Now that the Democrats control the Senate and the House at the national level, they might look to Serbia for guidance on how to develop an agenda that unites the country after a decade of divisiveness.
Why Serbia?
On Oct. 26, while our country was closely following the lead-up to the midterm election, the Student List, a diverse group of Serbian academics, doctors, engineers, actors and sports personalities, took control of the Parliament, winning 52% of the popular vote by defeating the current head of state, Aleksandar Vucic, whom the New York Times described as “the Serbian strongman.”
The Student List, which Wikipedia describes as a “voluntary, non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit association,” is a leaderless slate of candidates that unified voters across the political spectrum by implementing a deliberately non-ideological framework defined by an 11-point program, a set of guiding principles a group of 250 students generated after listening to the voters in small forums across their country.
After winning decisive majorities in Congress and reading about the election in Serbia, it struck me that the Democratic Party might use a priority list of voter concerns to help them generate their own legislative program for the coming two years. To assist them in that effort, I asked an AI chatbot to identify the most important issues in the minds of voters heading into the midterm elections, using what it deemed to be the three most reliable polls.
Using polls of voters conducted in early October 2026 by the Pew Research Center, Gallup and AP-NORC/Amerispeak, the AI chatbot identified the following as the strongest common concerns among voters:
1. the economy, prices and affordability;
2. healthcare;
3. the Iran conflict;
4. the state of Democracy;
5. immigration and crime.
Based on this list reflecting the voters’ expressed sentiments before any votes were cast, I offer this list of legislative priorities for the Democrats to consider, a list that would make it clear to voters they intend to take their Constitutional duties seriously and their agenda is being defined by public sentiment, not by the desires of wealthy donors:
- Rescind or amend OBBBA: President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Budget Act” cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans, dramatically increased funding for immigration enforcement and the military, cut funds for healthcare, compromised the safety net for millions of Americans and downshifted costs to state and local governments. The Democrats should enact a budget that markedly increases the taxes on anyone making more than a million dollars a year and uses that revenue to restore cuts to healthcare, provide the IRS with the staff needed to function effectively and reduce the deficit.
- Pass a War Powers Resolution: An earlier non-binding resolution passed by a slim margin. Voters need to know that Congress has heard them on this issue and know where the GOP legislators stand on this issue.
- Take appropriate action to end the illegal impoundment of funds: The Trump administration impounded over a billion dollars in funds that members of Congress from both parties view as violations of the Impoundment Control Act.
- Take appropriate steps to rescind Executive Orders (EOs) that undercut Congressional authority: As of Nov. 4, President Trump signed 292 EOs in his second term (along with 90 memoranda and 194 proclamations). While Trump’s EOs unilaterally imposing tariffs garnered headlines, there are a host of other EOs that overstep his Constitutional authority. The Democrats need to take the steps necessary to rescind those EOs and make voters aware of the adverse economic impact of his tariffs and other EOs.
- Regulate ICE and redirect funds to provide administrative staff needed to provide due process adjudication of each case: ICE agents, like local and state police across the country, should be required to show their faces, have readily identifiable name badges and be held to the same standards as state and local police in making traffic stops, arrests and searches of domiciles and cars. At the same time, they should also make the public aware that less than 14% of individuals arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the first year of President Trump’s second term had violent criminal charges or convictions and roughly 2/3 of those held in ICE detention do not have a criminal conviction.
- Pass legislation necessary to overturn Citizens United: Voters want money out of politics, and the Democrats have the opportunity to take the action required to make it happen.
In the civics classes I took in high school in the 1960s, I learned that the balance of powers is essential to our democracy: that Congress, the president and the Supreme Court have co-equal power. In the coming months, the Democrats have a golden opportunity to show voters they are prepared to use their Constitutional power to control spending, to follow the rule of law and to demonstrate that they intend to give everyone — not just those who make large campaign contributions — a voice in the government.
Investigations, impeachments, and finger-pointing will only exacerbate the divisiveness that has defined our Congress and our nation in the recent past. By taking bold legislative action based on voters’ needs and taking forceful action to reassert its Constitutional authority, Congress will help restore our democracy.
Wayne Gersen is a retired public school administrator. He lives in Etna.