Here's my version of the new Congress's second hundred hours as shared with my bitterly disappointed republican friends:
• Enjoy Christmas, Freepers. We're cancelling it next year.
• We're gonna recognize Cuba, then subsidize their sandwiches.
• Free abor--no, scratch that. Forced free abortions. Abortions for everyone, even your pets.
• Over-the-counter Soros Brand Stem Cell Hair Rinse coming to a Rite-Aid near you.
• Lastly, we're bringing back the draft for the sole purpose of letting hippies dodge it so we can give them amnesty again.
Since we are in charge of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I propose on this Veteran's Day that we show our commitment to our troops by increasing the budget for the healthcare of our disabled Veterans. I don't think anyone will argue that the Veteran's Administration is one area that has been underfunded by this administration.
Oh, and force bu$h'$ hand and fire Jim Nicholson!
Read more at Low and Left.
72 hours of bills on internet before a vote and the Fairness Doctrine. And Harry Reid said open bill conferences. Gov't in the open makes it harder for corruption and bad midnight bills and gives people a chance to talk, reflect, and weigh in to their congress people.
Setting up a structure for good government is paramount.
No doubt that much can be and will be accomplished in the first 100 hours. But fundementally both parties should come clean with the American people.
I know this may sound bizzar to many of you, but there has been a story around for many years that no major media outlet will touch, nor will any Congressman or Senator speak of it, yet they are all aware of it.
You can read about it yourselves at www.worldreports.org, but when our elected officals tell you that we don't have the funds for Veterans hospitals, or the funds to reduce our deficits, or repair our roads or schools, that is a blad face lie.
The man at the center of this little firestorm is Ambassador Leo Wanta and there are literally trillions of dollars that were to be repatriated back to the US after the fall of the Soviet Union. This story is along the same line of information that came out of John Perkins book " Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man". If any elected official ever tells you that we can't afford to rebuild our great nation, just ask them when the president is going to release the initial 4.5 trillion that Wanta has asked to pay the taxes on, but niether the president nor Secretary Paulson will allow that to happen. Why? Because they can't explain where these funds are coming from without letting the world know that it was Wanta who at the request of President Reagan brought down the Soviet Union by making the Ruble worthless and thus ending the arms race as well as the cold war.
Want to know what the Dems should do for their second 100 hours in office? Have our government come clean, stop the needless surpression of people and open the bank vaults.
This nonsense has gone on for nearly twenty years, and many around the world are growing very impatient with G.H.W.Bush and his crime syndicate. Releasing these funds will go a long way to make right many wrongs. Reduce the worlds problems especially ours to a common denominator and you will always find money or the lack there of as the culprit. Wether it be poverty, disease or any other malady facing mankind, it doesn't have to be this way and hopefully won't be much longer.
Your welcome to call me a crackpot, but do so only after learning what our government is actually keeping from you.
I don't see any real problem with the "second hundred hours" or the third or fourth for that matter. The "1st 100 hours" Idea is brilliant, simple, and durable. Pick the low hanging fruit first. Donut hole, Soldiers' armour, FEMA fuckups, Vets benefits, Middle class tax relief, Stem cells, Minimum wage, K street quid-quo-pro. Stuff that even die-hard working conservatives are wondering "WTF? Why is this not getting done?" This country's governance has been exclusively targeted for the direct benefit of .5% of the population for the last 20 years. Over 30 yrs if you go back to Reagan. There is a HUGE long ignored backlog of common sense issues whose solutions could be accepted by 70% or more of the population regardless of party or ideology. Years worth of low hanging fruit. For the next 2 years the new leadership should just keep cranking those bills out. Let the "deadenders" in congress defend themselves as they obstruct and filibuster bankruptcy protection for say, a vet with no arms who is being billed for the gear he lost when he was wounded.
Posted by otto schmidlap at November 11, 2006 08:21 PMNo matter what the course, bipartisan or harder line, the Democrats need to take the bully pulpit away from Bush. For 6 years idiocy combined with control of both chambers of congress have led to numerous bad decisions (Iraq, Social Security, corruption, etc), which the people eventually saw and voted out of office. But Bush will not have free reign to make those same mistakes with Pelosi and Reid setting the agenda. As sick as this sounds, without those mistakes manifested into reality, people might begin to drift back to the Republicans IF the Republicans retain the bully pulpit and are able to frame the issues as they wish.
I am encouraged by the fact that there has been alot of coverage of Pelosi immediately following the election. Although coined (and demonized) a SF liberal, if the focus is on her, it can't be on Bush and his framing of the issues. If Pelosi (and Reid, who hasn't been getting as much coverage), can come off as sensible and intelligent, I believe we can retain the majority and even take the presidency in 2008.
As for the actual issues. I say we take a page out of the Republican play book. Push a harder line, frame the issues as bipartison, and even push token bipartisanship when needed (or, for you idealists out there, push bipartisonship if it actually merits being pushed).
Thank you, time for bed.
Posted by chris65203 at November 11, 2006 08:32 PMAlso, agree with Otto, there is way too much "low hanging fruit" out there.
Posted by chris65203 at November 11, 2006 08:34 PMThe latest Newsweek poll gives us a good idea of what voters expect:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15667442/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/
As a dedicated but pragmatic Democrat, I would suggest that the following points be considered in drawing up our strategy and tactics for the next 2 years.
1. We have to be progressive on domestic issues (prescription drugs, minimum wage, health care, education, environment).
2. But we must be old-time conservative on other issues (security, fiscal deficit, trade gap).
3. We must support full civil rights and unions for gays, but stay clear of the gay marriage debate because the word "marriage" has many cultural connotations for most Americans.
4. On abortion, we must point out clearly that the woman and her doctor should be the ones to choose what to do, not some hypocritical theo-cons. And we must work to make sure that abortions are rare, safe and legal.
5. We must reward work and entrepreneurship, not accumulated wealth and power. This means removing corporate welfare and tax havens, and also helping people get off welfare as soon as possible.
6. We must use the "tax" word very carefully. One reason why the recall of Gov. Gray Davis was successful was because he imposed the car tax just a few days before the recall election. The same thing happened with Phil Angelides because he got himself branded as a tax increase advocate and did not clearly explain his position.
7. We must recognize that fundamentalist Islam is a fascist creed, and help those people and those countries which are trying to be secular. Saddam Hussain was a secular leader, but unfortunately Bush and the neo-cons have removed him and made a such a horrible mess in Iraq that it has become impossible to distinguish between Al-Qaeda terrorists, Sunni insurgents, and Shiite militias.
8. We must frame our messages carefully and boil them down to sound-bites.
9. Whenever the Republicans attack us, we must retaliate swiftly and effectively.
Jonathan
Posted by at November 11, 2006 08:51 PMThe sooner we begin to treat our labor force with respect and make a U-turn back toward union strength, the sooner we can address pay and benefit issues (more on benefits below).
The closest and quickest thing Congress can get their hands on and shake-up is the scrawny neck of the NLRB, which was once a powerful force in DC--until St.Ronald-the-Divine.
With monstrous corporate profits not "trickling down", notwithstanding St.Ronnie's voodoo economics, the time for corporate taxes to rise has come. If we give them breaks for being better "corporate citizens", (including but not limited to responsible governance, an enlightened attitude to workers, and environmental policies that help, not hurt) maybe they'll "pay to play".
We need a new model for providing healthcare for everyone; it's unconscionable that, for instance, GM has been building cars to pay for workers healthcare, not the other way around. With no respect at all due to health insurance companies, I say we ignore them entirely, as we go forward to comprehensive healthcare reform. It makes no sense to allow the killers of the "goose that laid the golden egg" a seat at the table--or even ask their advice on how to cook it!
Naomi (All hail the new Speaker of the House!)
Posted by Naomi at November 11, 2006 09:20 PMLets remember that whatever is passed still needs to be signed.
So lets start with something Bush said he would sign... minimum wage increase. Don't pull the punches here to make it more signable. Instead set the minimum to what we think it should be. If he signs it, good for us and the country, bad for his base. If he doesn't sign it we should make some noise about him being obstructionist.
From there on out it should be a philosophy of passing what can be agreed on or negotiated and moving to things that put him in an untenable position. In this regard our eye must be on '08. We know he will not for example sign on to fixing the patriot act, so tuck that away until the right time. No way he'll agree to a return to Habeas Corpus so we play that card when it benefits us. The pressure should rise as '08 gets closer.
The same approach should also be used for investigations. Pick at the outer perimeter (contracts, K Street, use of government funds for PR...) for now. Chip away at the support structure. I am a fan of putting crooks in jail but for now '08 is more important so while we continue to pull public opinion in our direction, we should focus on the role of Congress in enabling and covering up. If we play this right, we could be forced to impeach.
Looking into Abramhoff could also be useful come '08. Our main target though should be to focus on keeping the dirty tricks in check. Diebold and electronic voting should get some attention as should some of the things we saw this year and in '04. Who would blame us for putting an end to robocalls for example.
Posted by Fr33d0m at November 11, 2006 09:38 PMI agree with the first 100 hours and also grabbing low hanging fruit that most Americans would easily agree on.
But one thing that is going to have to happen are informational hearings. There has been so much bamboozlement over the last twelve years on the part of Congress and even more by Bush, I'm not sure we know what the real state of the nation is. What is the state of our economy, our jobs, our military, our foreign policy, our budget, our deficit, our health care system and, perhaps, most important, our energy future? It's that last that concerns me the most. Democrats are way ahead of most Republicans on energy but the noise about ethanol tells me a number of Democrats have some serious homework to do. A lot of research is going to be needed on alternative energy.
It should be pointed out as often as possible that Newt Gingrich eliminated a number of Congressional staffers that used to gather the kind of information good decisions are based on. The Democrats need some time to build up those kinds of services.
Posted by Craig at November 11, 2006 09:48 PMI trust that House Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid will do whatever is necessary to further Democratic Party causes that are popular and sensible.
Damage Control should be the Democratic catchword over the next two years, and the Democrats up in Congress should be plenty busy due to all the damage the corporate-owned, PNAC/neo-con Republicans have done to our nation, our soldiers, our children, our workers and the rest of the world.
Pelosi and Reid are bound to do okay. Hell, look at who they are replacing: cat-killer Frist and pedophile-hiding Hastert.
I just hope that after Pelosi and Reid hand out committee chair assignments that they keep a sharp watch over certain Democrats, like Joe Lieberman, to make sure that they don't start acting like Republican committee chairs before them.
In other words, serious investigations into White House and Capitol Hill corruption must be conducted. If Lieberman or any other Democratic Party committee chair starts showing deference to the Bush White House then they should be removed and replaced with a Democrat willing to turn over every stone, to expose whatever it is the Bush neo-cons are trying to hide from the voting public.
Thus, all Senate and House committee hearings should be open and any witnesses appearing should be under oath. We definitely need more transparency up in Washington. And any Democrat advocating the opposite should be removed, especially if they are a committee chairperson.
No more hiding classified information from our representatives or senators on committees. Every Democrat and Republican on a Capitol Hill committee should have full access so they can make informed decisions on our behalf.
In other words, Pelosi and Reid should no longer play Bush's game of "fixing the intelligence" around the neo-con Republicans' policy or "gaming" who has access to the intelligence. And if Bush won't play according to the rules, then impeach him. And the same goes for Cheney.
I'm certain Pelosi and Reid will keep the pressure on the "culture of corruption" Republican Party. And in the process, even more squirrels are bound to fall out of the Republican tree. I don't believe American citizens yet realize how pervasive the corruption really is in today's Republican Party, nor how much damage these nuts have done to our country.
Posted by The Oracle at November 11, 2006 10:35 PMWhen putting together a strategy, the Democrats should have the mindset of Medical Emergency Professionals dealing with ignored critically ill patients (for six years the republicans failed to address issues and in some cases exacerbated the issues). The Democrats should identify leverage opportunities that will address many critical problems. The short term strategy should be similar to what hospitals do in "ICU" and “ER”. The Democrats should launch a stretched, 12-24 month, breakthrough strategy that changes the countries direction.
The plan should include:
1. Stop the economic slowdown and make the economy work for the middle class.
Short term
- Pass a real middle class tax reduction to replace the artificial stimulus provided by the home refinancing.
- Limit gas price gouging by the gasoline refining monopoly.
Mid Term
- Lower interest rates by reducing the deficit
- Seriously address the health care issue in a way that seperates health care coverage from real wage increases and levels the playing field for U.S. workers/professionals
- Develop a game plan for U.S. workforce success in a global market
2. Put the brakes on gross U.S. treasury mismanagement
Short term
- Expose and stop cheney and co. war profiteering
- Shutdown the corporate tax avoidance scams
- Reduce or eliminate corporate welfare
- Return to "pay as you go"
- Implement real ethics reform
Mid term
- Tie corporation incentives to results that serve the public interest.
- Stop using social security taxes to fund the deficit
3. Initiate a "Manhattan Project"/"Go to the Moon" type project to lead the world in renewable energy.
Mid Term
- Redirect defense department pork and war profiteering dollars toward developing a hydrogen vehicle infrastructure
- Boost hydrogen power automobile conversion by financing government vehicles conversion to hydrogen power
- Implement high speed rail transportation
my advice is: don't be afraid to fight. Now is not the time to be conciliatory. The Great Repugnant Sound Machine will continue to pin all blame on the left. There is a tremendous need for some high profile investigations into Abramoff, Haliburton, and Katina, for a start. Predictably, Hannity and Limbaugh will whine about "partisan politics" or complain about "hate". No, as Waxman says it's not hate or vindictiveness, it's called Congressional oversight, it's part of the job.
Posted by howard hughes blues at November 12, 2006 04:15 AMWhat to do next? Pick the busiest day of the week at the White House, the busiest hour of the day. Chain all the doors from the outside and board over the windows. Fill with Zyclon-B. All the filthy vermin will die (along with any mice, cockroaches and rats). Install appropriate Congressional members in mandated order of succession.
Posted by steve duncan at November 12, 2006 05:42 AMI have only three suggestions:
1) The Federal Government should do something to target Katrina Recovery. The solution needs to be bi-partisan and include a whole-lotta folks who have been left to struggle.
2) Do something REAL about improving security measures at the nation's ports. Large security holes there.
3) Start hiring lots of veterans into the Federal Government, particularly in the halls of Congress. Not only would it be good for vets, it would be a healthy reminder to all legislators that military adventures promoted by values-zealots and chicken-hawks is a very bad thing.
And with every piece of legislation, there is usually a preamble citing the reason for that piece of legislation---the "whereas thus-and-so" stuff. Democratic legislation should state clearly the reason for all this new legislation is because of specific, stupid, corrupt and arrogant actions of the preceding Congress.
Posted by gtash at November 12, 2006 06:34 AMI think the sound byte should be "Legislate but Verify" For example on Veterans Benefits, we need some loud hearings on how the VA system has been screwed by the Republicans before passing fixes.
Posted by marc sobel at November 12, 2006 08:11 AMThe VERY first thing I would have the new Congress do would be to change the Constitution again on presidential succession (is that the right term for what happened after Watergate?) in the event of a resignation, to make Congress responsible for choosing the replacement for Vice President, in case Cheney dies/resigns (same thing?) No way would I want the Idiot choosing. I'm thinking of the type he is attracted to, like Bernard Kerick. Aack!
Then I would appoint special counsel, maybe more than one, to get the investigations going and to relieve Congress itself of the investigating duties, so the members could be freed up to get some decent legislation debated and passed. It's absolutely essential to get the investigating done in the next two years. What's done with the results of the investigations matters less than that the American people are given the information that's been withheld. And I say a new 9/11 investigation, again by special counsel, instead of the samo samo hacks like Lee Hamilton on those supposedly bi-partisan commissions. Bi-partisan, my ass.
Posted by Julie at November 12, 2006 11:07 AM