What issues do you feel should be part of the Democratic long-term agenda?

[elperromagico]

Here's one of mine, which I mentioned in greater detail in a previous post: Election reform and protection of voter rights.

What are yours?

[liberaliraqvet26]

1. Retirement Security

This is an issue in which we have the advantage and many people stress and worry about it.

[rainy]

2. added to your list: environment

The beloved Chesapeake Bay is dying as is other bays and rivers.

[blondeatlast]

3. Universal, single payer health care.

Support for productive scientific research.

[welshTerrier2]

4. restoring democracy

most of us look back on the Founding Fathers and the Constitution with genuine reverence ... we actually believe in all that stuff we learned in grade school ...

but most Americans today understand all too well that they have very little say in what their government does ... and most understand that ultra-wealthy special interests get their needs met long before the public's best interests are considered ...

Democrats have to stop being afraid to tell the truth that things have gone wrong in America ... unlike what the DLC tells you, this is not leftist anti-Americanism ... in fact, nothing could be more American ...

so, I think Democrats need to call for a new American revolution to renew and restore our democracy ... if i only could choose one priority, that would be it ...

[ironman202]

5. the list is long

assault weapons ban
reversing the tax cuts
amend the const. to privacy is in the bill of rights
100% tax on large displacement autombiles
federal law that CEO's cannot make more than 20 times entry level.

[napi21]

6. If you mean verified voting, I agree that should be #1.

I hate to admit it, but if we can believe all votes were accurately counted, I will accept the ourcome, whatever it is!

Second on the list should be a solution to our national health care problem.

Third whould be a commitment to restoring America's credibility in the World!

[SlipperySlope]

7. Protection of the 2nd amendment

N/T

[ironman202]

8. yes, protect it by getting rid of assault weapons

[SlipperySlope]

11. Leave my semi-automatic rifles alone.

Respect my right to choose!

[virginia mountainman]

13. Do you realize that....

When we "got rid of so called assault weapons" many voters got rid of us...........

Do you TRULY understand what the AW Ban REALLY did? Do you understand that in the end, it did NOTHING, but cost us elections?

[ironman202]

18. hmmm, 70 % drop in gun violence was pretty good.

look man, I got no problem with you having a gun. But do you need a howitzer to critter huntin'? This was a long term discussion of long term goals. Over time, I think reason will will out. What are you doing out there in the woods with that AK47? You don't need it, man. It's wrong. You know it in your heart. I'm not trying to take away your right to choose. I'm telling you to make the right choice.

[virginia mountainman]

23. hum

Crime was dropping BEFORE the ban, all the ban did was ban UGLY guns, it did not ban nothing mechanical.

The ban did enrage gun owners, I own several of those "so called" assault weapons, most of witch where purchased NEW during the ban. they where perfectly legal. they where legal, because they did not have a BAYONET LUG!!

Now you tell me, was it getting OUSTED in the congress in the next election over?

And no, i have never used them to hunt with,they are too underpowered to be used as a hunting weapon. I use them to target practice with and they are also used as a "household defence rifle"

Any person that wants to nose around in my gun cabinet, I WILL NEVER SUPPORT. Because frankly it is NON of their business what a law abiding citizen has. and NO the 2nd Amendment does NOT cover howitzers.

[ironman202]

20. oh yeah, there are no mountains in Virginia...

just a little joke!

[Silverhair]

27. GENUINE assault rifles have been very tightly regulated since 1934.

It seems that you want scary looking guns to be outlawed. Take a wimp, dress him up in camo clothes and he is still a wimp. Take a regular semi-auto hunting rifle and dress it up with a military style look and it is still a semi-auto hunting rifle. You should learn the difference.

BTW - Kennedy attempted to outlaw the .30-30 rifle cartridge. It was first made in 1894 and is one of the most popular deer cartridges around.

[virginia mountainman]

9. ABSOLUTELY the 2nd amendment!!

Recognizing all our civil rights, just not a few! Being a TRULY "pro Choice" party!

[TankLV]

37. Are you sure you're not lost?

There are other sites more appropriate to you thinking.

Assault weapons are soooo necessary.

Keep the bazookas and let's all have nukes, too!

2nd Ammendment uber alles!

Seig Heil!

[Road Scholar]

10. Somehow, I think the repugs think they have the market

cornered on integrity, values etc. I think we should claim back some of those things bigtime.

[AlamoDemoc]

12. Forget long-term agenda, their first agenda should be

ELECTION REFORM, ELECTION REFORM, ELECTION REFORM

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. Universal health care , free education and paper ballot trail for voting

[nwliberalkiwi]

15. What Democrats

Giving up and waffling!

[Darranar]

16. The reform of the global system of power, first and foremost...

Any system where multinational corporations are allowed to make vast profits while tens of thousands of children die daily in extreme poverty deserves to be thrown out the window on principle.

The democratization of the American (and the global, eventually) economy.

Universal health care.

The respect for human rights in national policy, domestic and foreign.

Get rid of winner-take-all systems. As far as Congress goes, replace it with a party-list or single transferable vote system. For Presidential elections, at the very least allow for a runoff. Make Election Day a federal holiday.

[wli]

17. there are larger forces at work, and others are covering social issues

After reading up on the gravity of Peak Oil, it looks to me like:

1. publicly disclose the gravity of the Peak Oil Crisis
2. coordinate global humane population reduction policies (mandatory one child or less policy, lotteries)
3. coordinate global energy rationing
4. coordinate cooperative global alternative energy efforts
5. coordinate global fresh water rationing

And other utopian fantasies.

[Road Scholar]

19. Separation of church and state!!!!!!!!

[eallen]

21. Civil liberties, transparency and openness in governance, and...

Well, everything else comes after that.

[Lefty48197]

22. A progressive tax structure

I want a $20,000 exemption from federal taxes for every individual, and $5000 for every dependant.

[welshTerrier2]

25. How about taxing wealth instead of, or in addition to, income?

who should pay more in income, a multi-billionaire with hundreds of billions tied up in real estate with little or no taxable income or someone earning $50K per year? ...

perhaps we should continue to tax income in some way but i'd like to see some very steeply graduated rates on those with very significant assets ... this would allow us to drastically lower income tax rates and provide even greater exemptions (say on the first $50K than you have called for) ...

[Lefty48197]

41. I agree that we should tax wealth also

Second homes, third homes, $60,000 vehicles. They have more to pay, so they should pay more.

[ourbluenation]

24. Worker rights.

think about it...

[Silverhair]

26. Universal health care - #1 nt

[journalist3072]

28. My list...

1. Addressing the issue of the African-American unemployment rate. The African-American unemployment rate for June 2005 was 10.3%, twice that of the national average! And I really don't here anyway talking about this disparity.

2. Election reform---enough said! I don't think I need to elaborate.

3. Affirmative Action---AA has come under tremendous assault from the Bush administration, and I'm really troubled by some of the memos that John G. Roberts wrote, advising the Reagan administration on the issue. I view AA as a corrective program, and unfortunately it is still needed, b/c the playing field has not been leveled yet.

4. Poverty---Recent reports show that the U.S. child poverty rate increased to 18%. Moreover, there's been an increase in the number of "food insecure" Americans; meaning, those Americans that aren't sure they will have enough food for their families. This MUST be on our agenda, b/c this is a disgrace to our country.

[mmonk]

29. Let America be America again.

[Sub Atomic]

30. Securing our borders.

[gokar]

32. I agree 100%

[gokar]

31. Health Care in UK is awful and it is a Universal/single payer system.

I did my engineering degree in UK and then worked for a couple of
years before emmigrating to the USA. I would never want to be in
UK if I had a serious health problem. It takes years of waiting to
get routine surgery, hospitals are awful compared to the good old
USA. When I needed my gall bladder removed, I was in and out of the
hospital in 2 days in an American hospital! In UK they would have
asked me to wait my turn unless there was a life threatening emergency.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

34. Well, at least there...

I could have at least had the chance to "wait my turn". Here, with no health insurance, maybe I don't get a fucking gall bladder surgery.

The UK system is not perfect but everyone gets treatment.

[gokar]

42. You have a valid point but personally I much prefer that

I work hard to somehow afford health insurance, and get the
surgery done quickly because the pain of gall bladder attacks
is simply horrible. Even if one can't afford health insurance,
it is still possible to make small payments over time to pay off
the cost of hospitalization. Most hospitals will accept surprisingly
low monthly payments.

[AmandaRuth]

44. dude, i don't know what planet you live on

but where i live hospitals aggressively pursue outstanding bills, and ask for outrageous monthly payments. And don't try to argue with me, i have personal and I do mean personal experience with this. The suggestion they have for those who cannot pay is to put it on "the card".

I shudder to think what is going to happen now that we have the bankruptcy bill.

[gokar]

45. I have no dispute about your experience, but my experience with

SW Washington Medical Center is different from yours. My mother-in-law
had surgery done there recently, and the hospital agreed to accept
$100/month until her bill was paid. She is on social security and
has very little other income. And incidentally they are charging no
interest or late fees either.

Now that does not mean all hospitals work the same way. I have no
reason to question your experience with another hospital being very aggressive in collecting the bills.

[PaulaFarrell]

47. bullshit

I have lived in the UK fifteen years; my kids have more or less grown up here. I have never had ANY complaint about the NHS. Unlike when I lived back home in the states, I haven't had to try to figure out if my kids were sick enough to spend the week's grocery money on the doctor. When I was pregant with my second child in the states, I never even saw a doctor until I was 6 months pregant because, even though I had insurance, I couldn't afford the deductible. So what if you have to wait a while for a non-emergency? To me, that is just sensible use of an expensive resource.

[Cosmocat]

33. It has got to be positive ...

Look ... The D party has spent four plus years railing on about ...

1) We got jobbed ...
2) This is the most gawdaweful corrupt and incompetent admin/congress in history ...

Both are true, but what did it get the party in 2004 ??? What, as many have accurately noted, has it gotten the party to this point ??? Bobo and Congresses' ratings are HORRIBLE, but the Ds are not gaining any ground ...

What the D party has done to this point IS NOT WORKING ... While it makes PERFECT sense to simply point, over, and over, and over, at the massive deficit, the price of gas, the Iraq disaster and all the lies that come with it, the public as a whole remains totally entranced with the R/Con spin ...

I know this is something a lot of people here don't want to here, but the game has changed ...

There are VERY marked differences in the fundamental base for the R and D party ... And, in the end, the D party is working to serve the better interests of the PEOPLE of America, while the R party is serving the interests of the ultra elite rich ...

BUT, as disdainful as it may be, the ONLY way the Ds can get back into power to move away from pointing out the BLATENTLY obvious failings of this admin and congress ... Cause again, the country OBVIOUSLY does not care about all of that enough ...

The D message HAS to be more positive ... It has to be about developing alternative fuels, competing in the new age through education ... Healthcare reform will speak to many ... It has to be tough on security, and aggressive in seeking out those who seek to hurt us though terrorism ...

Voting reform SHOULD be an agenda, but it should not be a platform ... Just because a top or issue is not on the "talking points" does not mean it won't be something that is on the to do list ...

Talk education, jobs, healthcare ... GET BACK IN POWER, then work to clean up the mess and put things in order to keep another power grab from happening again ...

The Rs have a DEADLOCK now, and there is NOTHING the Ds can do about voting reform until they have power ... So, no sense in talking about it until then ...

Fact is, it is going to take a larger margin of win ... That just is life ... We can complain all we want, but until we get power again, we can't do anything about it ... The Times could run a complete paper documenting step by step how the Rs stole Ohio, with confessions, photos ... It won't make a difference ... NOT ONE ...

Ds have to get in line, support whoever comes clean, and kick butt ... Drop the petty squabling, and get back in power, then engage in healthy discussion, when the real american democracy can breathe again ...

Splinter off and bicker, and deal with 8 years of Santorum as Speaker of the House and Jeb taking his idiot brothers's chair in the oval office ...

[yourout]

35. Election Reform, Universal health care , alternative Fuels development.

The day is coming in our lifetime that non renewable energy supplies will start to dwindle and the county or countys that lead the world
in developing alternative energy will then be the super powers.

[TankLV]

36. Nationalized, socialized single payer health care FREE for everyone.

Get rid of the insurance companies.

Bring back every fucking part of the New Deal that the repukes and Vichy Dems demolished over the last 3 decades.

Actually, I think our long term strategy should be to get spinal transplants - the rubber ones aren't working anymore!

[election_2004]

38. Same-sex civil unions

Or some widely-encompassing standards for domestic equity thereof.

Non-negotiable in my book.

[election_2004]

39. By the way....

I find it rather insulting that no one in this thread has bothered to even mention the issue of basic domestic dignity for gays and lesbians who are in committed, monogamous relationships.

[JackDragna]

40. Economic equality.

There is no more important issue. Many of our problems, from intolerance of minorities to crime, stem from our massive unequal distribution of capital. We need a fair tax system to balance the wealth in the nation, strong unions to fight for the economic rights of everyday workers and stringest controls on how big corporations do business. Nothing else we could care about or hope to accomplish is as important.

[gokar]

46. Free College education to those who excel in their grades.

[gokar]

43. Middle class tax-cuts, more middle class tax cuts and finally

even more middle tax cuts so that a person can work his/her
way into upper middle class. Those individuals earning more
than 3 times the national average should get no tax breaks.
They don't need them.