With carrots & sticks
In the last three American election cycles, my side of the computer screen suggested the main message from the Democratic Party has been: “We are not the Republicans.” This message is a good part of the reason why we are where we are today.
Even if American democracy makes it to 2028, I don’t see this Democratic message changing much. Which then means the conditions that brought MAGA into a serious political force in 2016 are not going away soon.
But if you still believe that the Democratic Party is capable of political redemption, here is how you can help bring it about:
But first remember what you had said earlier: “Democrats, effect these policies, and I will vote for you.” That should have been enough carrots for the Democrats to earn your continued support, right?
Well, you voted, and they did not keep their end of the bargain. Or maybe they did, but many of us won’t see the tangible results for another decade. Sometimes public policy takes a long time to bear fruit and earn votes. Clearly, carrots did not work.
So now, it is time for sticks.
If you say, “Effect these policies, or I will vote Republican,” high-ranking Democrats know this is an unrealizable threat. They know that you have no other choice. They have set things up so that you would have no other choice.
No, that Republican stick won’t work.
We need a different stick!
Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG)
Just imagine democracy in the USA survives to create Election 2028. The Democrats are asking for your vote again.
You can now say to the 2028 Democrats: “I am building a new democracy. It is 20% complete. I will vote for you. But if you don’t put forth the legislation that moves the USA forward, I will continue to build that democracy.”
Now the Democratic Party is in a pickle. It might now see that it is replaceable as the only good alternative. If they are elected in 2028 and don’t deliver, this new democracy will be 50% complete by 2032.
Yeah, but Dave, we don’t have time to build a new democracy
So true. The TDG cannot be built quickly. There are things we have to learn to build this new democracy. This is not as easy as one political party replacing another. The year 2036 is so far away.
One of those new things is learning how to make consultative decisions. I have a workshop on this life skill. It will take you two hours to go through this workshop. It will take you two years to instill consultative values inside of you. Building the TDG will be the best place to get those values.
And I should mention that building the TDG will take only 10 hours a month. If you want a better way for politics and the world, you will find those 10 hours.
Yeah, but Dave, the USA could revert to an oligarchy soon
So true. But the TDG could also be built during oligarchic times. The new oligarchy will likely have more important enemies to deal with than a small group building a democracy for 10 to 20 years later. But the time the oligarchy takes notice, the TDG will be too big to throw all the TDG builders in prison.
Coming back to the Democratic Party
If you rely mostly on the Democratic Party to fix things, methinks it will disappoint you. I’m only looking at history to make that statement.
Or maybe the Democrat Party might not be around to take your trust.
I’ve been wrong before. So I might be wrong again.
So, just maybe, the Democratic Party could be redeemable. And if it does redeem itself because you have shown it the TDG stick, then all is well, right? In essence, you motivated the Democratic Party in a rightful way. Would that TDG stick not be better than continuing to try the same stick that didn’t work before?
By building the TDG, you have the control. Either the Democratic Party capitulates to your vision or the TDG gets built. You win in either case.
Conclusion
The TDG is about average Americans building their own democracy.
Not the political elite. Not the wealthy. Not the media. Not the academics. Not the majority 51%.
Just you! And the1% of Americans who recognize how broken their democracy truly is — and are willing to spend 10 hours a month to build a new democracy. This movement will grow from that 1% when you and the rest of that 1% — SHOW the USA and the rest of the world how well the TDG works.
Does it not make sense that “governance for the people” must also be “built by the people”?
P.S. When you get a couple years of experience in TDG governance, you will start grokking the TDG vision. Methinks you won’t want to go back to the Democratic rule.
Published on Medium & Substack 2025
Understand the Forces on the Democratic Party
