It is widely asserted that people don’t know what Democrats stand for. I suspect that even many Democrats would find it difficult to articulate a list of fundamental Democratic beliefs, as opposed to a catalogue of particular policy preferences they support. Public discourse, after all, tends to concentrate on the minutiae of governance, rather than on the overarching ideas behind those details, on tactics, rather than on strategy.

The November 2026 midterm elections represent perhaps the last chance for the depredations of Donald Trump to be thwarted and the Republic to be saved from destruction. Democrats must win back at least one house of Congress to accomplish this. They must be able to articulate a vision of governance to independents and even to Republicans not unswervingly wedded to the MEGA program.

I was surprised to discover that Merriam-Webster offers a serviceable description of basic Democratic Party philosophy under the term “Democrat”:

a member of the Democratic party of the U.S.: a member of one of the two major political parties in the U.S. that is usually associated with government regulation of business, finance, and industry, with federally funded educational and social services, with separation of church and state, with support for abortion rights, affirmative action, gun control, and policies and laws that protect and support the rights of workers and minorities, and with internationalism and multilateralism in foreign policy

I suspect that few people who are clueless about what Democrats really stand for will seek enlightenment from the dictionary, however. That understanding must come from Democrats themselves.

These musings led me to enumerate what I see as fundamental Democratic beliefs that should guide the development of Democratic policy proposals. Essentially, I wanted to capture the philosophy of the archetypal, necessarily liberal, Democrat. Particular Democrats may be expected to subscribe to many, though perhaps not all, of my propositions. To the degree that the Democratic Party is actually a “big tent,” we must expect that some Democrats will reject some of these principles. Nonetheless, I think I have painted a picture of what many knowledgeable political observers would recognize as common views of Democratic politicians and supporters. It must be said that even where Democrats agree on a principle, there may be disagreements about how that idea should be applied. Thus, policy disagreements can arise even among strong Democrats. This realization was one reason I chose, as much as possible, to concentrate on more general principles, rather than on particular policy proposals.

While compiling my list, I became keenly aware that the distinction between principle and policy is a murky one. Not all items on my list will be seen as high-level principles; some appear to be quite specific policy options. So be it. My goal was to articulate basic Democratic Party ideas that seem relevant in 2026. Note that the order of my list has no implications as to the relative importance of specific items.

My list:

1. Laws should be uniformly enforced. No one, including the president, should be above the law.

2. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century laws should be examined and repealed if they no longer seem relevant.

3. Climate change is real, is a threat to life as we know it, and requires behavioral changes to mitigate those threats.

4. Corporations should be required to compensate the public for damage they do to the environment.

5. The government should in no way subsidize religion generally or particular religions. Churches, church schools, and the like should receive no special tax breaks.

6. All citizens should be able to vote in a convenient manner and without harassment.

7. The government should not dictate college or university curricula.

8. Unionization of workers should be encouraged both in the private and public sectors.

9. Wealthy individuals should pay a higher percentage of their wealth in taxes than the less wealthy.

10. Legislation and government regulations should be informed by reputable science.

11. Laws passed by Congress should benefit from honest negotiation and compromise between political parties.

12. Medical decisions should be made by a patient and his or her physician. This includes decisions involving abortion. Hospitals must not use religion to justify their failure to deliver the standard of care.

13. Diplomats should conduct diplomacy. Workers in government departments should be subject experts, not political hacks.

14. Legislators should not be able to invest in specific securities.

15. Capitalism is the best economic system for producing wealth.

16. Capitalism without enforced rules creates inefficiencies, unfairness, and undermines democracy.

17. Where free markets do not work well, government must step in. This leads to the regulation of natural monopolies such as water systems. This is also true for essential services that are too expensive for those who need them, such as child daycare, passenger rail, air traffic control, maintenance of waterways, weather forecasting, etc.

18. Free trade should be the general rule. Exceptions can be made to ensure the country has access to strategic goods or in response to foreign dumping.

19. The government should subsidize no profitable industries.

20. Government functions should be fully funded, so that they can accomplish their intended purpose. The IRS, Social Security, immigration courts, national parks, etc., should not be starved of funds.

21. All people, by right, deserve to be housed and adequately fed.

22. Everyone deserves safe food and safe and effective drugs.

23. Everyone deserves a safe work environment in which workers are not exploited.

24. Extreme wealth disparity is incompatible with a healthy democracy.

25. The District of Columbia should be a state.

26. The U.S. should support NATO, the United Nations, and the various U.N. organizations. This includes financial support.

27. The U.S. should support Ukraine and other countries as needed against Russian aggression or aggression by other state actors.

28. Social Security deserves unwavering support.

29. The ultimate goal of health policy should be a government-run single-payer system. People need healthcare, not health insurance.

30. The president and vice president should be elected by popular vote.

31. Antitrust activities should be increased. Big is inherently dangerous.

32. The Citizens United decision should be overridden by constitutional amendment.

33. The ERA, possibly strengthened, should become a constitutional amendment.

34. The Constitution should be amended to make amendments easier to pass.

35. Israel is an apartheid state guilty of war crimes. Any U.S. support should be aimed at changing its policies. We should not send Israel offensive weapons.

36. Palestine should be a fully functioning nation.

37. The government should promote democracy and human rights throughout the world.

38. We should rebuild USAID as a low-cost humanitarian organization that creates goodwill toward the U.S.

39. The Supreme Court should not be able to be captured by a radical ideological faction.

40. Supreme Court justices should be subjected to the same ethical standards as other federal judges.

41. The U.S. Constitution should be considered a living document, its words interpreted in the context of contemporary society.

42. Gerrymandering for political advantage should be illegal.

43. Private prisons should be illegal.

44. The death sentence should be abolished throughout the country.

45. The Cuban embargo, which has not resulted in changes to the Cuban government, should be lifted, and trade with the island regularized.

46. ICE operatives should not carry firearms except to arrest a person for whom they possess a valid warrant signed by a judge.

47. The Civil Service system should be protected and not changed to allow for more workers to be political appointees.

48. Income from capital gains should be taxed like other income.

49. Assault rifles should not be legal for citizens to own or use. The Second Amendment was written in ignorance of such weapons and does not imply that they should be lawful.

50. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting should be reconstituted and should support NPR and PBS.

51. Voice of America should return to being a source of objective news.

52. The U.S. Postal Service is essential and must be supported.

53. As a scientific fact, there are more than two human sexes. The government must acknowledge that reality.

54. People have the right to live consistently as either male or female.

55. The number of members in the House of Representatives should be increased to give citizens more effective representation.

56. Representation in the U.S. Senate should be changed to diminish the disparity of representation between large and small states.

57. The government should support scientific and medical research unlikely to be done by the private sector. The government should benefit financially from discoveries made with public funding.

58. The independence of the Federal Reserve must be protected.

59. The government should provide financial support for the arts and humanities.

60. The Department of Justice should be free of influence by the president.

61. The president’s influence over government departments and bodies should be limited to his or her power of appointment and through those appointed.

62. Immigration decisions should be based on the immigrant, not the immigrant’s country of origin.

63. Longstanding residents who did not come to the country legally and have no criminal record should be allowed to stay in the U.S. and be given a path to citizenship.

64. No one should be deported to a country to which the deportee has no ties.

65. The wall between church and state should be inviolable. “In God we trust” should be replaced as the nation’s motto by the more ancient and appropriate “E pluribus unum.”

66. No individual state should be treated differently from other states because of the party controlling its legislature or its governorship.

67. Dreamers should be given a path to citizenship.

68. The government should be allowed to fund abortions at home and abroad.

69. Public, private, and foreign DEI programs should be encouraged.

70. ICE and similar government operatives must display badges, name tags, agency name, and have their faces uncovered.

71. FEMA must be preserved and its core functions not transferred to states.

72. The Senate filibuster should require those employing it to hold the Senate floor.

— LED, 1/26/2026

NOTE: This essay is available as a Microsoft Word file here.

 
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