Time to fight back: five leading thinkers on what Democrats should do post-midterms

Welcome to a special edition of How We Win, a Guardian opinion series with leading thinkers, offering bold ideas for America’s political future. Sign up here to receive future editions in your inbox.Bust up the broligarchyDemocrats should use their mandate to be Democrats again. That means taking on concentrated wealth and economic power – the oligarchy – with a wealth tax on multimillionaires and billionaires. Campaign finance reforms to get big money out of our democracy. Labor law reforms to make it easier for workers to form unions and harder for employers to fire them for doing so. And tough new anti-monopoly laws to give government authority to bust up concentrations of economic power, especially in tech.– Robert Reich, former US secretary of labor and a Guardian US columnistSmoke out the ghost of the ConfederacyThe majority of voters repudiated the corrupt, racist Republican party that made life unaffordable and committed crimes with impunity. To keep people from their pitchforks, Democrats need to use this singular power for transformation, not restoration. Preach and practice affordability and accountability. (Talking to you, Hakeem Jeffries.)We’re not going to just move forward, hold hands and get along. We have to vanquish the Maga spirit to ensure the ghost of the Confederacy can no longer haunt and terrorize our country.First, Democrats should unleash hell in the name of justice. This means investigations of the Jeffrey Epstein class, Elon Musk, Pete Hegseth, Jared Kushner, Robert F Kennedy Jr and Stephen Miller. Second, Democrats must end the trade wars and the failed, disastrous war in Iran while not getting outflanked by Republicans in rejecting Israel’s interference in our politics. Restore Affordable Care Act subsidies and reverse the $1tn cuts to Medicaid. And how about Medicare for All?– Wajahat Ali, editor of The Left Hook and co-host of The Democracy-ish PodcastMake the lawyers payOne of the most insidious aspects of Trump’s second term has been his aggressive destruction of the rule of law. Trump’s weaponization of the Department of Justice to instill fear in his political opponents has eroded the public’s trust in our system of justice.With their clear mandate from voters, Democrats must immediately launch investigations into the actions of Trump’s former lawyer Alina Habba, former US attorney Lindsey Halligan, US attorney Jeanine Pirro and other US attorneys and federal prosecutors who furthered Trump’s intimidation campaign. US attorney general Todd Blanche, who allegedly quarterbacked several of these illegal and unethical prosecutions, should be investigated first.After the 2021 attack on the Capitol, at least 20 million people tuned in to watch the first hearing of the January 6 select committee. Public hearings would allow Americans to witness the extent of these lawyers’ complicity in following the whims of the president to pursue vindictive indictments and prosecutions. The all-out assault on the rule of law by Trump and his justice department must be stopped. It should be a top priority for the Democrats as they begin the 120th Congress.– Katie Phang, independent journalist, trial lawyer and political analystRoot out corruptionThe most crucial issue for 2026 voters was not grocery prices, or the Iran war or immigration. It was corruption. And that’s exactly the issue Democrats should start on when they gain control of Congress in January.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe first order of business should be to pass a law banning all members of Congress and the president from trading individual stocks. (Trump has made more than 25,000 individual stock trades since returning to the White House.) Such a bill should pass with overwhelming – and potentially veto-proof – bipartisan support. What better way for Democrats to begin their majority than to deliver real reform on an issue of importance to voters?Next, subpoena Jared Kushner. Trump’s son-in-law is a top US negotiator on every key foreign policy issue while reportedly remaining on the dole of foreign governments. It’s one of the biggest corruption scandals in history. Kushner claims he is a volunteer, not a government official. That makes it difficult for him to assert executive privilege.– Judd Legum, founder and author of Popular InformationDo the workFirst, I would caution Democrats not to consider this victory a mandate, but rather an assignment. Voters were repulsed by Trump and his actions, but they were not writing Democrats a blank check. They want accountability for corruption and affirmative action toward greater equality and economic relief.However, the “blue wave” delivered neither a filibuster-proof nor a veto-proof majority in Congress. The goal now is to keep expectations aligned with actual opportunity and ability.– Charles Blow, author, political analyst and contributing writer to the GuardianWant to hear more from our contributors?Follow them on Substack and elsewhere: Stacey Abrams, Robert Reich, Paul Krugman, Naomi Klein, Mehdi Hasan, Bernie Sanders, Rebecca Solnit, Katie Phang, Judd Legum, Wajahat Ali, Margaret Sullivan, and Charles Blow.