as usual, an endless funnel of negative ads against Democrats on crime, immigration and cultural issues like trans people. Fortunately, there is evidence that some of these negative attacks from generically named groups have less impact. Witness the recent advertising in the Illinois Democratic primary by the pro-crypto groups and AIPAC.

Flipping the Senate requires a Democrat to win at least two of the four states that Trump won by double digits. More Democratic candidates need to follow the lead of Senator Jon Ossoff and link the ongoing financial corruption of Donald Trump and his cronies and how it affects the daily life of all Americans.

House

John Roberts has realized his lifelong dream. Since he was a young lawyer in the Reagan Administration, one of his goals has been to dismantle the Voting Rights Act. Now, with the 6-to-3 decision in a case Louisiana brought, the law is effectively over. Activists died to make this law a reality, and with such a momentous decision, one would think Roberts would wait until the end of session. But the GOP court wanted to save the GOP House, so the decision was released to give Louisiana and other states like Tennessee the ability to redistrict the formerly VRA-protected seats ahead of the midterms.

Virginia voters followed the example of California and voted to allow mid-decade redistricting by the legislature. It might allow Democrats to pick up as many as four seats, but it is under court challenge. Only Florida is left as a potential redistricting, and the Republicans already have 20 of the 28 seats. The map proposed by Governor DeSantis will try to carve out four more seats. Florida law prevents lawmakers from deliberately creating districts to create a partisan advantage, but the Florida Supreme Court has been known to be “flexible” to help the GOP. The net effect of all this redistricting started by Texas this year would have been a wash. Trump has demanded all the GOP states affected by the VRA decision to redistrict now.

The generic poll should be higher than high single digits in favor of Democrats, but it reflects the ongoing unpopularity of the Party. Still, individual Democrats continue to outperform the 2024 election numbers. In the New Jersey special to replace Governor Mikie Sherrill, Democrat Analilia Mejia received over 70% of the vote in a suburban New Jersey district. All signs point to double-digit pickups, but this depends on the final redistricting, now that the VRA is a “dead letter.” Trump’s approval numbers will likely stay in the 30s until this war is over and there is some relief from the gas prices and the general affordability crisis.

Thus, the Right succeeds because they are unceasing in their efforts to provide the American people with a narrative that explains their lives. Much like a private-sector corporation, they know storytelling and advertising their “product” or “ideas” must happen every single day and in as many venues as possible. Controlling the interpretation of daily events and framing the narrative of Americans’ lives is central to their electoral wins and policy successes.

What Does the Right Understand About Power That Democrats Don’t?

Democrats and progressives have a theory of change based on electoral and movement politics. The Right understands that electoral wins flow from fundamental change in the culture and operating environment. Our immense polarization did not happen by accident.

The Right has been seeding the populist moment over many years. Their trickle-down economics has concentrated incomes, wealth and critically important assets in the hands of their wealthy and well-connected constituents and contributors.

As the concentration of wealth at the top increased, through individual tax breaks and corporate favoritism, middle-class Americans suffered. At the same time, public-sector services were cut back, wages fell behind, workers were denied their rights to join and organize unions, the manufacturing sector was devastated, the service sector was built on low-wage jobs, and the entire economy became a financial and services economy, devastating communities across the country.

These factors all led to a populist moment when Americans correctly concluded that the economy is rigged against them and the political system is stacked against them. Tragically, reactionaries — not progressives — harvested this discontent. This is history repeating itself.

What is the Path Forward?

The 2026 midterms will be the first step to reclaim our constitutional democracy. But the real work is different and more foundational.

We who care about defending and extending American Democracy need to adopt a model that every single corporation takes — market the brand every day. We must always be in the communications space, day in and day out, to help everyday Americans understand what is occurring in their lives, know who is making their lives more difficult and join together to address their common challenges.

What Would a 24/7 Culture Strategy Actually Look Like?

We need a broader culture change strategy that takes an ecosystem approach, integrating consistent narratives across the major drivers of culture — religion, education, music, media and entertainment, technology, and, of course, politics. Influencers have an important role to play, and building our own media properties is a must. We need to ask how we can embed ourselves more broadly in the lives of Americans. Another important question: how can we take advantage of the opportunities to communicate to the public at large when events command national or state-wide attention?

Our goal should be to build the power to fulfill our values and make America more just and democratic. For Democrats and progressives to regain credibility and retake power, voters need to believe that we will be effective and make their lives better.

Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy (IFPG) is a center that will test, apply and scale new tools and approaches to address underlying dynamics threatening U.S. democracy and develop long-term solutions. It is a deliberate effort to shatter the stale paradigms of short-term, risk-averse, siloed, “political” innovation and instead design a different future that brings together brilliant minds from around the country to take big swings for democracy and make generational change.

We must develop and deploy long-term strategies, tools and technologies that extend beyond the next election cycle and result in deep, generational changes focused on rebuilding trust in government and realigning our democracy to reflect the values and meet the needs of the majority. IFPG is doing what no one else is doing: countering and overcoming the Right’s tactics and tropes, including their use of “othering” to evoke fear and anger.

Let’s get real. More than 21 million people lack ready access to a birth certificate or passport, and roughly half of Americans do not have a passport at all. You can guess who is disproportionately represented in these groups. This Act is trying to determine the composition of the electorate to suit those who already have power and are desperate to hang on.

The presumption underlying the Act itself is pernicious. Its supporters appear to believe that Americans are, by nature, cheaters, fraudsters and basically dishonest. Really? Do the supporters of this Act really believe that their neighbors, teachers, grocery clerks, doctors and small business owners, to name a few, cannot be trusted unless proven otherwise?

The question is, why do those same elected officials trust Americans to pay their taxes or obey laws in general? It is ironic that we have a tax system that presumes honesty. Yes, there are audits, and there are guardrails and checkpoints to make sure that taxes are being paid. This is the same with voting. We have rules and regulations determining who can register and vote, and the manner in which a person can vote. So, for those who are against the SAVE Act, ask your elected officials why they distrust honest tax-paying American citizens when it comes to voting.

An election system built on suspicion rather than trust undermines not only access to the ballot but also confidence in democracy itself. Tax-paying American citizens should have every effort to participate in our democracy. We should celebrate the integrity of our voting system instead of making up stories that undermine belief in our democracy.

A majority of unmarried women are white, comprising 26.2% of all women. Hispanic, African American and Asian unmarried women comprise 9.4%, 8.3% and 2.5% of all women, respectively.

When looking at employment and labor force participation, married and unmarried women participate in almost equal numbers. Fifty-six percent of unmarried women are employed, versus 57% of married women, with 41% of both not being in the labor force at all. The stark differences arise when looking at wages and poverty rates.

Marital Status and Women’s Poverty Rates?

Almost 17% of unmarried women live in poverty, compared to almost 5% for married women. Now, one might reason this is because married women benefit from two-income families and other means of support. This is absolutely the case.

A closer look, however, at wage and hourly rates tells a more complicated story. Let’s look at the differences: Married women make up 20% of hourly workers, whereas unmarried women make up 30% of such workers. Married women comprise 10% of those making the minimum wage, whereas unmarried women represent fully 41% of these workers. Of those toiling in below minimum wage jobs, 17% are married women, and a whopping 46% are unmarried women.

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There are lots of underlying dynamics to voter choices. Yet, one of the most obvious and significant determinants of life in America, as well as civic participation, is marital status. A causal relationship between marital status and registering, voting and political preference is well documented. And yet, this is continuously ignored by the Democrats and their elite class — not so of the Republicans.

Let’s look at the simple facts: Unmarried women are the majority of women in the United States today. According to the U.S. Census, there are 62 million voting-eligible women who are either single, separated, widowed or divorced. Meanwhile, there are 59.9 million married women. Life in America is very different for these women, and their registration and voting rates reflect that.

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How Do Unmarried Women and Men Vote in U.S. Elections?

For the last seven election cycles since 2014, unmarried women have been a solid cohort for Democrats — usually voting by approximately 20 points in their favor. This has been consistent, cycle after cycle. Unmarried women include the very same white working-class voters that Democrats need to reach.

The high point in unmarried women’s vote for a Democrat was in 2008 — 70–30 for President Barack Obama. During the last presidential race, their vote was 60–38 for Kamala Harris.

Unmarried men exhibit the same patterns. Although a smaller cohort, they have consistently voted for Democrats, with the highest margin in 2018 — 57–41. For the first time, Democrats lost unmarried men in 2024, losing them slightly by 47–50.

How Do Married Americans’ Voting Patterns Differ?

Contrastingly, married women support Republican candidates consistently. The only marginal exception occurred in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump, and then again in 2018. Even then, they favored Democrats by about one point, essentially even.

Similarly, married men consistently vote against Democrats in double digits.

Why Does Marital Status Matter for Electoral Strategy?

When you read analyses of the electorate by the cognoscenti, marital status may be mentioned, but not always. This shows a lack of understanding of what drives choices in the electorate — from whether or not to register and vote to how to vote. This is the same for both women and men

If there is a lingering stigma to not being married — mostly perhaps for women — Democrats need to get over it and focus on understanding the lives of unmarried people and the policies that are detrimental to them.

Reactions to the recent Democratic wins in New Jersey, New York and Virginia reflect this debate, with pundits and columnists deliberating over which faction should shape or represent the party’s future — the centrist Spanberger-Sherrill wing or the progressive Mamdani wing. These are false choices. They are facile but convenient to write as “analysis.”

These arguments not only miss the point; they fail to address the underlying strategies helping Republicans cripple democracy. Americans want one thing: the ability to navigate their lives in a country that is making it increasingly difficult to do so.

It is hard to find a job that pays a wage that supports a family. Housing prices are sky high. Health care is expensive and about to become out of reach for many. Grocery prices are rising, as are transportation, clothing and other essentials. Wages are stagnant, and unemployment is growing. Major companies, including Amazon, UPS, Target and General Motors, recently announced mass layoffs while their executives get nosebleed bonuses, stock options and remuneration in ways that minimize tax exposure.

The ability of everyday Americans to support themselves and their families has been eroded through globalization, jobs shipped overseas, wage stagnation and the loss of jobs as the economy moved from a manufacturing-based economy to a service, financial and tech-based one.

At the same time, the country is growing more and more diverse in its population, as its demographic make-up moves away from a white Christian majority. This dynamic is one of the driving forces of Republican politics today. Determined not to lose the power that a majority white Christian nation once guaranteed, Republicans are continuing their quest to destroy any comity among Americans, placing blame on “others,” undercutting America’s democratic institutions and changing the rules to their advantage to stay in power.

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For the past five decades, wealthy donors have invested heavily in cultural narratives that demonize government and erode public trust. These donors have recast economic hardship as someone else’s fault — Democrats, immigrants or government itself — to mold how Americans interpret their struggles. To do this, a small group forged an unholy alliance, uniting those who are opposed to civil rights advancements, regulations to rein in corporate excesses and efforts to hinder the accumulation of unimagined wealth. Why? They wanted to advance their corporate interests and protect their status.

To discredit and vilify the very idea of a government that works in the interest of the public, conservative funders created a series of think tanks, a media ecosystem, advocacy campaigns, legal organizations and billionaire-supported “grassroots” organizations. These efforts helped elect candidates intent on crippling the public sector by lowering taxes for the wealthy and hindering regulations that stood in the way of corporate malfeasance. They have been successful in changing the culture and how people interpret their lives.

The current reality is stark.

Those in power “explain” things by obfuscating and advancing narratives that do not get at the root causes of massive wealth inequality and increasing hardships.

Donald Trump and his acolytes’ central argument is that “others” want to destroy you and the country as we know it. Taking their script straight out of the Joe McCarthy playbook, Trump and Republican leaders declare, “Democrats are radical, communist Antifa members who set out to destroy ‘people like you and me’ and our America.” Trump claims that so-called aliens are taking advantage of America by using public welfare services. Name the topic, pick the group, and they are to blame for the ills of you and me.

The ability to navigate life in the United States will not improve by “othering” outgroups or enacting policies that punish the poor and impoverish the rest of us. A better life for all will be achieved only if we recognize and seriously address the increasing income and wealth gaps, tackle the barriers to public sector services and counter an ever-growing balkanized media infrastructure. The real question is whether Democrats understand and can address the deeper, long-term cultural and political forces shaping American life; the consequences of the new Gilded Age of obscene wealth; and a public sector that advances the interests of millionaires, billionaires and now, one trillionaire.

Democrats must make it clear that they will deliver on priorities like affordable housing, access to healthcare and increased wages. And they must argue we need a functioning public sector — the very institutions conservatives have spent years discrediting.

Democratic elected officials can and should create a new America that has a customer-friendly public sector, understands that wealth inequality is a cancer destroying our nation and stops playing defense to the Republican arguments straight out of the 1950s.

Step one in that effort is investment in long-term narrative change. I’ve spent the past year convening interdisciplinary experts from research, advocacy, media and entertainment organizations to understand the cultural threats we face and how to change cultural narratives and strengthen democracy.

We dove deep into “othering” as a political weapon to understand why it’s effective and how to counter it. We explored how different communications channels and actors change voters’ perceptions of government and democracy. Then we sat down with those whose livelihoods depend on influencing the choices of people to understand how to impact hearts and minds for the long term. We revisited successful narrative campaigns throughout American history — from the Civil Rights movement to anti-smoking campaigns to the New Deal’s redefinition of the government’s relationship to its people — to learn what is common among these significant changes in cultural history.

The American people need to understand how to challenge a system based on false promises, including the false promise that tax cuts for the wealthy will

“trickle down” and improve the living standards for working families. Leaders of the Democratic party must reclaim the story of America itself — reminding volatile voters that we are not each other’s enemies, but allies in the fight for a fair and thriving America.

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This Administration is denying millions of Americans, and those who wish to get the best education in the world, a chance to learn and pursue their dreams.

Cuts to education and scientific research threaten the very qualities that have made our country great. And defunding education will have long-term impacts on the future of our country and its ability to compete in the world.

When the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump Administration to fire over 1,300 workers from the Department of Education, it didn’t just shrink a federal agency — it sent a message: Education is expendable.

The Department’s Office for Civil Rights was gutted. Seven of its twelve regional offices shuttered. Protections for students — against discrimination, assault, inequality — were tossed aside.

Cuts to education hurt the next generation of American scientists, doctors, business leaders, workers and technological innovators.

The damage doesn’t stop at schools. Trump’s research cuts stretch across every pillar of American scientific progress.

The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report listing 402 documented attacks on science in just six months, almost double the number documented during all Trump’s first term. By contrast, the report notes just two documented attacks on science under President Biden.

As part of the attack, essential staff at key science agencies are being slashed:

• The Department of Health and Human Services: down 24%

• The Department of Energy: down 13%

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: down 11%

• The National Science Foundation: down 10%

Grants and funding are also drying up. At the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the world’s leading medical research funder — over 3,500 grants have already been frozen or terminated. And Trump has proposed slashing its funding by nearly $18 billion (nearly 40%). According to the budget office, even a 10% cut could prevent 30 new drugs from reaching the market over the next 30 years.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) faces similar setbacks. About 3,500 employees (15% of its workforce) have already left or been laid off. The budget office found that such staff cuts could delay new drug approvals by nine months, keeping 23 drugs off the market in that time.

At the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Administration plans to cut 23% of staff and shut down the Office of Research and Development — the agency’s core scientific arm.

The Administration is sending a clear message to scientists that their work is no longer valued — and they’re listening.

Researchers are leaving the United States for universities abroad as funding disappears, with the international community seizing the opportunity to snatch up American talent. Countries like Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Australia are recruiting American scientists with incentives like funding, streamlined immigration pathways and competitive relocation packages.

Those with resources will go elsewhere to recruit talent and look for innovations. The Chinese government is thrilled at our short-sighted foolishness and abandonment of key components that Made America Great.

The loss of talent and knowledge could have long-lasting ripple effects impacting future breakthroughs in technology, medicine, energy, climate and more.

These cuts are shortchanging America’s future. Corporate America needs an educated workforce, doctors and hospitals need safe and effective drugs, devastating weather and storms must be anticipated or prevented — the list goes on and on.

We are losing our competitive edge in the world, and we are doing a severe disservice to future generations of Americans.

In this segment from TX Public Radio, Omar Parbhoo, CEO of Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy (IFPG) discusses the enormous obstacles people are facing to access public programs.

A new report from IFPG shows how millions of Americans now face greater risk of losing SNAP, TANF and Medicaid coverage — not because they’re ineligible — but because they can’t keep up with the red tape. Every new hoop increases the odds of people falling through the cracks.

The result is that families in need are punished with delays, denials and denigration. The process doesn’t just harm, it humiliates. This system deepens hardship, erodes trust in government and turns basic support into a source of shame.

Read IFPG’s full report, “Barriers to Benefits: The Decline in Public Trust,” here: https://innovatingforpublicgood.org/barriers-to-benefits/

Listen to the full interview on TX Public Radio here: https://www.wptf.com/wptf-morning-news/

In this segment from WPTF Morning News, I discuss Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy's (IFPG) new report, focusing on nine states and what everyday Americans need to go through to qualify for SNAP, TANF and Medicaid.

In North Carolina, there is no consolidated form to apply for SNAP and TANF together — each program has its own lengthy application and periodic eligibility recertifications:

— Medicaid: 20 pages + recertification after 6–12 months

— SNAP: 8 pages, plus 2 pages of instructions + recertification after 6 months

— TANF: 10 pages

After you are done filling out the many pages of applications for these programs, you need to wait for an interview. The North Carolina state government has been underfunded for years and years — so sometimes this wait is too long for families in need.

Read IFPG’s full report, “Barriers to Benefits: The Decline in Public Trust,” here: https://innovatingforpublicgood.org/barriers-to-benefits/

Listen to the full interview on WPTF Morning News here: https://www.wptf.com/wptf-morning-news/

In this clip from KDKA/Pittsburgh PA, I discuss Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy's (IFPG) recently released report examining the barriers to accessing SNAP, TANF and Medicaid.

In Pennsylvania, all three programs use one application form — that is the good news. The bad news is the programs have differing eligibility rules and a confusing 15-page form with 17 pages of instructions. After all that, SNAP and TANF require mandatory interviews.

Deep funding cuts have further slowed processing times, compounding access challenges. The Trump Administration has added even more requirements and barriers. The result? Families face unnecessary hurdles to meet basic needs — delays that can mean going without food, healthcare or income support — eroding public trust in the safety net and fueling frustration with government responsiveness.

Read IFPG’s full report, “Barriers to Benefits: The Decline in Public Trust,” here: https://innovatingforpublicgood.org/barriers-to-benefits/

In this clip from WPTF/Raleigh NC, I sit down with Tony Riggsbee to discuss Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy's (IFPG) new report. North Carolina is one of nine states included in the study, which analyzes what individuals and families need to go through to qualify for SNAP, TANF and Medicaid.

We discuss how in North Carolina residents must apply separately for SNAP, TANF and Medicaid — each with its own lengthy application and periodic eligibility recertifications:

— Medicaid: 20 pages + recertification after 6–12 months

— SNAP: 8 pages, plus 2 pages of instructions + recertification after 6 months

— TANF: 10 pages

Once applications are submitted, residents must still wait for an interview. But deep funding cuts by the Republican-led legislature have led to even longer wait times, making it harder than to access these essential benefits.

The result? Residents face unnecessary barriers when trying to meet their most basic needs — and public trust suffers because of it

Read IFPG’s full report, “Barriers to Benefits: The Decline in Public Trust,” here: https://innovatingforpublicgood.org/barriers-to-benefits/

In this segment from WVON 1690AM, I discuss strategies to create a lasting democracy. We must move beyond short-term, cycle-to-cycle thinking and embrace a strategic vision that addresses both immediate challenges and long-term threats. While each election cycle matters, focusing solely on the present risks losing sight of the bigger picture — and ultimately, losing the game altogether.

Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy (IFPG) is our way out of the cycle-to-cycle trap. IFPG is focused on developing and applying new tools, ideas and approaches to address the deeper forces threatening democracy in order to build resilient foundations for generations to come.

Learn more about Innovating for the Public Good: https://innovatingforpublicgood.org/

In this segment from The POTUS Channel, I highlight the mission of Innovating for the Public Good: R&D for Democracy (IFPG) — a bold new initiative dedicated to testing, applying and scaling innovative solutions to counter the growing threats to our democracy. We trace the roots of today’s crisis back to 1964, when Barry Goldwater’s campaign helped spark a long-term conservative effort to dismantle the public sector and weaken its ability to serve everyday Americans. This agenda continues today with legislation like the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," which makes it harder for people to access essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP. IFPG is designed to be a long-term answer — a center for generational change that ensures our democracy and government truly work for everyone.