The Realignment 591 | Saikat Chakrabarti: Building a New Consensus - How to Move America from "Failure Mode" to "Mission Mode"
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Jan 29, 2026 
Saikat Chakrabarti, president and co-founder of New Consensus and former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, discusses moving government from “failure mode” to “mission mode.” He contrasts centrist small fixes with big transformational goals. They debate immigration policy, abolishing ICE and redesigning enforcement. They also explore rebuilding state capacity, long-term planning, and political realignment.
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Recruit Talent With Big Missions
- Attract top talent to government by pairing big missions with competitive compensation or inspiring projects.
- Use large goals to create political capital, energy, and institutional capability that improve basic services.
Neoliberalism Shifted Governing Modes
- Postwar governance used institutions to intentionally upgrade economies, then shifted to a hands-off 'referee' role under neoliberalism.
- That shift produced long-term stagnation and institutional failures millennials have witnessed.
Immigration Needs Economic Framing
- Immigration politics swing with perceptions of scarcity and public safety, not only with abstract policy debates.
- An affirmative pro-immigration vision must link to an expansive economic program to succeed politically.
