“So where to now, St. Peter?  Tell me which road I’m on.”—from “Where to Now, St. Peter” on the album “Tumbleweed Connection” by Elton John, 1971.

To say that the 2026 midterm election was something historic would be an understatement.  As of this writing, it appears the Democrats will flip 45 seats in the house and 9 in the senate.  Volumes could be written about the obvious reasons for this blow-out:  corruption, inflation, rising inequality, declining real wages, skyrocketing prices for fuel and food, unaffordable health care, a mismanaged war, support for dictators and warmongers, betrayal of our allies, and a policy of murder and cruelty under the guise of “protecting the border.”

Of course, I could go on and on, but I’ll leave that to others.  Something else is far more important.

What steps should the Democrats take to rebuild our country?  What actions can be taken to reverse the chaos of trump’s reign?

Where to now?  Here’s what I’d suggest.

First, keep the needs of the people at the forefront of governance.  Focus on justice rather than retribution.  Zero in on quick wins for the country.  A lot of damage needs to be undone.  Don’t waste the opportunity.

Here’s a start:

“JUSTICE” AND CORRUPTION:  Yes, Donald trump is the most corrupt president in history.  Deep down, even the MAGA faithful know this.  So forget about impeaching him. 

Does he deserve it?  Sure.  But we’ve done it twice already, and even with a bunch of “we-just-got-hit-up-side-of-the-head” Republicans in the Senate, the votes still aren’t there to convict.  Don’t make the guy a martyr.  Just let him rant incoherently, shake your head, laugh, and walk away.  

Instead, investigate his enablers.  Start immediate hearings on Pete Hegseth, the so-called Secretary of War, who’s fired talented officers without cause, denigrated thousands of our troops, and thoroughly mismanaged the conflict with Iran from the very outset.  The evidence is there to justify impeachment, and a senate vote would likely be close.  Keep the pressure on.  Trump is always looking for a scapegoat.  Enough heat, and Hegseth will resign.

Just as importantly, investigate the corruption within the Department of “Justice.”  After seeing his first choice (a child molester) shot down, and his next choice, a Florida attorney general (who dropped an investigation into trump’s corruption when he made a massive donation to her campaign) go down in flames, trump appointed his personal attorney.  Blanche has ignored real crime and instead spent millions pursing cases against trump’s political enemies.  In many of those cases, the evidence has been so flimsy he couldn’t even get a grand jury indictment.

Demand answers on trump’s “pardons for cash” program.  Hold hearings as to why some dictators are taken down, and some (along with their cash) welcomed into the country with open arms.

This is corruption on a massive scale, and both trump and Blanche need to be called to account.

At the same time, go after rfk, Junior.  Measles is spreading like wildfire, children are dying, food safety standards are declining, rural hospitals are closing, more and more people are losing their health insurance, and the best Junior can do is push testosterone and peptides.  Investigate his ties to antivax funds, supplement dealers, and his defunding and politicalization of public health agencies.  Get all the facts out there, embarrass trump, and Junior will soon be gone.

ICE AND IMMIGRATION:  There will be calls to “defund” ICE.  Resist them.

Instead, force ICE to refocus on its mission.  Keep watch on the border to insure safe and legal crossings, but get off the streets of American cities.  No more facemasks.  No more body armor.  No more military grade weapons.  No more racial profiling.  All officers must wear body cameras.  All hires must be thoroughly vetted.  No more agents who’ve previously been fired by police departments for excessive force and/or killings.  No more agents with gang ties, criminal records, or January 6^th convictions

No more bogus “we’re going after the worst of the worst” while arresting and deporting children.  Reduce ICE’s funding to its 2024 level.  If they continue to ignore the law?  Reduce it further.

HEALTH CARE:   Restore funding for Medicaid and the ACA.  Take the $50 billion from the Rural Transformation Program slush fund and direct toward rural hospitals and nursing homes on the verge of closing.

Hold hearings on the Medicare (dis)Advantage program.  Place insurance CEOs under oath and have them explain why their programs cost taxpayers $120 billion more than if the same care had been provided through Traditional Medicare.  Have them try to justify why their profit margin on disAdvantage products significantly exceeds those of group health products.

Ditto pharmaceutical executives.  Have them justify why a monopoly of pharmacies own the pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) that serve only to increase their profits at the expense of patient dollars and patient choice.

Hold health policy hearings where cost, access, and outcomes are presented by researchers who actually know what they’re talking about.  Have them describe how all of those parameters are better in other industrialized countries.  Then smile while your Republican colleagues look ridiculous trying to argue with the evidence.

As suggested by a New York Times writer, propose a national health care program to cover all children.  They are certainly as vulnerable as the elderly, and they elderly already have Medicare.  Consider a public option for everyone between 18 and 65.  Then watch the insurance companies squirm.

NATIONAL DEFENSE:  Put up or shut up about Iran.  Either vote to declare war as the constitution requires, or cut off all funding.  Demand evidence as to whether Iran actually has anything close to a nuclear weapon, demand evidence as to why the war started, demand answers as to why the war has been bungled.  This is already looking too much like Trump Nam.

Restore funding for Ukraine, and reimpose all earlier sanctions on Russia.  Demand all evidence of war crimes committed in Ukraine, Gaza, and the West Bank.  Cooperate with all international agencies in investigations.    

TARIFFS:  Vote to suspend all tariffs that were not authorized by Congress.  Demand that trade negotiators work to restore trade, especially for American farmers.

AI:  Recognize that AI (forget the Super Intelligence SI crap) has tremendous potential ,but could also be a legitimate threat to jobs, security, and the economy.  Its growth must be managed in a way that protects our national interests, grows our economy, yet doesn’t threaten our future.  AI presents a significant risk, and needs to be managed and regulated accordingly.  Congress should establish a standing committee on AI, and get regular updates on advances.

All AI CEO’s have been quizzed as to which “new jobs” AI will create.  All have simply hemmed and hawed, and provided no answers. If the massive AI job disruptions that have predicted are indeed a threat, Congress needs to invest heavily in job retraining.    Such retraining could be funded by a “lay-off” tax imposed on AI entities, based not on their profits, but on the number of workers they displace.

MONOPOLIES, SECURITY, AND THREATS:  The economic reality is stark. A narcissistic, unstable centibillionaire named Elon Musk controls enough wealth, technology, and influence to threaten the peace and security of the entire world.

He has cavorted with dictators, inserted himself into elections around the world, allocated or withheld lifesaving technology without regard to national or international law (witness the dead children when he shut off Starlink in Ukraine), and spent millions trying to buy elections in this country. 

This is unprecedented in world history.  Go ahead.  Consider Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie, and Vanderbilt.  None had this sort of power.

And none received Musk’s taxpayer funded trillions in government contracts. 

All contracts with Space X and other Musk corporations should be immediately placed on hold until Congress is satisfied that Musk actually supports the goals of American democracy, and is held accountable for interfering in governmental and world affairs.

And if he refuses?  Can we really survive without Elon Musk?  Consider the words of Charles De Gaulle: “The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”  America survived before Elon.  If necessary, we’ll survive without him now.

And if his industries are really that vital?  A true national emergency is grounds for nationalization.

THE ECONOMY:  Prices, housing, the decline in real wages, and growing inequality threaten more and more Americans.  When I worked for the Burlington Northern Railroad as a track laborer in 1970, the minimum wage was $1.60 an hour.  I made $2.89 an hour (it was a union job).

Today, according to national data, I’d make around $26 in my old railroad job.  If the minimum wage had increased accordingly, it would now stand at $14.40.

But it hasn’t.  It’s only $7.25.  In other words, in real terms, the minimum wage has plummeted by nearly 50%.  All during a time when executive compensation has skyrocketed.

Congress should immediately raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, with provisions for annual increases.  The National Labor Relations Board, along with the Consumer Protection Agency, needs to be revived and strengthened.  Congressional hearings should probe the historical evidence that rapidly worsening inequality leads to social upheaval and national decline.    

Without adequate housing opportunities and the wages to afford a mortgage, home ownership is out of reach for millions of young Americans.  Finding solutions should be a priority for the new Congress.  This one has done nothing.

Of course, this isn’t a comprehensive list.  But it’s a critical start.  Plenty of things need to be addressed later.  Our crumbling infrastructure.  A tax system wildly skewed in favor of the wealthy.  An Internal Revenue Service that goes after everyday Americans, but lets high-rollers skip paying taxes with impunity.  A scientific framework that was once the model for worldwide discovery and innovation that now is eroding rapidly.  Treaties with allies that desperately need to be reinstated.  Rejoining international agencies such as the World Health Organization.  Tackling a monstrous federal debt that’s been exacerbated by wasteful building projects and incompetent management.  Halting a policy of buying off renewable energy projects while spending extravagantly on coal and petroleum.  Reinstituting environmental standards.

I know, I know.  This barely scratches the surface. I’m sure you can think of plenty more.  Feel free to add them in the comments below.

But we have to start somewhere.  And elected officials who truly care about our country should be prepared to hit the ground running with an agenda.  Republicans have two months to make things even worse, likely will.  Much work needs to be done.  Time’s wasting.