If Dems win control of Congress in 2006, what's their immediate agenda?

[FormerRepublican]

Bush has made such a wreck of things, there's obviously a lot of work to do to put the house in order. If Dems win control, they'll have some power to get things done - at least on those things Bush doesn't veto.

What do you think Dems will put on the agenda first after they take control? Will a Dem congressional sweep end the Bush secretive government? Will Bush start vetoing every bill that hits his desk?

I'd like to see the Dem agenda in advance of November 2006...

[Technowitch]

1. Investigate, subpeona, and prosecute

That's the start my friend. And the list of things to investigate and drag into the open is a very long one.

WMDs
Katrina
Medicare
Torture
Domestic warrantless spying
Lobbyist corruption
9/11
Election fraud
...

It goes on and on.

[KingFlorez]

4. Good list

Like you said, it goes on and on. The budget is out of control, so I'm guessing that is going to be a top priority of Democrats win.

[Neil Lisst]

7. I concur and adopt by reference my colleague's post.

I ask uninanimous consent that it be added to the record.

[cascadiance]

10. You have a good list to start with here!

I do agree the first step will be to "clear the deck" of corruption. Get rid of the bad eggs in congress and look to impeach Bush and Cheney right away together. Once this is done, then clean out the executive branch when Nancy Pelosi takes over to start fresh with some new faces with perhaps just about everyone except Norm Mineta as a Dem, but even he we might want to replace. Ensure that proper whistleblower protection is in place and then give those that have been "muzzled" like Sibel Edmonds and Russell Tice a chance to either have their day in court, or testify before congress. If the Supreme Court and other court judges/officials are found to have been complicit in White House wrongdoings and subsequent coverups with the "state secrets" act protections (Hello SCOTUS and Reggie Walton?!), then formalize proceedings to impeach them too. Perhaps impeach them before going after Bush, so that we might get someone other than Roberts to preside as judge over congress in an impeachment trial.

Other things to do once we've cleared the deck:
- Universal Health Care Coverage
- Review our NAFTA/CAFTA, etc. treaties and decide if they need to be revised (to have competitive clauses for workers' rights, etc. too) before we continue to honor them.
- Shut down ANWR oil drilling efforts
- RESTORE funding to alternative energy research WITHOUT any strings attached like Bushco has constantly been doing!
- Start work on getting a nationwide "Clean Elections" public financing bill for elections.
- Perhaps if we have supermajorities in either 2006 or 2008, proceed to put together a constitutional ammendment protecting a women's right to choose, so it is no longer an area of judicial interpretation that would allow Roe V. Wade to be overturned.
- Put together a constitutional ammendment to snsure that the rights of "personhood" only applies to human beings, NOT corporations! This we might have to wait until we clear out the deadwood of the DLC first though (which might not happen until 2008)
- If Pelosi is brought to power in 2007 and/or Feingold in 2008, at that time help Ginsberg and other justices that might be considering leaving SCOTUS retire quickly so that we can replace them with the youngest and healthiest liberal judges possible (NO MORE consulting of Orrin Hatch to get recommendations of folks that have limited potential time spans on SCOTUS like was done with Ginsberg).
- Beef up laws that penalize and prosecute those who would hire illegal aliens for Americans' jobs. Put together a decent nationwide program not for a nationwide ID that won't be TRACKED centrally, but will allow employers and others in power to immediately accurately validate someones' citizenship to help with this effort. Make it like validating the newer currency we have.
- Restore bankruptcy protection for those who need it.
- Put in place short term (but not TOO short) CORRECTIVE higher top marginal tax rates like those in the 60's (90%, etc.) to get back the revenue lost from 1980 onward with all of these corruption obtained tax cuts that the Republicans have been grabbing from us to fuel the economic divide we currently have.
- Look at going back to the table with other countries on signing Kyoto, and working on other means to help with the problems of Global Warming issues.
- Revisit the Telecommunications Act, and bring back some of the regulations that were lost there and put newer ones in place for the newer technologies to foster greater competition and service to the American Public, including a restoration of the Fairness Doctrine that has been brought up-to-date. In the process, perhaps proceed with breaking up some of the monopolies/oligopolies that have been created from that (Clear Channel, Sinclair Broadcasting, Newscorp, etc.)
- Put in newer legislation guaranteeing that we won't have abuse with election fraud by going to open source software for voting machines, etc.
- Fix social security so that it is a flat tax, not a regressive one that taxes Bill Gates the same amount as many of us here get taxed.
- START PAYING DOWN THE DEFICIT so that we can start bring back the dollar as a worthy global investment instead of the falling mess it is now!
- Revamp Homeland Security so that it has crisis management experts in charge instead of the cronies we have there now.
-

[0rganism]

13. Every one of these (and calipendence's) proposals are reasons...

...for the GOPsters to commit yet more massive, shameless election fraud rather than seeing Dems gain control of either house of congress... EVER! The bushistas have gone out on such a long limb that they'd sooner kill the whole tree than take responsibility for their crimes.

[Rainscents]

2. There's so much to do, I would have to feel sorry for them.

Cleaning up the mess is a bitch!

[proud patriot]

3. lysol

:-)

[FormerRepublican]

5. Sunshine!!

Makes the cockroaches scramble...

[snowbear]

6. If we win, there are 3 words to remember:

PAYBACK IS HELL !!!!

Oh man, I can't wait....

[cynatnite]

8. Won't count my chickens before they hatch...

I absolutely refuse to. I counted them last time and was sorely disappointed.

[madokie]

22. I'll be expecting the worst so I won't be disappointed

[jobycom]

9. Triage--stop the bleeding.

Put the brakes on Bush's attempts to invade Iran, get an exit plan for Iraq, cut off spending to Bush's worst policies, and try to get a grip on the runaway deficit. Reverse Bush's welfare programs for the greedy, and block anything else he tries to do to crash the nation into the mountain.

Then investigate, starting with Bush's ongoing crimes, like eavesdropping and illegal prisoner detention and abuse. Go to the cold cases, like the Iraq intelligence, not for revenge, but to stop the damage and uncover where the real failures were. Prosecute if necessary.

That should keep them busy for the first week.

Let's focus on actually winning, though. We win them all on paper, but we wind up looking like the Buffalo Bills in the Superbowl.

[onehandle]

11. Deport Ann Coulter.

Send her to France.

[cascadiance]

12. Move both her and Kathleen Harris from their shared prison cell in Florida

to Guantanamo. That is, unless of course we decide to fix Guantanamo so we're not longer responsible for the abuse that's going on there.

[Justice Is Comin]

14. Okay.

Day one.....institute paygo.

Day two.....pass minimum wage increase.

Day three...pull all troops out of Iraq and impeach Bush. After lunch, explain how things are going to be reciprocated to the Minority.

[anitar1]

15. To keep the atatus Quo? n/t

[soothsayer]

16. kill warrantless wiretapping and repeal patriot act provisions

[Radio_Guy]

17. All those are good

I'd add reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. If we can't get enough liberals to counterbalance the reich-wing crap on the airwaves, then reduce the number of conservatives on the air. I'd start with Oxy Limbaugh, followed by Whiny Hanity and Faux News.

[bdot]

18. They'd vote themselves out cause they'd be too scared.

[alfredo]

19. Roll back the huge tax cuts, sundown the inheritance tax cuts,

reinvest that money into education and healthcare. End the occupation of Iraq, move some resources to the fight against al Qaeda and true homeland security. Refund alternate energy research, and push for efficiency not only from cars but from the corporate world and housing. Impeach, then roll back the immunity bush sought from the ICC.

Slow but surely identify each assault against our constitution and each case of economic terrorism bush committed against the American people and work to right those wrongs.

[leeroysphitz]

20. Ah-jendah? (nt)

[stewert]

21. Pass This Law........

Make it a crime for a journalist or news show host to knowingly tell lies on tv, on the radio, or in print. Have a mandatory 10 year prison sentence for anyone who breaks the law.

That would put O'Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, Gibson, etc. in jail for 10 years.