What's the first thing our newly elected Democratic Prez should do in 1/05

[LynneSin]

Poll question: What's the first thing our newly elected Democratic Prez should do in 1/05

The elections are overwith and (fill in the name of your favorite democratic candidate) has been lawfully, legally and fairly elected. What is the first thing he/she should do as the new President (other than overturn every thing that Bush did in his 4 years - I mean, we are eventually going to do that - what's 1st priority)

So what's #1 on your list


Edit Note: Someone commented that I posted 4 terms - EEP!!!

[LynneSin]

1. Folks, please describe what your "Other" is?

I'd love to hear what else needs to be done!!!

[Minstrel Boy]

10. My other: initiate a truly independent, exhaustive and

well-funded investigation into all aspects of 9/11. Hold people and institutions to account.

[LynneSin]

16. Duh! I should have added that one - that's a MAJOR choice

Blonde moment - sorry about that!!!

[Bucky]

26. Cancel Halliburton's contracts

Cancel the biggest graft of all. Halliburton is making billions off a contract to rebuild Iraq, first awarded in Spring of 2001. Yes, that's before 9/11, but then it always pays to plan ahead like that. They actually awarded that contract without the legally required competitive bidding process.

Of course when you carry the imprint of the government, it's not called embezzlement. It's only expediency in the national interest. But theft is theft. Even if this isn't legally actionable, the bleeding can be stopped and the contracts for rebuilding Iraq can go to the lowest bidder. The name for such a process is free enterprise; and I believe in it, even if Bush-Dick-Rummy doesn't.

As Ted Kennedy's been pointing out, there's billions of dollars that are just disappearing from the money spent on Iraq. Tracking and stopping that trail of dirty money is part of job one. The Bushies are ripping off our tax dollars mostly thru the Halliburton contract and the next president ought to stop it.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[xray s]

2. Get a bottle of clorox and a rag and...

...wipe the Bush shit off the Constitution.

[VTMechEngr]

3. Kick Faux news out of WH press room.

Refuse to do interviews and alienate them. Let 'em spew their propaganda to American Facists from the sidewalk!

[Brian Sweat]

23. Yeah, but if you so that

they will become extremely partisan and start attacking the president left and right.

</sarcasm>

[DCDemo]

4. Direct the justice department to arrest Bush, Cheney, etc. for war crimes

And hold them without access to lawyers, etc. until a verdict and process is decided.

[LynneSin]

14. Can we send them to Gitmo?

Camp Delta will be quite empty after we release all those prisoners held without cause!

[Brian Sweat]

24. No, they will have pardons in hand when they walk out of the white house.

Bush will issue a blanket pardon to everyone involved. Then he will resign and Cheney will give him a blanket pardon.

[Samuraimad]

54. Do Pardons apply to the Hague??

:)

[The_Gopher]

5. order bushco detained as enemies of the state

bush, cheney, rove, rummy, powell, rice, perle, feith, wolfowitz, poppy bush, ashcroft...the whole lot of 'em.

[Cheesehead]

48. Nail them under the Patriot Act

And wait to charge them until they're out of office so they can't pardon each other. No indictments, no pardons. BWA HA HA HA!

[RobertSeattle]

6. I've always enjoyed the slam...

"Mr Bush, Mr Cheney, Mr Rumsfield, Mr Wolfowitz, Ms Rice, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present now and during any future questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you free of charge if you wish."

On Edit: "Mr. Attorney General, William Jefferson Clinton, you may take them away"

[Zhade]

7. All of the above, plus --

Arrest the entire neocon cabal for treason, ship them to the Hague, and sit back and watch the fun.

[Padraig18]

33. I rather like this choice

:)

[sangh0]

8. Rescind/Overturn Bush*'s Executive Orders

like the gag rule, new-source review, etc. All of the choices you list require either Congress or time (or both).

[noiretextatique]

31. i agree...then everything else in the poll n/t

[DinahMoeHum]

9. Arrest senior * Administration officials. . .

for eventual trials on charges of high treason.

(get your lists ready)

:kick:

[lapislzi]

11. I know I'm being picky, BUT...

It's going to be difficult for a newly elected Dem prez to do any of those things without the support of a Congress. A fractious, Republican Congress will stymie the most progressive agenda. Most of the options have to be initiated through Congress anyhow...and I don't even know whether pardons can be "undone."

Having said that...I would like to see the Dem prez initiate legislation to repeal the Patriot Act. It's gotta go, folks. Pure and simple.

[VTMechEngr]

19. Remove faux news from WH press?

I don't think that takes congress.

[lapislzi]

32. Agreed, but

Most of the rest of it will be a long process. To repeal the Patriot Act (my own bete noir) will probably require intervention by SCOTUS.

[Zero Gravitas]

25. Hopefully we will have a Dem congress

but if not they will try everything they can to undermine the new President no matter what he/she does. So fuck 'em.

[trof]

12. I DEMAND AN "ALL OF THE ABOVE"!

cause that's just what I'd do
first
all at once

[meegbear]

18. Exactly!

Word!

[CO Liberal]

21. AGREED!!!!!

:-)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

13. apoligize to the UN and world for *s crimes make reperations

and than REPEAL ALL of bush8s executtive orders and tax cuts to top
1%ers and eliminate corporate welfare!

[calimary]

15. FIRST - we have to make amends to the entire world.

AT LEAST give them the clear signal that we are officially Under New Management.

Much more will follow just from that, alone. Starting with better press coverage. If the international community knows it's safe to deal with a reasoning America, a much more harmonious environment has a much stronger chance of being created. That, in turn, would bring help with Iraq, which in turn would bring relief for our troops AND our treasury, which in turn would bring relief to our ballooning deficit (more money we could redirect back here to problems at home), which in turn means more attention paid where it should have been paid all along - job creation, business incentives, encouragement of new technologies to help us become energy-independent, which will in turn generate more jobs and more investment - not only within this country but from investors overseas. If we look like our house is no longer trashed and burning down around us, we might appear more business-friendly. And if they invest here, workers benefit, companies benefit, investors and pensioneers and stockholders benefit, and the economy in general starts to benefit.

More and more I'm wondering how long it'll be before the international business community decides it no longer wants to be associated with a loser, because bush will have made an international pariah out of himself. I'm wondering how long it'll be before people overseas start saying "as long as HE'S in charge, we'd rather not do business with you."

[MercutioATC]

17. Let the world know that the U.S. is under new management.

I think the first step to mending fences with the rest of the planet is to make a blanket apology for the U.S.'s actions over the last four years and let them know that we now actively want to work with them to find solutions.

[scarletwoman]

Other -- there are SOOOOOOO many things that need to be undone!

Rescind the tax cuts -- absolutely!

In no particular order, here are some of the "other":

Push for the repeal of the Patriot Act
Prosecute Enron
Unlock the Reagan/Bush papers
Sign on to all the international treaties: Kyoto, ICC, ABM, etc.
Rescind ALL Bush* Executive Orders

I know there's plenty more I haven't thought of yet...

Oh, and Iraq? Yeah, give it over to the UN!

sw

[goobergunch]

20. Other: unconditionally pardon Jose Padilla, Yasser Hamdi,

and anyone else held as an enemy combatant.

This is as soon as he's done taking the oath of office...have the papers ready.

[Brian Sweat]

22. Some of your choices are not realistic.

"Go to the UN and turn the whole Iraq mess over to the UN"

The president can probably do this on his own, but he or she has to be careful or it will be political suicide.


"Initiate an investigation into the Corporate Welfare aka ENRON"

This can be done, but he or she will have to avoid the appearance of partisanship.


"Demand that the Reagan Papers are released (they were due out in 2001 but Bush blocked it)"

This will be fairly easy to do. Maybe this is another reason why the Republicans stole the 2000 election. They didn't want those papers released.


"Rescind all of the Tax Cuts"

This takes control of both houses of congress. Not likely to happen.


"End this "Leave No Child Behind" fiasco since that motto seems to be for 'White Kids only'"

No problem.


"Make Cuts in the Defense Budget to help pay for Education, Healthcare and a Senior's Prescription Plan"

Again, this will take control of both houses of congress.


"Turn over the Cheney/Energy documents to the GAO"

What documents? I don't see no documents. Oh, I think we accidently shredded them.


"Undo all of the Pardons you can be assured Bush will give out (I'm sure Kenny Boy will be getting one)"

You have to rewrite the constitution first.


"Dismiss all the Bush Judicial nominees that are too far to the right"

Takes control of the house and super majority control in the senate.


"Other - please explain - too many to list here!!"

Direct all government agencies to basically act as if the patriot act had never been passed. Pressure congress to repeal the patriot act.

Disband the Office of Faith Based Bullshit.

[kaitykaity]

27. Investigate who gave the "stand down" order on 9/11?

Use that to put the entire BFEE in jail for the
REST OF THEIR GODDAMN LIVES.

Oh, and I want the Felonious Five impeached.

That's just for starters.

D

[Zero Gravitas]

28. All of the above

(although some won't be feasable, such as undoing the judicial noms)

Also try Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld & Wolfowitz for treason. That won't happen either, but I can dream can't I?

[catpower2000]

29. I would think an independent council to investigate 9/11...

But then the very next thing has to be reaching out to our world allies. Chimp has done so, so much damage in 4 short years, it's imperative that our next leader strengthens those ties and helps to remove the anti-American sentiment that is so pervasive all over the world right now.

Cat

[dofus]

30. I do hope you mean 4 years of Bush,

not 4 terms.

As for your first choice, I don't think the Iraq mess can simply be handed to the U.N. They don't have to take it. And why should they? The rest of the world did not want the war in Iraq, why should they clean up our mess?

Anyway, my choice would be to undo by executive order as much as possible of the terrible things done so far. Start a real investigation of Sept 11. Hold CEO's accountable for how their companies perform. Work on getting the public at large to understand that to turn deficits once again into surpluses, it's going to take a lot of belt-tightening, especially for the upper income group.

Oh, and fix it so companies that headquarter themselves in some off-shore tax haven still have to pay taxes.

[LynneSin]

35. I typed 4 - terms???

I'll be living in Costa Rica if he's in office for too long

[Merlin]

34. Restore the Fairness Doctrine for all commercial broadcasters.

Without this, the right will continue to propagandize the American public and demonize the left. Without this, money will determine public sentiment.

[Parche]

36. KERRY/CLARK

The first thing President Kerry should do is start with Iraq
and Afghanistan, bring the troops back home, no more money going overseas, invest $100 Billion divided $2billion for big states
and $1 Billion for smaller states for roads/bridges infrastructure
get America working again. The new deal, its the New Century
Cut corporate tax loopholes, work with corporations on stopping
their "farming" jobs overseas, make stricter laws against corporate
fraud, cut the trade deficit, cut tax loopholes for the rich
make everyone pay their fare share, change the tax code system
7-9% federal income tax for everyone.
Sign the Kyoto treaty, sign laws into place for the environment
I know Detroit wont like this but be strict with mileage,
restrict SUV's to better mileage or get rid of them altogether, they
are a nuisance and a fad. Increase foreign policy visits
tell the world we are sane again, reduce our involvement with
other countries wars, no more covert activities to overthrow certain
governments, let countries operate on their own, keep a stable
and strong military, more conventional, our military is for our
defense, not to invade another country illegally
Investigate Sept 11th attacks, this time really investigate
overturn the patriot act
get the moral and the nation whole again
work for better education and schools
keep seperation of church and state
we need freedom from religion

And that would be just his first year!!!

KERRY/CLARK PRESIDENT 2004

PARCHE/WAHOO PRESIDENT 2004

[Vogon_Glory]

37. First Democratic Actions in January 2005

For its very first action, an incoming Democratic administration should send a team of private investigators with video cameras and monitors to follow departing Republican staffers to check for vandalizing and sabotage. If any such is found (And I hope they pay especial attention to Grover Norquist's office), they make very public and very embarassing arrests. If the right-wing talk-show radio hosts try and make a fuss about it, start the process of filing criminal and civil charges. I think it's time to make some right-wing extremists eat some humble pie.

Then revoke Shrub's gag-rule, then start going through the files and bust the material relating to Enron and Dubya's enviornmental and energy policies wide open.

--VG

[newyawker99]

41. Hi VogonGlory!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[nostamj]

38. fumigate, fumigate, fumigate

and then sterilize the WH

(and replace the toilet seats <shudder> can you imagine putting your ass where the ass's ass once sat? <SHUDDER>

[kcwayne]

40. Arrest Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et all

and try them for war crimes. Capital punishment should be carried out in Texas, where they don't have a problem with executing the mentally handicapped, so Bush won't get off.

[knight_of_the_star]

42. My other is:

Call every single one of our allies and apologise PROFUSELY for the behavior of his predecessor.

[SharonAnn]

43. Rescind the "Global Gag" rule

that eliminated funding to Women's Health and Family Planning organizations around the world.

It would be quick and easy to do and would save the lives of many women.

[methinks2]

44. Bring home all

our boys. Everywhere, even in South America. Pass a law that says we are never allowed to get involved in other countries business. O8)

[damnraddem]

45. It's really 'all of the above.'

The new Dem prez is going to be one busy Dem.

[CBHagman]

46. Along with releasing the Reagan papers, he/she should...

...rescind (undo, or whatever the correct term is) that Bush executive order that basically undid disclosure reforms brought in after Watergate. In other words, let the Era of Nixonian Secrecy end!

And he/she should get a member of clergy to perform some sort of purifying ritual on the White House. I wish I were kidding about this, but oh, this current administration is EVIL.

[rbnyc]

47. Re-sign the ICC treaty,

ratify the treaty and join the court.

[alfredo]

49. don't fight extradiction for the war criminals in the Bush junta.

[quam]

50. Institute an Economic Plan

It's the economy...

Hopefully, a newly elected President would do what it takes to stimulate the economy, such as reducing unemployment and improving conditions with small business incentives, simplifying the tax system (personal and corporate), releasing government (military and scientific) technologies to the private sector, modifying trade relationships so exports do not merely benefit a select corporation or two, small businesses should also benefit from the fruits of trade, and some way to reduce the nation's dependency on oil --- maybe including government incentives for alternative energy research.

Perhaps these suggestions are not the answer, I do not hear specifics from candidates and maybe even if a candidate had a specific plan now, the plan instituted later may be different. What is important imo is that there is a plan. Right now, the only economic plan I hear concerns tax cuts, nothing comprehensive. I think an attempt was previously made to stimulate the economy with tax cuts; many Americans remain unemployed and underemployed.

It would help me, my friends, my relatives, and neighbors if the economy was the first priority. Certainly other issues are important, this one is very close to home.

[ConsAreLiars]

51. Other - Declare every act by * to be null; and void

Every single one - executive orders, policy declarations, appointments, whatever, done by him or his minions. Every one. And then order the new attorney general to seek criminal charges against every one of them for crimes against humanity and the planet.

[rjx]

52. N.Korea---9/11---UN

The first things I would do....

Apologize to the United Nations on Bush's behalf and let them take part with Iraq.

Restart peace talks between North and South Korea.

Work out the nuclear crises with N.Korea

Start the 9/11 investigation

[Zorra]

53. Begin a real 9/11 investigation....

with all the evidence that is now being covered up.