Both political parties offer nothing but anger we need a new citizenship agenda

In 1994, 367 Republican congressional candidates signed on to the eight government reforms and 10 concrete policy proposals of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America,” powering them to their first House of Representatives majority in 40 years.In 2026, the Grand Old Party and its Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, are offering the “Contrast for America,” summarized simply (and in all-caps) as “THE 2026 MIDTERMS ARE A CONTRAST FOR AMERICA BETWEEN COMMON SENSE AND CRAZY.”A contrast, indeed.While the Republican message amounts to little beyond calling the other guys worse, the other guys have precisely the same message.The Democratic National Committee highlights “lower costs” as its top agenda item, but its plan for accomplishing this is “to bring an end to Republican chaos and incompetence, ensuring that Americans can comfortably cover their everyday expenses.”Opposing President Trump is by far the top reason that Democratic midterm voters give for their decision.The problem with writing off all the nihilism as an inevitable consequence of polarization in the age of Trump is that politicians are generally in the business of trying to win elections and accomplish priorities, and this brand of politics accomplishes neither.The signature policy proposal of this year’s campaign, if one could call it that, is the president’s promise to pay every adult $5,000 if his team wins.It’s not only a vulgar non-idea, but also a dud.

It receives positive reviews from 21% of voters; only building data centers is less popular.Both parties are near the nadir of two-decade slides in popularity, and the leading response by far to Gallup’s question about “the most important problem facing this country today” is poor government leadership, more than double the share choosing cost of living.Corruption has suddenly become the top issue for voters.Angrily saying nothing may lead to short-term electoral success, if only because someone has to win, but it pro...