Lefties and moderates - can we agree on these things?

[welshTerrier2]

Instead of a "Contract with America", I'd like to see the Party create a "Democratic Party's Top 10 List" ... using a catchy title (and stealing an idea from Letterman's popular routine) would help the Party to get Americans to focus on a very specific set of ideas ... instead of constantly hearing "Democrats have no ideas", Democrats would point to their "Top 10 list" ... you can't argue there are no ideas when the list has a name ...

Also, healing the rift between lefties and moderates should not be as large a problem as it currently is ... Every constituency in the Party should put together a list of their most important themes and then every effort should be made to incorporate those themes into the Party's platform ... to do otherwise is exclusionary at a time where the Party should be as inclusive as possible ... "big tents", by their very definition, should be INCLUSIVE ...

Having said that, here is a list of 10 ideas ... some of them are just concepts; others are very specific policies ... Which of the following would you like to see included in the Democratic Party's platform? Please offer some discussion on why you agree and disagree ... lists that just say "i agree with 1,3,7,9" are really not very useful ...

And please feel very free to write your own lists or add or subtract from this one ...

1. Renew our democracy - citizens have little or no control over what their government and their party do ... we need to "renew our democracy"
2. Equal voice - there is way too much money in the political system ... corporations and the super-wealthy should have no more influence than any citizen does ...
3. No paid lobbyists - we should outlaw paid lobbying which is nothing more than legalized bribery ...
4. No imperialism and out of Iraq - we have an imperialist foreign policy ... everything our government does overseas it does to further the interests of a wealthy few at the expense of sovereign nations and the American people ... our military has become a private security force for big oil ... any "progressive platform" we build should include calls for the immediate withdrawal from Iraq ...
5. Party reform - our political parties have grown too big and fat and do not provide a sufficient diversity of ideas in the national dialog ... efforts should be made to reform the political parties ...
6. Campaign reform - candidates running for office should only be allowed to address the public themselves as "talking heads" ... no music, no flags waving, no kissing babies, no aircraft carriers ... these phony "settings and glitz" distort rather than inform and create an environment of fraudulent information about the candidate ... the public deserves better ...
7. Election reform - MSM should be required to provide free time to all "reasonable" candidates ... the amount of time would decrease for less popular candidates as the election grew closer ... the same for debates ... the first debate might include 10 candidates from all different parties, the second maybe the top 5 and the last one maybe the top 3 ...
8. Domestic jobs - capital gain tax "discounts" on the sale of stock would decrease pro-rata based on the percentage of a company's workforce that is US-based ... if a company chose to hire more employees overseas, their stock would become less appealing to shareholders ... shareholders in companies with non-US-based headquarters would receive no capital gain "discounts" at all ...
9. Better representation - elected Congressmen and Senators should have to spend a certain amount of time meeting with constituents in their districts in public forums ...
10. Media diversity - no corporation should be allowed to own more than 5% of radio, TV and print combined on a national basis and no more than 25% in any individual market ...

[tatertop]

1. I can agree on all those things

[MsConduct]

2. Sounds great! Now how do you sell it to the rest of the country? n/t

[welshTerrier2]

17. sorry, i'm not in Sales ...

i'm in product development ... "if you build it, they will come" ...

[MsConduct]

23. Great product, who will you get to sell it for you? Seems like the

Libs have fallen by the wayside. And I think Mods are just exLibs who don't want to admit they ever were Libs. I'm thinking of starting a whole new party, the Pissed-off Unwashed, or PU for short. Don't know if i have the ability to get it off the ground though...I haven't learned how to inspire people.

[TayTay]

3. These are good intra party goals

They are worthy in and of themselves. But they are not goals that mean much to the American people. We need a set of clearly articulated goals that dela with health care, jobs, clean government and such that can be held out to people who only pay attention to elections occasionally.

Again, these are quite good. But they are also 'inside baseball' to the elctorate who wouldn't care or be motivated by a lot of this to get out and vote.

[napi21]

4. I agree too, but I'd like a really catchy title!

Top 10 is good, but maybe we here on DU can think of some better ones. Something that would get remember it, like the advertisers do with catch phrases in commercials.

[bluedawg12]

5. I would list the following big 3 categories

I am not sure how much interest the American public has in campaign and/or finance reform- does anyone know any polling on this?
........

Pro-growth Initiative For A Strong and Secure Democracy.

1.) The Economy- Pride and strength for our working middle class.

Good paying jobs with a future.
Support for the American Working Middle Class.
Affordable, high quality, health care.
Vouchers for working families who chose a stay at home parent option.
Keeping good jobs here at home- American workers are our priority.
Affordable energy.

2.) National Security- Pride in a Strong America

A rational strategic plan for security here at home.
Safe and secure national borders.
A strong military.
Support for active duty troops.
Support for the families of over seas active duty troops.
Support for veterans.
A rational foreign policy based on diplomacy, as well as, military might.


3.) Human rights-

Access to voting in America is free, no poll tax or costly voter ID's- a living Democracy in action.
Support for families and the rights of "all" American families.
Fairness in work, housing, and benefits for all Americans.
Less government interference in the private lives of Americans and a smaller government.
Good stewardship of the environment for ourselves and for future generations.

.....
Check out this Pew Poll:
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=948

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. I might make 4.

Economic Health

National Security

Responsible Member of the Global Community Note the absence of superpower status.
--This is where I would put environmentalism
--A non-imperialistic foreign policy
--Renewable clean energy (ties in with economic health because an economy tied to fossil fuels is NOT healthy)

Civil & Human Rights
Access to voting in America is free, no poll tax or costly voter ID's- a living Democracy in action.
Support for families and the rights of "all" American families.
Fairness in work, housing, and benefits for all Americans.
Less government interference in the private lives of Americans and a smaller government.

Unfortunately a downside to lists is that they make things seem like discrete problems when in fact everything is interconnected.

[bluedawg12]

13. National security is a big issue for Americans

We want to be safe on our own shores.

The problem has been that this administration has not balanced soft power (diplomacy and role modeling i.e. leading by example) with hard power ( military might).

So I put in: A rational foreign policy based on diplomacy, as well as, military might

But, we do have to have military might too. I would not want any language in a platform that suggests a weak America.

Or weak on military.

Or weak on terrorism.

They painted Kerry as weak on security and weak on terrorism and after 9-11 that was the kiss of death.

They hammered Kerry on that becuase it was so important.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3222-2004May30_2.html
>"The Bush campaign is faced with the hard, true fact that they have to keep their boot on his neck and define him on their terms," Reed said. That might risk alienating some moderate voters or depressing turnout, "but they don't have a choice," he said.

The strategy was in full operation last week, beginning Monday in Arkansas. "Senator Kerry," Cheney said, "has questioned whether the war on terror is really a war at all. He said, quote, 'I don't want to use that terminology.' In his view, opposing terrorism is far less of a military operation and more of a law enforcement operation."

But Kerry did not say what Cheney attributes to him. The quote Cheney used came from a March interview with the New York Times, in which Kerry used the phrase "war on terror." When he said "I don't want to use that terminology," he was discussing the "economic transformation" of the Middle East -- not the war on terrorism. <

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

16. I agree that we must emphasize national security as well

We do need to make it clear that being safe in the US is of the highest priority.

That's a given, if we can't do that, we won't be taken seriously.

But we also need to be clear, in the paragraphs clarifying the basic ideas that as Wes Clark says military force is an alternative, but it is the very last, last, last resort.

Diplomacy and political solutions are much more likely to be win-win in the long run, and it is just the right thing to do.

But given a failure of all such efforts we do have a right to defend ourselves. (Not to engage in pre-emptive war like certain shrubs like to do.)

[welshTerrier2]

14. "how much interest the American public has in campaign reform"

you know, i meant to state that "my list" was a list of "progressive values and ideas" that i wanted to see get some recognition in the Party's platform ... i didn't intend it to be the entire platform ... i should have made that point clearer ...

but as to your statement: "I am not sure how much interest the American public has in campaign and/or finance reform- does anyone know any polling on this?", that, i think, is the biggest mistake the Party is making ...

and i think it's a great source of friction between the Party's left and its center ... and it shouldn't be !!

how many posts have you seen on DU from lefties complaining about too many Democrats being "corporatists"? this is a very important issue to progressives ... i won't engage in the argument here whether some Democrats are "corporatists" ... but just look at the politics of fighting for the ideals of our democracy ...

you don't think Americans care about campaign reform and reform the "business of government"? something like 50% of the American people don't vote ... ask yourself why that is ... yeah, maybe they're just bored or lazy ... but i talk to these people all the time ... i try to get them to participate ... i tell them nothing will change if they stay home ...

and what do they say? they tell me politicians all have their hands out for payments from big corporations ... "it's all bullshit and they're all corrupt ... all those lobbyists are just buying whatever influence they want and the politicians just go along with it ... the way things are, you can't make a difference and i can't make a difference ..."

the simple idea of "power to the people" could be very powerful ... it's time to take a fresh look at the ideals of America and reach out to the disenfranchised by fighting for a government that gives each and every citizen an equal voice ... until the Democratic Party, the party of the people, lives up to its name by fighting against the big money stranglehold on our institutions of government, we will not succeed and we certainly will not attract the 50% who don't vote ... and that 50% should be a natural component of the Democratic Party's constituency ...

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. I have no problem with anything on the list...

I can hear the right-wing whines now though.

Renew Our Democracy? What needs to be changed about it? If you don't like it leave. Besides, you haven't said HOW you would renew our democracy. You don't have a plan, do you? If there is anything wrong with our Democracy it's Clinton's fault. Blah, blah, blah....

I do agree the Democratic Party needs a nice short easy list of big tent agenda items as you've proposed.

[skipos]

7. I can agree but

I think some of the wording can be tweaked so non-democrats would be more likely to agree too.

For example, "no imperialism" won't mean anything to a lot of people. Is there a way to rephrase it? Make it more positive
(we should prioritize taking care of our own citizens) instead of negative (America should get out of Iraq) maybe?

Also, could you be more specific about "renewing our democracy?"

#8 could use some simplifiying as well.

1,2,3,5,6,7 seem to overlap a bit. DO they need to be separte issues?

I also think the list could include something about "rights to privacy."

These are just my opinions, and I am just throwing them out there.

[welshTerrier2]

10. "renewing our democracy" - here's what i mean

Several people have asked about this ... i put this first on the list because i believe it is by far the most important item on the list ... and, as i said in the OP, some of the items are "concepts"; not policies ...

The primary statement the Democratic Party should make is that we believe that American citizens do not have equal access to their own government ... changes, whatever changes they may be, need to be made to enable each and every citizen to participate in influencing the direction of their government ...

Democracy cannot exist when big money and powerful corporations are able to infest our Democratic institutions ... Democracy cannot exist when access to information is controlled by only six corporations that control more than 90% of America's radio, TV and newspaper outlets ... Democracy cannot exist when we allow candidates to campaign on aircraft carriers with marching bands instead of speaking the plain truth to the country ... Democracy cannot exist when political parties do not have processes that allow each and every voice to be heard in the shaping of their platforms ... and democracy cannot exist when a diversity of ideas is stifled by our political processes ...

Calling for a renewal of our democracy to return America to the ideal of our Founding Fathers is not a policy; it's a theme or a concept ... it is intentionally general to espouse the essential truth that America "can do better" in fulfilling the promise of the American ideal ...

[bowens43]

9. I can agree with all of these n/t

[Burried News]

11. Great list - I especially like #5 because it includes both parties.

Finding a mechanism to support the growth of other parties and create a real competition of ideas should somehow be mentioned - perhaps as an add on to item #6? At any rate - sign me up.

I appreciate the effort of this and many other posts you have offered.

[welshTerrier2]

12. supporting other parties

thanks for your kind words, Burried News ...

item #7 talked about giving greater voice to other parties ... i think it is not helpful to the country to exclude minor parties from the political process ...

the idea i have is that a very low threshold would be set early in the campaign for third parties to get some visibility ... so, for example, the Democratic Socialists of America might be allowed to participate in the first debate ... they would also be provided with a limited amount of airtime for free on radio and TV stations ...

as the campaign progressed, the threshold (i guess based on polls or a higher number of petition signatures) would be raised ... to continue receiving free airtime and to be allowed to participate in the second debate, a much more difficult test would be required ... perhaps only the top 4 parties would qualify ... and then, for a final debate and during the last 4 weeks of the campaign, maybe only the top 2 or 3 parties would receive these benefits ... minor parties would, of course, be able to continue campaigning but they would not receive free airtime and could not participate in the final debates ...

how would that sound? how would you like to "create a real competition of ideas" ??

[Burried News]

15. Sorry I missed it in item #7. Advocating a change to the constitution

that will define what a political party is, the function it serves, how it is funded, who may be members and how it's rules and priciples must adhere to democratic principles (openness,one man one vote, etc. etc.) may be worth considering?

For the purpose of your list my thinking was simply that a statement to the effect that as a political party 'we' are more than a tool for implementing an agenda and a philosophy. Philosophies need to be seen as dynamic and evolving and that parties with their emphasis on action and implementation can easily evolve into anti-intellectual and anti democratic mind sets if we don't somehow guard against this.

But...
Perhaps the issue is that we need to ammend the Constitution to formally define the roll of parties and the mechanisms they must adhere to? This would go far beyond fund raising and go into the democratizing of the party apparatus itself.

[welshTerrier2]

20. interesting ...

i certainly agree with you that parties need to do more than fight to implement a list of static ideas ... as you eloquently stated: "Philosophies need to be seen as dynamic and evolving and that parties with their emphasis on action and implementation can easily evolve into anti-intellectual and anti democratic mind sets if we don't somehow guard against this."

one of the items on my list, entitled "Better representation", included an idea that elected representatives should have to meet regularly in their districts with their constituents ... i would like to see free, open to the public forums that were comprised of a presentation by the elected official followed by an equal or greater amount of time for Q&A ...

ideally, the requirement would be for two such forums every month ... our government has grown badly out of touch with the citizenry ... the goal is to change that ...

finally, i'm not sure it's a good idea to codify the idea of political parties in the Constitution ... i think, perhaps, this would be better handled with public education and a commitment, at least in the Democratic Party, of making both parties and government more responsive to "common citizens" ... i think this would be great policy and great politics as well ...

[IndianaGreen]

18. Abolish the Electoral College, repeal Commander-in-Chief Clause!

We can never become democratic for as long as the people cannot vote directly for President. We are the world's laughingstock.

Presidents have used the Commander-in-Chief clause to subvert Congress's power to make war. Let's repeal this turkey that has brought so much grief to the world and to our own nation's sons and daughters.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

19. Maybe it will be under #1, but we have to *#&!! eVoting

get rid of those bleepin' voting machines, until and unless we bring in experts in computer science from the beginning to design these things.

And no contracts to partisan owners of companies that manufacture them, and open source code.

In the meantime, about the only thing I'll really believe would be paper ballots.

[Nederland]

21. This is way too vague

You need your list to be filled with specifics, not vague motherhood and apple pie platitudes. For example, the Republican's Contract for America had the following list:

FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;
SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;
FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;
FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;
SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;
EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

Can you come up with a similarly specific list that embodies the principles you've already espoused?

[win_in_06]

22. Sounds too much like late-night talk show fodder. I like the content

though, just not the title. I think it should be more serious and descriptive like:

"The Plan to Empower Middle America"