The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
America has one president at a time. But 1968 presidential candidate Nixon defied this axiom by sabotaging peace talks to end the Vietnam War. President-elect Trump, led by multi-billionaire Musk, followed Nixon’s playbook. They sank a bipartisan agreement to fund the government and prevent a disastrous shutdown. Moreover, the Federal Reserve, worried about the inflationary impact of Trump’s proposed immigration, tariff and tax policies, paused interest rate cuts down the road. Stocks plunged. However, Trump’s lies and threats didn’t work. A shutdown was narrowly averted – only through bipartisan cooperation, including President Biden.
Enough to reappraise President Biden, a most consequential president. Like FDR, Biden’s presidency ends with a sharp decline in his physical health. That does not detract from Biden’s accomplishments: passing massive infrastructure investments, strengthening the U.S. manufacturing sector, boosting U.S. semiconductor chips production, funding a transition to clean energy, saving union pensions, expanding Affordable Care Act (ACA) private insurance, advocating for reproductive rights and standing up for democracy at home and against Russian aggression in Ukraine.
But it takes years for the results of landmark legislation to be felt throughout the nation. For example, the ACA was once unpopular, but is now revered. Why?: 21 million covered by ACA private insurance, including 266,327 Wisconsinites, and 23 million by Medicaid expansion. No annual or lifetime limits on private insurance coverage, no coverage denied for pre-existing conditions. Will Trump, his billionaire friends and a GOP-led Congress try to sabotage the ACA?
Despite Biden’s accomplishments Trump narrowly won the popular vote (less than 50 percent). Republicans gained thin congressional majorities. Why? Democrats missed the boat: fears about financial security – inflation, delinquent car loans, credit card debt with exorbitant interest rates and not enough new affordable housing construction. Add Trump’s bigoted demagoguery and a fever swept throughout America.
The 2026 midterm congressional elections offer a road back. There will be a passing of the torch to younger pragmatic Democratic leaders. Rebecca Cooke is the future. She ran an impressive, spirited campaign as the Democratic challenger to 3rd Congressional District GOP Representative Derrick Van Orden. Cooke lost narrowly, a little over 11,000 votes, but ran ahead of Democratic presidential candidate Harris and Democratic Senator Baldwin. Harris lost the 3rd CD by 7.3 percent, Baldwin by 3.5 percent and Cooke by only 2.7 percent.
William Garcia, Wisconsin Democratic 3rd CD chair, cut to the chase: “When Cooke is able to outperform Tammy Baldwin, that is not a failed candidate. That is an excellent candidate fighting headwinds that were stronger than Democrats anticipated.” Cooke is seriously considering running in 2026: “I think when you see results like that in contrast to how Democrats did in other parts of the country, I think that we were doing something really right here. I think we’ve built a really strong foundation in a district like this.” Spot-on.
Wisconsin 2nd CD Democratic Representative Bob Kastenmeier from Beaver Dam lost his first congressional race, but won the 1958 midterm election. He was in his 30’s, just like Cooke.
-Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
