As far as campaign slogans go, President Joe Biden’s oft-repeated phrase “Finish the job” isn’t exactly galvanizing. “Finish the job” is a patient gardener determinedly clipping away at that final hedge. It’s an accountant hunched over the last page of his trusty ledger.
It looks backward rather than forward.
And this isn’t 2020. The domestic and global situation Biden inherited from the Trump administration has changed radically, with significant economic, technological, environmental and global political developments that are only accelerating. Biden continues to say, “We need to do more,” but what he hasn’t said is more what.
Biden’s first term has seen significant achievements on climate, the economy and infrastructure. But tying up loose ends on Biden’s first term isn’t enough to rouse Democrats, independents and Never Trump Republicans, regardless of whether Biden is the party’s candidate.
What the Democratic Party needs is its own version of Project 2025, the nearly 900-page blueprint put forth by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank whose stated goal is “institutionalizing Trumpism.” A tighter and brighter version that gets Democrats off their back feet and articulates goals that go beyond defeating Trumpism.
Such a plan would address issues meaningful to all Americans — but especially to those Americans who don’t see the powerful impact government can have on their safety, economic security, families and futures. One that offers some Obama-era optimism, that lapsed sense that the country was moving in the right direction and the government exists to serve us.
Past gains aren’t enough
According to a 2024 Pew survey, Americans’ top policy priorities are “strengthening the economy,” “defending against terrorism,” “reducing the influence of money in politics,” “reducing health care costs,” “improving education,” “making social security financially sound,” “dealing with immigration” and “reducing the availability of illegal drugs.”
What are the Democratic Party’s big, bold plans to address those concerns going into the next election? On the campaign trail thus far, we’ve heard remarkably little about short- or long-term plans for any of these challenges. Instead, we’ve heard about the need to make more people — not just the wealthy and the donor set — feel the effects of policies the Biden administration has already enacted.
But it’s not enough. Low unemployment rates aren’t meaningful when too many Americans earn abysmal wages, some working multiple jobs with low security just to get by. How meaningful is a booming economy when prices remain high and steep interest rates make it even harder to afford a home? And what plans do we have for homeless people beyond sweeping them off the streets?
There’s also the sorry state of the home we all share. When you combine the desires to “improve the energy system,” “protect the environment” and “deal with climate change,” the environment, broadly speaking, ranks high in that same Pew poll. Yet the environment was hardly mentioned during the first presidential debate.
Incremental changes to large-scale problems aren’t enough. We need big, innovative ideas to build a fairer and more equitable system. At a time of appalling income inequality, tax rates remain low for wealthy Americans and large corporations. When it comes to bettering the world, billionaires and private foundations dictate the agenda far more than a government intended to represent the public interest.
Look for better ideas
Last week’s assassination attempt is only the latest manifestation of our country’s galling record on gun violence. At his most recent news conference, Biden had a good line with “Control guns, not girls.” But we need more than T-shirt slogans. We need a real plan to end gun violence — and no doubt, Americans’ professed desire to reduce the influence of money in politics reflects a desire to reduce the influence of the gun lobby, along with the paralyzing grip of the pharmaceutical industry, Big Tech, oil and gas, and insurance.
Then there are the issues that don’t necessarily rank high in polls but are critical to the country’s health. Too many of these challenges have simply fallen off the public’s radar and conscience, perhaps a reflection of a lack of trust and hope in the government to attend to the country’s biggest and most intractable problems.
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One out of every five prisoners in the world lives in this country, according to a 2020 analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative. Nearly 1 in 100 Americans is in prison or jail, with many more juveniles and adults caught up in a dysfunctional, punitive and discriminatory justice system. When was the last time Democrats proposed a comprehensive plan for prison reform, recidivism reduction and reentry programs?
We also need better ideas around education, from early childhood to the public school system, from vocational schools to community colleges. The best public universities should be tuition-free, well funded and focused not merely on training employees but also on educating citizens. We talk a lot about young people who feel overwhelmingly anxious, stressed, helpless and pessimistic. We’ve told them all about what to fear. But what reason have we given them to feel empowered and optimistic?
There is a lot more that could be added to this list, which doesn’t even touch on foreign policy. And Democrats will of course quibble over the particulars of what a blueprint for 2025 and beyond will look like. But without laying out ambitious ideas, we have nothing to look forward to other than defeating Trumpism. The motivation there is fear of what could happen rather than enthusiasm for what should happen. To get the electorate excited about a Democratic future requires more than that.
Pamela Paul is a New York Times columnist.