We need a Democratic "Contract with America" for '06. Add your ideas here

[demzilla]

A New Deal for the 21st Century

Hurricane Katrina is both a natural disaster and a disaster in terms of public confidence in government. Even before the hurricane struck, the public was growing more and more unhappy with Bush, Republicans in Congress, and the national and world situation in general.

As 2006 nears, there is a sense that the public is ready for change. But it’s not enough to expect voters to get rid of the bad without knowing what they will get in its place. Karl Rove and his henchmen will no doubt suggest to voters that the devil they know is better than the devil they don’t. So let’s give voters a positive reason to support Democrats in 2006.

Remember 1994? The Republicans hit upon a great selling point for their Congressional candidates – the Contract with America – and they took over the House, which they have had ever since, and the Senate, which they have had most of the time.

Might it not be a good idea for our party to step forward with its version of the Contract with America for 2006? The purpose would be to give voters something to vote for, to demonstrate that Democrats have a program that addresses their concerns, and that our party has its act together.

Call it the “New Deal for the 21st Century” or something like that and make sure that it can appeal to independent and moderate voters as well as the party’s liberal base. Here are some suggestions as to what it could include. No doubt I’ve forgotten any number of important points – add your suggestions and maybe we can collectively come up with something that will be useful in taking back the Congress in '06, and the White House in '08.


We will defend our country from those who seek to attack it, period.

We will work to conclude the American role in Iraq and will call for Congressional hearings to examine the run-up to war, as well as its planning and execution. We will insist upon the highest standards of evidence before approving the commitment of American forces to any future conflict.

We will insure that our troops, upon returning home, receive the full medical and employment support they need, and that troops sent into combat have all the equipment and supplies they need.

We will set national energy policy with the public interest in mind, and will call upon the oil industry to return some of its record profits to the American consumer paying record prices at the gas pump.

We will take seriously the effects of global warming, and will work to enact forward-thinking legislation to safeguard our coastlines and to find and encourage alternate sources of energy that reduce greenhouse gases and prepare us for the possibility of a diminished oil supply as world supplies pass their peak.

We believe that all Americans, regardless of race or economic status, deserve the full and immediate attention of the federal government when a crisis, such as a hurricane, hits.

We pledge to restore FEMA to the highest level of competence and importance, such as it had during the Clinton Administration, to make sure it is led by the best people available, not by political cronies. All government appointees, in all departments, should be the best in their fields.

We will roll back irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so that funding can be provided for projects of vital importance to all Americans. These projects include approving the $14 billion for restoring the wetlands of Louisiana to safeguard against a repeat of the human and economic tragedy of 2005. We will support efforts to rebuild New Orleans and all the Gulf Coast areas devatasted by Hurricane Katrina.

We will work to insure that all Americans have access to health care, and to encourage reforms that control skyrocketing premiums and other medical costs. In the nation with the world's largest economy, it is inexcusable for some 50 million Americans to be without access to health insurance.

We believe that medical decisions are a matter between the patient and doctor, and that government has no right to interfere with difficult end-of-life cases or with a woman’s decision on whether to have an abortion. We trust the American people to make these choices.

We believe that appointees to our high courts should meet the highest standards of skill and competence and should stand within the political mainstream; political extremism has no place in our courts.

We will oppose efforts to privatize the Social Security system and will work to defend the integrity of the system and to keep it strong and secure for future generations.

[FightingIrish]

1. That's so true now that we know the Repulican contract was a

Contract with White America.

[valerief]

2. Call it The Pledge of Allegiance to US Citizens

"I pledge allegiance to the citizens of the United States of America, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

To be sworn by every (s)elected official.

[ElectroPrincess]

3. Excellent Idea demzilla!

Kudos! And let's try to "goose" and/or "cattle-prod" our illustrious Democratic Leaders to MAKE IT HAPPEN!

There's always hope when industrious and intelligent people work together. ;)

[Maraya1969]

4. Recommended - this is a positive step and one that been long

overdue.

[hippiechick]

5. Strength at Home

Infrastructure
Emergency Planning
Emergency Transportation
Health Care

... and I think the hidden lesson in Katrina's aftermath is that this country truly DOES need a 'homeless policy' because there are obviously not enough facilities prepared to deal with a massive influx of homeless folks (let alone the 'regular' homeless population).

[Mr Rabble]

6. Recommended. nt

[OneGrassRoot]

7. May I suggest something about media........

keeping it out of corporate conglomerate control. FREE PRESS.

Excellent....nominated

[MojoXN]

8. We will try the Administration for crimes against humanity.

And we will make sure that elections are open, transparent, and honest. Electronic voting machines shall NOT, under any circumstances, be used for American elections.

MojoXN

[kodi]

9. here is a damned good start

"Seven Steps to 2006


We will end the war. I'm not talking about the war in Iraq. I'm talking about the biggest, best-funded war that the Republicans have been waging for more than a decade: the war on reason. We will be the party that supports facts, not fantasy. We will deal with the truth as we find it, not as we want it to be. We will not only call for education, but respect the fruits of education. We will not attack those who are learned as elite, we will celebrate them, turn to them, use them to solve our nation's problems. We will put scientists into roles where they can advance science and protect the environment and the nation's future.


We will be the pro-education party. By that, we don't mean the "pro-whatever makes the NEA happy" party, and neither will we be the "screw the NEA at every opportunity party." Sometimes the teaching unions have great ideas, sometimes they're defenders of the status quo, even where that status quo is inimical to actually cramming facts into the heads of kids. That's okay. Their job is to support their union members. The government's job is to educate the public. We should recognize that on some occasions those two things will be at odds. As with everything else, we will move forward with those ideas we know to work: small class sizes, good teacher to student ratios, sound administrative practices. When we see that some other nation is beating us in some area of education, we will not gnash our teeth. Instead, we will look at how they beat us. And then we'll do it better.


We will be the party of real economics. We will not forget the past and reinvent economics on every third Tuesday. We will not pretend that there once existed some perfect free market utopia, or pretend that government control would solve everything. We will not try to foist theories that have failed again and again, just because they line the pockets of those willing to toss some change our way. We will protect the interests of American corporations, but we will not put the interests of any corporation, even the largest, above the rights of a single American citizen.


We will celebrate religion as a vital part of the social fabric of this nation. We will zealously defend the barriers that protect both state, and church, from the damage that occurs when to two become intertwined. We will rejoice in the family, the individual, and the community -- and we will recognize that all three have both rights and responsibilities.


We will put in place an energy policy that looks to the future, not the past, and which actually helps to free our nation from the chains of blood and oil that keep us from acting with justice. We will make steps both reasonable and radical to change the way energy is made and used in America, because no other issue is so connected to everything else we do.


We will not treat the world like a giant ant farm on which we are free to conduct experiments like sadistic five year olds with magnifying lenses. We'll conduct foreign policy to the best interest of the nation by acting the way we've always pretended we act: with honor, dignity, consistency, and respect for human rights.


We will grateful for the trust of the people, and never forget that we have to earn that trust anew every single day.


One last thing: We will be the party that puts someone with disaster experience in charge of federal disaster planning, instead of giving the office to some discredited horse lawyer whose sole qualification was being a loyal toady. Yeah.

How about it folks? Let's bring back the idea that knowledge is a good thing, not something to be scorned. Let's bring back the idea that cracking a book that doesn't feature a political jab on the front is worthwhile.

Let's forget about Bush, and go make some history of our own."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/4/123228/8066