I must make two prefaces before this piece officially begins. One, I am completely against a two-party system of American politics. It was never intended to happen, but due to the simple mathematics of a first-past the post voting system (a.k.a., winner-take-all), the inevitable two parties formed. Since this is the ship we are currently in, it’s best to remodel and salvage what we can before we bring it into the harbor and board a new vessel. Second, the Republican Party certainly has its own shit to work out (I would run out of fingers and toes if I had to count the amount of longtime GOP members that were outspokenly critical of Trump), but since they blew this election out of the water, it kind of feels like a moot point. Hence, I will not be writing an equivalent piece on the GOP.

By now, we’ve all seen every political correspondence and every scathing post-election analysis under the sun. I’m sure a majority of you have read Michael Moore’s 5 Things piece, and if not, I’ve linked it here for you. There’s been plenty of armchair quarterbacking going on since the election ended; people saying, “Hillary should’ve campaigned this,” and, “The Democrats shouldn’t have done that!” Instead of focusing on the past, this article is looking solely towards the future. I am going to limit my references to the recent election, and my past alliterations will focus on general trends rather than specific moments in the party’s history. Now, let’s look at where the Democratic Party should go from here.

Rebranding

Here’s a doozy of an opener: the Democratic Party as we know it needs to be tossed in the trash and completely redesigned. And I mean the whole enchilada. It needs a new name, a new color scheme, a new mascot…everything must go. I suggest going by the Progressive Party[1], because that will be more in line with their future demographics. Millennials today are the most self-identified liberal generation we have ever seen, and the term progressive is more in line with the political ideology upheld by the new Democratic leaders such as Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison. Truly, I don’t give a shit about their colors; they can be purple and gold for all I care (Skol). Hell, make their mascot a Norsewoman (Skol, again). The progressive leadership is rising, but there are few young, prominent Democrats out there (Keith Ellison is 53, the Obamas are also in their mid-50s, Sanders is 75, and Elizabeth Warren is 67). It will be imperative for the party to rebrand itself as a progressive-friendly, even leftist party that is focused on improving America’s future economically, socially, and environmentally in order to recruit new leadership.

Mission Statement

A mission statement is essential to any rebranding process, one that captivates the party’s goals as well as their beliefs. As far as I know, no such mission statement currently exists for either the Democrats or the Republicans. I am fully anticipating my uber politically involved friends to retort with, “the party’s platform is their mission statement, dumbass!” but that is not a mission statement. A mission statement provides a clear, precise, and concise vision of what an organization does and what they believe. It is their “why.” It’s what they set out to do everyday. A simple mission statement for the Progressive Party could read as such:

We, the Progressive Party, believe that the government’s role is to protect, serve, and lead the United States by working together with all peoples. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that all of our voices together can create a nation that can lead the world to peace and prosperity.

A little hammy, but you get the idea. A clear, concise mission statement serves as the keystone of all of the great organizations, so why don’t our political parties have one?

A Focus on Economic Reform

As I stated previously, the Progressive Party will be a leftist organization. If it runs anything like Bernie Sanders’ campaign, it will operate on the fringe of socialism. The biggest strength of this party will be its focus on economic reform. In fact, it will be vital to achieve economic reform if they want to see any real progress. As we saw during the Democratic caucuses this year, in an election system that is dependent on Super PACs, corporate lobbyists, special interests and “soft” money, a campaign by the people stands little chance against the “Super Delegates” of the Democratic Party (another bullshit thing that needs to go away).

There is no doubt that unchecked capitalism is the crux of this issue. What happens to a country where there are no limits to how rich the rich can get, and our government wants to cut funding on helping those who need it? What kind of economic system do you think is at the helm of this nation? The progressive platform cannot thrive in a nation that is unwilling to help those in need. Therefore, economic reform must be at the forefront of the new Progressive Party platform. Lucky for them, the PP will have the leadership of Sanders and Warren to spearhead stricter regulations on banks, more balanced tax brackets, and higher wages for everyone.

Organizing Locally

If economic policy reform is the biggest strength of the current progressive Democrats, then local organization is its biggest weakness. And by local, I mean within counties and cities. I learned this after attending a gathering of Democrats in downtown Des Moines. Not only did I learn first hand from the general lack of organization within the meeting itself, but it was also the top complaint I heard all night. One woman shared with us how structured and organized local Republican gatherings were, and how well they campaigned locally. This year’s election results showed what fruit organization can bear: Iowa switched from blue to red, and all its Republican incumbents won. Of course, this is the part where people reading this are going to chime in and say, “Hey! Bernie Sanders ran a successful grassroots campaign; certainly the Democrats are more organized than you give them credit for.” I would respond with, “was his campaign successful, though?” He certainly didn’t win the nomination. We could circle around the whole Super Delegate issue again, but let’s recognize that Democrats, in general, don’t show up for local elections like Republicans do.

One resolution I heard from the meeting I attended was to enact a locally funded program that taught community leaders how to run a caucus, since the lack of organization at caucuses was a big deal (and you know Iowa loves it caucuses). Another suggestion was to group the resources from smaller, neighboring counties that would focus on training regional volunteers to properly campaign. All of these were good suggestions, but I think what will really help organization is getting people to fully invest in the new Progressive Party. Which of course all starts with the rebranding, recruitment of young voters, mission statement, and focus on economic reform. Local organization is how the end goal will be achieved: staying relevant in an ever-changing, hostile political climate.

Why This All Matters

Staying politically relevant is just the tip of the iceberg for the current Democratic Party. What’s more important for them is to earn future votes. All of what I’ve mentioned so far is what they must do in order to achieve that goal. And if they don’t, the Democrats will do what they always do. They will sit back, watch the GOP take control, fail, piggy-back off their shortcomings in the upcoming non-presidential election, win a few seats in the House and Senate, and do the same old thing they’ve done time and time again. This won’t earn them any future votes. If they want to secure their future as a political establishment, they must appeal to young voters. They must move towards a more progressive platform, which they did this year after Bernie’s campaign (so, yes, in that sense you could view his campaign as a success). But they can’t stop there. Relying on the shittiness of the GOP and the efforts of a 75-year old white guy from Vermont is not enough to reclaim a stronghold in American politics. In order to stop the ebb and flow of the power struggle between the two parties, the Democrats must rebuild around these ideas, or else they will be shipwrecked and washed ashore right up next to the Whigs, the Federalists, and the “Know Nothings.”

[1] There have been two Progressive Parties in the United States. One was the 1912 party that also went by the “Bull Moose Party”, and the more tenured Progressive Party that ran between 1948 and 1955.