Sunday Discussion Group

October 16, 2005

I mentioned earlier this week that congressional Dems have decided that the current political climate looks pretty good, but to seal the deal, the party needs to present a positive policy agenda. Republicans have pretty thoroughly embarrassed themselves in recent years, the theory goes, and by specifically telling voters what Dems would do differently — ala the “Contract with America” — the party can make a serious run (if not succeed) in taking back Congress next year.

With this in mind, today’s discussion group topic is: what should Dems put in their contract?

Party leaders already have some ideas of their own.

An early draft of the agenda outlines the specific initiatives House Democrats will pledge to enact if given control of the House. Leaders have been working on the document for months, and have already started encouraging Members to unify around it and stick to its themes.

Among the proposals are: “real security” for America through stronger investments in U.S. armed forces and benchmarks for determining when to bring troops home from Iraq; affordable health insurance for all Americans; energy independence in 10 years; an economic package that includes an increase in the minimum wage and budget restrictions to end deficit spending; and universal college education through scholarships and grants as well as funding for the No Child Left Behind act.

Democrats will also promise to return ethical standards to Washington through bipartisan ethics oversight and tighter lobbying restrictions, increase assistance to Katrina disaster victims through Medicaid and housing vouchers, save Social Security from privatization and tighten pension laws.

Keep in mind, this is an initiative that has competing goals. The policy agenda has to rally the base while also reaching out to those who haven’t been voting for Dems up until now. It has to include a set of ideas that an ideologically diverse caucus (Blue Dogs, Progressive Caucus, DLC-types, etc.) can stand behind.

So, if given the chance, what would you put on the Dems’ “Contract”?

1. Return to realism in government. Quit hiding the true costs of everything with rosy talk and fake numbers.

2. A human rights agenda which addresses torture, the gay agenda, poverty and reproductive choice.

  • i think most americans are grown-up enough now to consider the reform of marijuana laws seriously, especially from the perspective of reducing law enforcement and penal costs while gaining a new source of tax revenue.

    part of energy independece is growning food closer to where it is eaten, so how about encouraging the return of small farms?

    $5 billion a month spent in iraq while amtrak goes begging for $1.5 b a year? renew rail, connect cities to cities and centers to suburbs.

    forget ‘no child’. fund public libraries and allow a leaning culture – for all – to take hold.

  • I have conversations like this from time to time with a wingnut friend of mine, and where we step off ends up being two strongly-held positions:

    i. We don’t make preemptive war, and
    ii. We don’t torture people.

    I find it simply horrifying that we live in a time and place where either of these are controversial, but there it is. Of course, the whole thing wouldn’t be complete without bitter irony; He is the self-professed devout Christian, I no longer attend church, largely because the denominations around here sanction this point of view.

  • Marijuana law reform would be a huge loser, sorry. The Dem’s are already up against the wall on the perceived “moralty” of the party (abortion, homosexual rights issues). This wouldn’t help them at all.

    I think in the near future, it’s going to come down to healthcare. If they could frame their arguments around how it helps both individuals AND business, they may have a shot at convincing a large number of voters that the time for some kind of national healthcare plan has come.

    What percentage of the country is without healthcare? Is it a third? There’s no freaking way the Dems shouldn’t have each and every one of those votes.

  • 1. Incremental steps toward universal health care (start with insuring all kids, work our way up)

    2. Job-training programs to help those hurt by outsourcing.

    3. Serious environmental protections. Americans seem ready to take the issue seriously; Democrats should make it a “contract” priority.

  • I’d like to see Dems positioning themselves as the party of integrity and competence, as opposed to the GOP, refuge of corruption and cronyism. That’s a target Dems should be hitting over and over again. They should be pointing out things like relative rates of scandals, divorce, petty crime, etc., between themselves and the GOP.

  • Media Reform ought to be at the top of the Democratic agenda, for reasons of self-preservation, if nothing else.

    Democrats, who have seen seven years of Whitewater, followed by Judith Miller, Swift Boats and Sinclair Broadcasting, need to wake up and smell the coffee.

    A slice and dice antitrust policy applied to the control of broadcast and cable media channels, combined with an in-kind tax, requiring distribution of “free” political advertising and broadcast of public affairs programming, ought to be very high on the Democratic agenda

  • For the life of me I don’/t see how we can afford giving everyone health insurance when Medicare/Medicaid are already breaking the bank. The new drug benefit that goes mostly to the wealthier Americans now is enormous. Why are we giving massive tax money to huge insurance companies? We should just be providing medical help to people who need it, nothing more.

  • A helping hand for the middle class.

    This includes social security, portable national health care, better end-of-life options, investment in public education and assistance with college expenses, job retraining, competent appointees to FDA, FEMA, EPA, etc., etc.; environmental protection, energy alternatives & conservation, reversal of Bush laws on bankruptcy and usury, pay raises for the military, moving people out of poverty and into the middle class, ending tax breaks for the super-rich and for offshore companies (in favor of everyone farther down the ladder).

    Beyond that, Gore’s program of re-inventing government is still a good idea, if a difficult one to explain and get people excited about.

    Pork is the necessary lubricant to get Congress to function (and everybody else’s pork is always one district’s approrpriate governmental assistance), but if a way such as a cap or a preset formula for division could be found to rein it in significantly, the electorate would be grateful.

    Republican control over K Street is massively corrupting, and simply substituting Democratic wallowing in the trough would not be an improvement. The general public does not like the influence of lobbyists, so improving this situation somehow is desirable. It seems impossible to rein in lobbying, because businesses will always be massively affected by minor contingencies in laws and regulations, but perhaps lobbying could be made more transparent (perhaps set up uniform, federal, user-friendly websites for posting details of ultimate sources of funds for donations from institutions, income source details for private donors above a certain level, and otherwise just names of individual private small donors).

  • 1. Credit lending should be much more regulated. The bankruptcy laws tighten while no effort is made to restrain credit card companies from passing out cards like lollipops and giving already deeply indebted customers raises on their credit limits so they can get in deeper. The interest rates continue to rise for obscure reasons and minor infractions, and it is at the whim of the credit card companies as to when or if those interest rates come down. They are out of control and should be reined in.

    2. Energy independence. A no brainer with so many benefits but: To acquire that independence there will need to be significant push-back against entrenched, incestuous and gluttonous corporate interests involved in weapons production, mining, auto manufacturing and oil exploration among others. The energy-ocracy must be confronted and voters should be made aware of why their plans are self serving and destructive while assuring voters that alternatives are available, beneficial and affordable especially when compared with the costs incurred by an oil based system.

    3. Much tightened oversight and scrutiny of CEO pay and perks.

    4. A federal standardized system for voting which is overseen by a rotating panel of states attorney’s general. Any changes would be presented to congress for approval. Does that make any sense? Something fundamental needs to be done to ensure voters trust in the system.

  • “The progressive Democratic Party believes that what most Americans want from their government is four basic things:
    (1) That the government be good stewards of the people’s money, the economy, and the public resources they are entrusted to maintain;
    (2) That the government respects the people – it stays out of their private, personal, family, spiritual, and medical decisions;
    (3) That the government of the United States serve as a positive example, in word and in action, for its own citizens and for those around the world who look to us to see the promise of a civilized democracy; and
    (4) That the government provide security for Americans – real security, not just posturing and big military budgets – security from the rare attempt at terror, certainly, but also security in the face of natural disasters, energy security, security in their jobs, in their savings, in their retirement, security in their heath – so that they can enjoy their homes and families, parks and streets, and the rewards of their labors.”

    From these, a lot of detail can flow, and we should have a coordinated message campaign in the weeks after the high-level roll-out providing talking points and week-long emphasis on each of the 4 big themes. We should treat this like an electoral campaign (which is really is) and give it just as much effort – if we do so, we can drive the agenda for 2006 and 2008.

    For example, number (1) lets us talk about the Clinton surplus – and how it would have made assistance post-Katrina easier, faster, better – and how the Republicans have turned that into a $300+ billion deficit by giving favors to the rich while making college, health care, energy, etc. more expensive for the middle class; by adding “assets” it also lets us discuss environmental stewardship – a nice buzzword with certain evangelical Christians right now.

    Number (2) lets us discuss the Republican build-up of government, and not just any government but a spying, prying, e-mail reading, check-your-library-books kind of government, and hint at things like the Schiavo case.

    Number (3) lets us denounce torture and unilateral “elective warfare” while spelling out our views on international cooperation, clean elections, honest and transparent government, etc.

    Number (4) lets us talk about the real domestic issues – a commitment to lifelong learning opportunities, a de-linking of health care from employment (a big help to individuals and businesses), police on the street and how Bush’s tax cuts reversed Clinton’s great program for this, the importance of qualified people in departments like FEMA, etc.

    In short, it creates a succinct framework from which we can easily get to a lot of key issues and some great hits on the Rethugs.

  • 1: Rational border security. The danger is not illegal immigrants looking for work. The danger is what can be moved across our borders. This seems to have some resonance, according to my unscientific sampling. The Dems would be wise to get ahead of this.

    2: Reform and tighter regulation of the lobby industry. Government OF, BY, and FOR the people – not the highest bidders.

    3: A baseline of universal healthcare that would focus on preventative medicine. We may not be able to afford true universal healthcare, but we could easily do a hell of a lot better than we do now.

    4: Energy independence. A no brainer.

    I’m tempted to add media reform/decentralization, but these sorts of ‘contracts’ should be simple and hit the high notes.

    If the Dems can get this together by early summer, I think they’d be well advised to heed Walter Cronkite’s suggestion for a mid-term convention.

  • Health care is certainly one of the most important issues. But how about we don’t propose our own plan out of the box just to see it shot down? Go to the business executives who are getting hurt by our broken system. Do it before any announcement. Tell them (Not the insurance companies btw. They don’t want a solution.) that we want to work with them to find some kind of solution to the problem that helps them and their employees. Try to step outside of the box of the current system entirely. Look them in the eye and say “Do you really think that any simple patch can fix the current system enough to help you? Work with us. Let’s find something new that works for everybody.”. Leave the private insurance companies for those who can afford them and their outrageous administrative overhead (4 times that of Medicaid and Medicare) and don’t try to force people into it that it doesn’t work for.

  • The envioronment. THe number of unnecessary deaths and the costs to our society and health care system from a degraded environment is quanitifable, as should be the increase in the number of deaths due to these causes since this regime took over and relaxed environmental controls starting in 2001 as a giveaway to their big business backers. Point out the thousands of people who have died due to Republican pro-business policies. Point out that we rightly restrict the personal freedoms of millions of people by passing and enforcing stricter drunk driving laws in the interests of society, yet the big businesses are causing even more harm and killing more people and the GOP regime is bending over backwards to help them.

  • 1. Reaffirm the importance of progressive taxation in maintaining a just and democratic society with a large middle class.
    2. Call for the abolition of payroll taxes as we know them–they discourage employers from hiring and encourage outsourcing.
    3. Emphasize “quality of life issues,” such as the environment, health care, and access to affordable higher education–that government should service the greater, public good.

  • Energy consumption and conservation.

    Dems must advocate a tougher line with Detroit – phased in so that the automakers don’t howl too much.

    Cars ought to have regenerative brakes which recharge the batteries rather than dissipate heat.

    Soft stop idling which comes into play at stop lights, for instance.

    Some of these things can be pushed as imperatives (higher mpg fleet-wide) and others should be pushed as incentives for tax breaks.

    Similar initiatives should address the extraction industries, power generators and large power consumers.

    States and power generators should be given a Manhattan Project scope push to expand tidal power for the coastal areas, wind and solar power for other areas and wide latitude in further developing these alternative energy sources. Oil shale, peat conversion (!??!) and any other fantastic concepts should be on the table for research. Ha! My father did oil shale research for Exxon some 30 years ago before it got shelved for some reason or another. Anyway, much of that money will go toward academia in the form of DOE and military grants, plus there is room for Army Corps of Engineers projects and on and on.

    As for extraction, the Dems should not just oppose drilling, but should embrace a prioritized, systematized process for exploration and exploitation. At some point, we will really want to get the resources from sensitive places like ANWR – be it 10 years or 75 years from now. If Dems articulate a process for such a sensitive project – with appropriate hurdles and restrictions – then they won’t be viewed as mere obstructionists on this topic.

    I’m for hire, btw!!!

  • I did a text search on this page for “national security” and it came up blank. If we’re serious about leading the country, then we have to be serious about leading on national security, and we have to say so even if killing people makes us a little squeamish.

    National security comes first. We can debate about what comes second, but national security must come first.

  • see post 11, point (4). while i didn’t use the word “national,” the concept is clearly there.

  • Benchmarks are way too pallid a response to the mess in Iraq.

    Nothing matters until the troops in Iraq come home, and the force in Afghanistan is re-configured and remissioned to achieve something besides keeping Hamid Karzai alive.

    Absent this, every election becomes what every post 9/11 election has been: a poker game played with dead Moslems instead of chips, and the GOP has deeper pockets. They’re a couple hundred thousand up, and they know where they can get more.

    The Democrats need to refuse to even sit down at the table so long as that’s the true nature of the game.

  • I’ve always wanted to know more about this particular subject: how does one define and differentiate between the Blue Dogs, Progressive Caucus, DLC-types, etc? Can someone first explain to me what those branches strive for, and then what differentiates them? Thanks.

  • Electoral Reform.

    An end to gerrymandering with a national system to produce compact, heterogeneous, competitive districts similar to Iowa’s. This is more critical in the short term than any other issue since it is the foundation of Republican rule. The current system has also led to the overwhelmingly common conviction that voting doesn’t matter because my vote doesn’t count. They’re right — it doesn’t.

    One citizen, one vote, that matters, and that gets counted. Violations to be punishable by extensive prison time. No more Jeb-led voter purges.

  • Fix the No Child Left Behind Act. Fund all of the improvements to public schools necessary to make it work. Use a different yardstick than the standardized tests now employed, which guaranteed that many schools will fail (and all will eventually fail, since the bar is raised each year until every school must meet high standards that don’t take into account special needs kids, recent immigrants and children from non-English speaking homes, students from dysfunctional families, etc.). Get rid of Republican consultants (e.g., Edison Group) that all “failing” schools are required to spend big buck on, even though Edison has never demonstrated it could get better results than a good public school. Pay teachers salaries that are comparable to those of others with the same amount of education (accountants and such). Make teaching a viable career choice.

    Many studies have shown the direct correlation between student test scores and the quality of their teachers. An investment in providing highly qualified teachers does more to improve test scores than investments in lab equipment, computers, facilities, and other budget categories (although these should be adequately funded as well).

    If we don’t regain the competitive advantage a well-educated popultion provides, we’re doomed in global competition. Equally important, a democracy cannot function without an educated, informed electrorate.

  • 1 – Bring home the troops — stop the war

    2 – Balance the Budget — repeal foolish tax cuts

    3 – Universal Health Care — no half messures…we all need it

    4 – Equal Rights Ammendment – rights for once and for all

    5 – Workers Safety Net — retrain displaced workers — use real unemployment figures (long term)

    6 – Federal Takeover of Voting Machines and software – no more fraud

    7- Increase Social Security payments — boost consumer spending

    8 – Windfall profits tax on oil companies — no one should profit from disasters

  • Oy

    We spend 100 times more money on national securtiy than any other country. National securtiy is important but we have to start placing emphasis on getting this country back on track concerning ither issues as well. Can we be hit again? Yes. Should we spend ourselves into backruptcy in our panic to defend ourselves or seek revenge?

  • First – all elected dems should take a plege that they will have the b***s to stand up to the Republicans on matters of principle to the Democratic Party. Whether they realize it or not, their lack of ‘fight’ was a reason so many of the public saw them as “weak” in protecting the public. The public had no knowledge of ‘secret’ actions against terrorist or much general knowledge about our actions abroad…but they did see the Repubs roll all over them in the House and Senate and the press did shine a light on it..

    Three major things or our political system is dust: 1..major election reform that uses no electronic machines …. back to hand written ballots counted in the open and I don’t care if it takes a week, no t.v. network shouldn’t be calling our elections. 2..reform of the FEC and monopoly of the media…diverse media ownership is the only way to ensure the truth has a chance of getting out from the control of 6 major owners (and we all know their history..they are what put Bush in, in the first place) 3….major lobby law reform. Corporations have got a strangle hold on everyone sitting in government. We will never have an “of,for, and by the people” form of government as long as lobbyist have so much influence and power.

    4. Restructuring of the tax codes to make a more equitable tax program. 98% of Americans are P.O.’d that the other 2% has gotten such a break under Bush (if they aren’t they should be) and begin paying down the deficit. We need to get our finacial house in order. You cannot have universal health care or any other public works with money…no more Reagonic credit-card mentality…There should be a fast and complete study oif the military industrial complex…we have always had more waste, fraud and overspending here than any other place in government..even welfare.. This should show people that Dems are serious about cleaning up the improper and sometimes illegal methods that have been used during the last 20+ years.
    And on top of all that, they should pledge to the parents of America that they will never send their family members off to fight again without bonified co-operation of the UN, our allies and thoroughly examined, documented proof it is necessary, not nation building…with all the equipment to win from the beginning.

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