Project 2029: The Blueprint the Left Has Been Too Afraid to Write

Written by, Ben Cominos

Good morning friends,

Today’s article comes from Ben Cominos, host of Outside the Box on WHBY and joins us weekly for the Up North Podcast. Every week, Ben brings an unfiltered take on politics in Wisconsin and beyond — and this piece is no different.

He’s calling on Democrats to find their backbone, to stop governing from fear, and to finally offer a bold vision that matches the urgency of the moment — something he calls Project 2029.

Before we dive in, don’t forget to grab a pack of Snowflake Holiday Ale, our bright and malty winter seasonal that celebrates compassion over cruelty. Every purchase helps us pay our writers and fund progressive truth telling across Wisconsin.

Enjoy Ben’s piece — and let’s keep building something better together.

Kirk Bangstad
Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company / Minocqua Marketplace
Publisher, Minocqua Brewing Company Times
Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC

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Project 2029: The Blueprint the Left Has Been Too Afraid to Write

It feels like it was just yesterday, but I remember brainstorming ideas for what Project 2029 would look like if enacted by Democrats.

On my show, I would oftentimes comment on Project 2025 as a movement not all that dissimilar from normal Republican talking points. I would say that there are systems in place that would prevent it from taking effect.

Most importantly though, I would say that Project 2025 wasn’t POPULAR enough to take effect. I would highlight how very few things on their list even had 40% approval, let alone more than half of voting Americans, and I would juxtapose that with the Democrats inability to get anything across the finish line that had 60% popularity.

Higher minimum wage, Medicare 4 All, legalizing weed, etc.

These are all objectively popular ideas.

There was no movement whatsoever during the Biden years, and now, here we are.

I believe that now, more than ever, it is important for the left flank of the political spectrum to get organized and get mobilized.

The “No Kings” rally was great. It’s inspiring to see Dems push back against the masked virgins at ICE facilities and ultimately end up getting arrested. You’re watching a lot of the ideas held within the populist left continue to gain momentum, and even be cheered by people on the other side of the political aisle.

Now is a time for the people we elected to lead to finally step up and stand for something real. Something tangible. Something for voters to look forward to.

Unfortunately, I’m not seeing it manifest the way we need it to right now.

If there’s one thing we should all be learning from Trump, and it literally may be the ONLY thing worth learning from Trump, it’s that the days of slow, methodical politicking is about to be extinct, and that people are expecting change when they vote for it.

Not claims about the Parliamentarian, or the filibuster, or the Supreme Court.

Figure it out, get it done, win elections.

There’s some hard truths that need to be discussed in this article – Specifically, years of inaction and excuses from the Democratic Party are what have led us to this record low enthusiasm for a party that seems hellbent on knee-capping any upstart populist with momentum.

Let’s look at this from the perspective of the 1st 10 months of the Trump presidency, and specifically, the government shutdown.

We’ll start with Obamacare.

During election season last year, I had over a dozen candidates on both sides of the aisle on the show.

I started every single interview with the exact same topic.

Some kind of variation of “every industrialized country spends less than us on healthcare, per capita, and every industrialized country has a higher average life expectancy than us, except for Ukraine. What are you going to do to address this issue?”

This isn’t saying that Obamacare is bad, I’m just highlighting that it’s not good either.

Nobody had an answer for my question. Not Democrats. Not Republicans. Not Independents. Nobody.

It was a non-issue in most candidates’ eyes.

A month after the election, a healthcare CEO was murdered and a surprisingly large number of people were OK with it due to their experience within our healthcare system.

I’m not condoning it, mind you, just saying I understand it.

Makes you wonder in an election where every Democrat with a voice would remind you that “Democracy was at stake” didn’t have a solution to a VERY obvious problem.

Now we’re about to watch Obamacare subsidies lapse and it raises an even bigger question – How have Democrats not proposed a step 2 to addressing these costs.

You’re reading the work of a late 30s Millennial noticing the very obvious comparison between government subsidies raising our insurance to stupid heights, similar to what happened to our college system – another system that every industrialized country does better than us.

So we’re only 2 examples in and we have a healthcare system that we are held hostage to and threatened with a removal of subsidies for not voting Democratic, and a college system that WE ALL KNOW is broken, but the only solution we’ve been offered is vote for Democrats and we won’t let credit scores report your inevitable late payments, BUT ONLY if you keep voting for us.

Where’s the real solutions?

I’m not even saying the government has to pay everyone’s loans. I’d prefer that. I’d DEFINITELY prefer that. And that’s coming from someone who paid off 60k in student debt and wouldn’t benefit it.

If the political will isn’t there though, how are we still allowing an obviously bastardized system to continue?

Why isn’t there a party that’s hellbent on stopping the next generation of kids from ending up in the same boat?

It is that inaction that put us in this situation to begin with!

If Dems don’t propose sweeping ideas to revolutionize some of our systems, it’s only a matter of time before Republicans have majorities and do objectively unpopular things.

Medicare Advantage plans overcharge, under medicate their patients while raking in between 60-80 billion fraudulently, EVERY YEAR.

The Defense department has failed the last 6 audits it has gone through, and can’t account for over half of its inventory.

The Democrat response was to change the name of Medicare Advantage and to increase defense spending after every failed audit.

So what happens?

A Nazi saluting jerk comes along and says “I’m going to create DOGE to get rid of government waste.”

Then he focuses on USAID and welfare programs.

What’s the Dems response?

“Well, I’m not saying we can’t crack down on waste, fraud and abuse but this is the wrong way to do it.”

Great! I agree! Why the heck wasn’t it part of the platform then.

During the entire Biden administration there was a 3 week period where saying corporate greed was leading to people’s economic woes. The first 3 weeks of Harris’s campaign.

Before that you were labeled as a conspiracy theorist, and after that you were labeled as an extremist that needed to quiet down.

Didn’t you hear? Democracy’s at stake.

I can even give a glimpse into the future.

Why aren’t Dems running right now on the cap for Social Security.

The funds will be insolvent in less than a decade. There’s a chance the next administration will be the one to handle it.

It is ABUNDANTLY clear that the Republican solution will be to tell Millennials they need to work another 5 years before they can retire, while already having the oldest retirement age amongst industrialized nations.

This should be a slam dunk for Democrats. Other than Bernie Sanders, who’s talking about it.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

We haven’t even talked about food insecurity, corporate welfare, the housing market, Blackrock, AI, foreign policy.

There is a real chance for Democrats to put together a Project 2029 that can not only win elections, but bridge the divide in politics.

The only thing that’s necessary to get it done is the political will to do so, and if the people in power don’t have it in them, then I think it’s time we start figuring out who among us does.

About the author: Ben Cominos is the host of Outside the Box on WHBY and joins us weekly for the Up North Podcast. He writes and speaks regularly about democracy and the progressive movement from his home in northern Wisconsin.

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Don’t forget to tune in this Wednesday at 6 PM for the Up North Podcast! Owner Kirk Bangstad will be hosting from our Madison Taproom, joined by our Minocqua Brewing Company Times writing team — and this week’s special guest is Thom Hartmann.

Thom will join us remotely, but if you’re in the area, stop by the taproom, grab a beer, and be part of our live “studio audience” to ask your questions in person. 2727 East Washington Ave, Madison, Wisconsin.

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