Democrats have run out of ideas, and it shows.
Last week, former Vice President Kamala Harris urged Democrats to come together for a brainstorming session focused on the party’s future policy direction and midterm election strategy. But the idea was quickly mocked online after Harris described it as a “No Bad Ideas” summit where Democrats could test out even “risk[y]” ideas as they searched for ways to compete with President Trump.
"We need to have a playbook that is born out of our ability to assume some risk, perhaps. I've been thinking about, you know, we need to have basically a 'No Bad Ideas' brainstorm," the former vice president said.
That summit took place yesterday at the Center for American Progress, at the 2026 CAP Ideas Conference. The event offered little that felt new, as the most concrete policy discussion centered on lowering healthcare costs, a longtime Democratic talking point. However, the details of their so-called master plan were nowhere to be found, as they merely called for lowering healthcare costs without explaining the part that actually matters: how they planned to achieve it.
🚨 LMAO! Democrats held a “NO BAD IDEAS” summit… and somehow made it EVEN WORSE!
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 20, 2026
The QUEEN OF BAD IDEAS herself, Kamala Harris, is hosting this clown show 🤡
Then Gavin Newsom drops his brilliant contribution: “Let’s CANCEL the 4th of July!” pic.twitter.com/JUBDuR2C3v
The event featured a slew of Democratic leaders, including governors and Congressional leaders. Many of their comment revolved around "breaking the spirit" of Republicans or "fighting fire with fire."
"Either MAGA extremists are going to break the country, or we're going to break them," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told the room. "And our goal is to break them. We have to beat them electorally, and then we have to break their spirit. Hips wants to break our spirit."
"Yeah, it's uncomfortable fighting fire with fire. Yes, we all want the better angels. Yes, we want the Sorkin sound and music, a little West Wing. I do. But we'll lose our country," California Governor Gavin Newsom said. "We will lose our country."
"I'm done winning arguments with all due respect to the niceties. It feels good, but we're going to lose our republic. The Founding Fathers do not live and die for this moment. I can't celebrate July 4th."
"We have a responsibility. It's just like the redistricting. We could have decided to write an op-ed. We could have decided, you know, you know, hold hands, have a candlelight vigil, win the argument," he said. "These guys are ruthless on the other side. Trump's not screwing around, and nor can we."
This comes as Republicans are vying to hold onto their slim majorities in Congress ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Typically, the party out of power performs best in those elections, although some believe this cycle could be different as Republicans have politically redrawn district maps in several states, including Florida and Texas. They are also expected to pursue similar efforts in other Southern states following a recent Supreme Court ruling overturning a section of the Voting Rights Act and racial gerrymandering.
Whether that strategy will ultimately prove effective remains unclear.
President Trump has emphasized to Republicans how important the midterms are, as Democrats have floated radical measures such as impeaching the president for a third time, expanding the Supreme Court, altering the Electoral College, and granting statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.