The Democratic Agenda: what tops your list?

[welshTerrier2]

Before we start battling over solutions and tactics and values and candidates and strategies and policies and all the rest of it, perhaps we should talk about what areas of federal policy require the most immediate attention ...

doing a bit of triage on our deep piles o' problems seems like the right place for the new Democratic majorities to begin ... while we are likely to disagree on some things, it should be clear that certain problems demand immediate attention ...

here are my top candidates; i look forward to hearing yours ... please understand that these are not the "most important" issues but rather the ones i think are most desperately in need of immediate attention ...

the two issues i'm going to cite have been chosen because they are almost totally pervasive into all areas ... and in choosing them, there is certainly an understanding that there will be no quick fixes ... the broad sweep of these issues, however, means that we need to start working on them as our highest priority ...

topping the list, my list anyway, is perhaps the most mundane and corny sounding issue ... in one word, the issue is: democracy ... there are many changes that are urgently needed if we are to restore the average Joe and Jane to the place at the core of power they rightfully deserve ... we cannot allow anyone, most notably monied interests, to wield a disproportionate degree of power and influence in the halls of our government ...

without a representative system that puts the best interests of the people first and foremost in every decision and in every process, the right to vote becomes almost meaningless ...

money has poisoned the American dream ... this is not news to anyone and yet the situation has grown worse and worse and worse ... let's make restoring power to the people job one for the new Democratic majority ...

i'll be posting about this in far greater detail in a subsequent thread but here's a laundry list of changes that should be looked at:

1. publically funded campaigns (no private money)
2. severe restrictions on paid lobbyists
3. subpoena power for minority parties
4. minority parties should be able to call hearings
5. no "automatic" chairs based on seniority
6. end gerrymandering - voting districts should be based on legitimate, objective criteria (e.g. geography, population)
7. rules on legitimate campaign ads
8. auditing of all election results
9. depoliticizing of voter registration
10 . equal time on all media

the second issue i've selected for my triage is global warming ... some believe we are bringing life on the planet, all life, to the brink of extinction ... could they be wrong? i suggest we don't sit around like spectators waiting to see how the play turns out ...

little changes will not be enough ... my view is that we need to make some significant changes, and sacrifices, NOW ... if we find we've gone too far, we can always ease off the restrictions a bit ...

it's clear that for many reasons we cannot continue to burn fossil fuels ... the symptoms of global warming are increasing at an increasing rate ... as the Jackson Browne song goes "oh, people, look around you ... the signs are everywhere" ...

more fuel is consumed producing and distributing food than from any other use ... but auto use is right up there as is home heating ...

i see two great "enemies" in the battle to change our current consumption ... one enemy is all those who make billions and billions in profits from the status quo ... these greedy, entrenched, monied centers of power are not going to release their grip without a bloody struggle ... it's corporatism plain and simple ... corporate decision makers will always put their own commercial interests ahead of the country's interests ... it's our job to stop them when they do ...

but therein lies the rub ... the second "enemy" in the battle to change our energy paradigm is the American people themselves ... we've all become a bit too fat and lazy ... we like our status quo ... if we continue to put our comfort ahead of our vision of what our world requires, however, we won't remain comfortable for long ...

again, to be elaborated on in a separate thread, here's a partial laundry list of the changes i think we'll need to address global warming:

1. produce more food locally
2. CAFE standards for autos
3. lessen auto use
4. fund mass transit more than highways
5. a "Manhattan project" for alternative energy
6. resist use of coal and nuclear

in conclusion, we all have our pet issues ... this is NOT what this thread is about ... the question here is "which issues must be addressed immediately?"

mine are restoring democracy and power to the people and stopping the deadly process of global warming ... what are yours?

[SteppingRazor]

1. "money has poisoned the American dream"

I thought money WAS the American Dream.

:evilgrin:

[welshTerrier2]

7. some have turned it into a nightmare

when campaigns require millions of dollars and lobbyists patrol the halls of government, that's no dream; it's a nightmare ...

[Justitia]

2. The most concrete things to The People the quickest: min wage, healthcare. -eom

[Barack_America]

3. Iraq

We've got only two years to fix it, and no time to lose!

[AX10]

4. Blocking Bush's agenda.

No more tax cuts for the rich. No tax breaks for big business. No privatization of Social Security. No more deregulation for big business. No Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning.
Work to end the war in Iraq.

[welshTerrier2]

16. transitioning from defense to offense

it's time to start thinking in terms of defining and implementing OUR VISION in a proactive way instead of just blocking bush's agenda in a REACTIVE way ...

i agree with your entire defensive agenda but i think we will not solve the problems we face if we're stuck playing defense ... it's time to bring our agenda out from the shadows and start educating the American people that our ideas are the ones that will make their lives better ...

my view is that the Dems chose "vagueness" as a political strategy ... whether i liked it or not (i didn't) that's all behind us now ... we've won and we have real power at our disposal ... we need not be hostile and confrontational but neither should we be shy about fighting for what we believe in and making the changes the country needs ...

[nosillies]

5. Health care reform

No one should be denied basic health care because of prohibitive costs, and no one should be driven to bankruptcy because of one unexpected illness or accident.

[Ken Burch]

6. These are my top items:

1)A clear and fast exit strategy from Iraq
2)Investigations/Oversight/WAR PROFITEERING HEARINGS(Harry Truman, pick up your messages please...)
3)Campaign finance reform/Electoral reform(I know Dub will veto them, but it will at least help us to MAKE him veto them, including making him veto a constitutional amendment abolishing the Electoral College).
4)Balancing the budget through tax justice. We need to restore a proper and decent level of tax on the plutocrats, so that they, not the poor and the middle class, erase the deficit. This is only fair since it was the plutocrats that caused the deficit.
5)The beginnings of health care reform-remove the regulations forbidding the government from negotiating with Big Pharma for the best prices on Medicare prescriptions.

[MethuenProgressive]

8. #1 - Prosecute corrupt Republicans. "Drain the Swamp!"

[welshTerrier2]

11. i respectfully disagree ... sort of ...

i don't disagree that those who broke the law should be fully prosecuted ... in that sense, i don't disagree with your call for "draining the swamp" ...

but i also think prosecutions are short-sighted ... the problem is not only with a bunch of people who exploited their positions of power; the problem is perhaps more importantly that our institutions themselves are defective ... too much of what is "legal" should not be legal ... candidates raise millions of dollars for their campaigns ... does anyone really believe there isn't a quid pro quo? virtually every single American knows there is!!! we all know it!!! well, that's not democracy at work; that's bribery ... and yet, it's all perfectly legal ... in fact, those who raise the most money generally are rewarded with election more often than those who raise less ... and again, all perfectly legal ...

and the lobbyists? sure, i agree, those who broke the law should be punished ... but the laws let super-wealthy corporate interests park their people in the Capitol building and the result is that special interests are rewarded and the people's interests come last if at all ...

so, "yes" to draining the swamp as long as we recognize that the problems go beyond individuals to institutions ... we need substantial systemic changes ... that's where i think our primary focus needs to be ...

[Joanne98]

9. In the near future, it's important to stop the new trade agreements.

Peru, Korea, Doha.... Stop them, then REWRITE them ALL to include a global minimum wage and environmental standards. We also need WTO REFORM. They should have NO power over the US goverment, OUR elections, laws or courts.

[William769]

10. HONESTY!

I like to start with reachable goals.

[GOTV]

12. Destroying America and putting OBL in charge of the military...

... wasn't that the plan we agreed on?
It was all over the TV.
Did I miss something?

[Barack_America]

13. kicking for the issues!...n/t

[Dr Fate]

14. Middle Class tax cuts. We remain the majority for years to come if we do this. n/t

n/t

[qwlauren35]

15. Withdrawing from Iraq.

And possibly from Saudi Arabia.

Then healthcare.

Then: addressing the needs of our children, and their development into intelligent, productive global citizens.

Somehow, I think Americans decided that the way to address the "needs" of children was to spoil the living sh*t out of them. It hasn't done us much good. We need to turn this around as quickly as possible, or else quit expecting to maintain status as a "great nation", and accept the label of the "fat, lazy, ugly, resting on old glory nation".

[Stinky The Clown]

17. Maybe your thread on this topic will stick

Mine sank .... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2955246

I came at the idea a bit differently from you, but essentially asked the same question.

As I see it, while we can surely multitask, the reality of life and government is that not every issue will get its fair share. I'd like to see us do just a few REALLY REALLY BIG AND BOLD things. That doesn't mean other work can't also be accomplished, but at the end of our two-year plan, I want there to be some REAL succceses, that are meaningful to all the people, that we can point to in 08 and then ask "Imagine what we could do if we had the presidency."

For me, I'd like to see universal health care of some flavor be done. That's just one issue. Surely there are more.

[welshTerrier2]

18. a bit OT but i know you "get it"

H2S, we're going about "it" all wrong ... take any issue at all ... i'm big on the Socratic method ... in fact, that's exactly the method that should be used to teach, and listen to, the American people ...

what the hell am i babbling about you ask?

take universal health care as an example ...

we could argue that every man, woman and child should have access to health care ... we could argue that in a country as wealthy as this one there is no excuse to have people dying or suffering with disease merely because they are poor ... we could argue that we would rather spend the nation's wealth providing health care to all than on many wasteful, expensive programs currently in force ...

every single one of these arguments makes a great case ... they're all valid ... for the most part, such arguments go nowhere ...

i think "teaching and persuasion" require a very different approach ... if we want to promote our values and our policies and our agenda, we first have to lay the groundwork ... we never seem to understand that our primary role is NOT fancy campaign tactics but rather it is one of, say it with me now, "teaching and persuasion" ...

and so, without elaborating here, we need to start with "leading questions" rather than definitive arguments and detailed programs and policies ... the national dialog has to be moved ... for example, on universal health care, we start with asking people whether they understand what happens to families, and communities, and the medical system itself when sick people are unable to obtain treatment and even preventative care in a timely manner ... we ask whether seeing "bread winnners" unable to work because of illness creates tragic situations for children and spouses ... we ask "what would Jesus do about healing the sick who could not pay for care" ... we ask whether it is the right value to do all we can to provide medical care to all who need it if we're able to afford to do so ...

we need not dismiss the argument, or even win the argument, that providing universal health care will be tremendously expensive ... of course it will be ... at issue on that point is whether we should begin a serious national discussion of whether that high cost can be either afforded or justified ... again, we don't begin with making the case that we can afford it; we begin by making the case that we believe we should do everything we can to see how much we can afford ... those are two very different strategies ... we don't start with a conclusion; we start by arguing that asking the question and making an honest evaluation is absolutely justified ... to argue that either A. we can afford it or B. we can't afford it just polarizes the discussion and no progress is possible ... the status quo prevails ... the starting point has to be getting those who are skeptical to accept the premise that A. we want to do it but there may be reasons we can't B. we should try to find ways around the problems we identify and C. the ultimate objective is highly desirable if we can get there ...

the path to change and progress does not lie in pushing politicians into office ... the path to progress does not lie only in advertising your "solutions" ... the path to progress lies in teaching and persuasion; that is accomplished by getting skeptics to agree to look at the path you took to arrive at your beliefs, not at the beliefs themselves ... persuasion has to be a step-by-step process ... it's all about the process of getting there; not about advertising the destination ... we can't seem to get that part straight ...

[Stinky The Clown]

19. Damn .... you're arguing for reasoned discourse and persuasion when ......

.... the currency of the day is the political molotov cocktail.

I can only hope that our side will once again get access to the national soapbox and national microphone so we **can** persuade.

I suspect we will.