Editorial: Democrats need an agenda, not theatrics

With less than a month until midterm elections, the editorial says Democrats appear positioned to win the House and possibly a narrow Senate majority, but warns that control is meaningless without an agenda. It criticizes candidates for emphasizing rhetoric and partisan battles—more investigations, impeachment efforts, subpoenas, and aggressive oversight—instead of policy proposals. The piece argues the party must work with Republicans to pass major bills, including a surface-transportation package, a farm bill, a debt-ceiling extension, defense reauthorization, and 12 appropriations bills. It highlights permitting reform as an achievable bipartisan win and calls for urgent fiscal action amid deficits of $2 trillion, rising bond yields, and Social Security nearing insolvency, proposing a bipartisan fiscal commission and specific compromise steps. It closes by pointing to additional areas for progress such as housing supply, immigration reform, healthcare pricing transparency, and energy/shipping cost changes.