If we win in 2008, how should the next President govern?

[Ignacio Upton]

For the past six years, we have seen nothing but blantant partisanship and disregard for facts and people who are outside the inner-circle of the President. We have seen a President repeat that he's "a uniter and not a divider" while he pushes for partisan legislation such as Social Security privatization. We have seen a White House that goes as far as to leak the name of a wife of a CIA agent who happens to correct its misuse of intel. We happen to see a President who politically co-opts creating the Department of Homeland Security and the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill (both Democratic ideas at first) and then run them into the ground.
My question for DUers is, should our President (emphasis on OUR, and not the President of the right-wing) govern in a way that is brash and involves snubbing people from the other side of the spectrum, or should we have a President who is more conciliatory. I feel that while punishing those who control the VRWC is a must, we do need a President who is genuinely willing to reach out to rank and file conservatives, and does not puruse war or bloated initatives just to score political points. We need a President who's goal is to repair the damage done by Bush, and have the conviction to make unpopular choices if need be (you know that a President Warner or a President Feingold will have to roll back the Bush tax cuts in 2009 to balance the budget, and this battle to do it will make the Clinton 1993 budget battles look like a game of cops and robbers.) The 44th President of the United States MUST be someone, who to paraphrase Lincoln, goes by the philosophy of "with malice towards none; with charity for all."

[Mend]

1. first right the wrongs, re-establish freedom, punish the

guilty fascists, and then maybe be nice.

[BillZBubb]

2. With an Iron Fist!

We must restore our liberties, restore fiscal discipline, regain respect around the world, and punish those guilty of crimes. The Repugs will fight every one of these things tooth and nail. They will give no quarter. The attacks will be relentless.

Our president will have to fight them every inch of the way, and he/she should do so without hesitation.

[Ksec]

3. For us

not corporate interests.

Thats simple enough , but it wont happen. Thats whats wrong with this country and nobody wants to admit it.

[Ksec]

5. To clarify

I would have no problem with gov helping our corporations IF they felt even, a slight responsibility towards the American people who made them what they are. We use our tax dollars to help them and they fk us by moving factories to China and India. They dont feel the slightest bit of responsibility towards us. Why should my tax dollars go to any corporation so traitorous?

[oneold1-4u]

4. One of the first items

Should be to dissolve all "NO BID" contracts with any and all businesses. Most of those are under the Halliburton umbrella and they should be made to repay any balance of every contract and any over payments or lost monies not accounted for.
If the government continues to do business with the "crooks" they will soon buy their way back into power again.

[unblock]

8. i would freeze all business with any no-bid recipient on ethical grounds.

any recipient of a no-bid contract KNOWS they are doing something unethical, if not illegal.
on those grounds, i would freeze halliburton out.

no bid == no contract.

if they want to live by flagrant partisanship at the expense of the nation, then they can die by it as well.

[Cleita]

16. This I agree with you one hundred percent.

I want all the participants in the shame of the last two presidential terms to be brought to justice one way or the other. Whatever it takes, whether freezing business with guilty contractors or indicting them and anyone else responsible for the crimes and wholesale stealing from the treasury. Whatever it takes.

[unblock]

6. first things first; ax ALL political appointees

and then do a massive reorg to bypass the banana republicans that have managed to get themselves into "non-political" positions (banana republican corruption runs deep). underfund the corrupted parts of federal bureaucracy and run the real business of government through the more trustworthy parts.

build genuine working relationships with the military and intelligence communities, again, being careful to cut out the banana republicans.

mind you, genuine republicans are ok, just not the ones who view loyalty to party as more important than loyalty to america and her principles.


THEN start investigating and prosecuting the SHIT out of the banana republicans from the shrub regime.
DO NOT make the mistake of starting these investigations while there are still banana republicans in a position to make a mockery of them.

[im10ashus]

7. IF we win??

Let's not be too negative here. Now eat your vegetables. :-)

[Vetinarii]

9. My presidential platform

1. Abolish the Dept of Homeland Scrutiny.
2. Reduce military spending by at least 50%.
3. Balance the budget. This has two parts:
  a. Propose a mechanism that automatically adjusts federal taxes (on lots of things, not just income) based on a formula that balances spending against economic growth.
  b. Introduce a "Pork Index", listing precisely how much money each individual Senator and Congresscritter has diverted from the federal budget for their own district.
4. Mandatory term limits for all legislators, not just presidents.
5. Introduce a permanent War Crimes Tribunal (judges, not politicians) to investigate alleged abuses of civilians and prisoners by US forces around the world, and prosecute the officers responsible.
6. Introduce a similar Citizen's Rights Tribunal to investigate alleged abuses by domestic security agencies and public prosecutors.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

18. An excellent platform.

[newyawker99]

22. Hi Vetinarii!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[oneold1-4u]

10. "The last ditch" error

would be to think that the "regime in power" today would give up what they have, when they still have all the power they have taken for themselves.
Don't take it for granted that change will be totally peaceful!
They are threatening every day against dissenters with totally unwarranted arrests of peaceful protesters. A disaster at the Dem national convention is just as much a reality as 9/11!

[ArbustoBuster]

11. No mercy.

No mercy at all for the felons in the Bush Administration. They were let off with wrist-slaps after Watergate and were pardoned after Iran-Contra. This time we need to throw them in jail for the rest of their lives.

I understand the impetus to move forward with malice toward none, but in my opinion (which is only an opinion, of course, and persons of good will can disagree :)) we need to act immediately and forthrightly to jail the guilty so these bastards don't come back to haunt us again.

[Joe Fields]

12. It may take an entire first term to undo all of what Bush has

done, in the way of rollbacks and executive orders, not to mention lobbying to reverse legislation which has damaged Americans, like the Medicare bill, for example. I haven't even mentioned the amount of time it will take for the next president to travel around the world trying to heal all of the bad relationships that Bush has fostered. All in all, the next president's first term will or should be booked, because, even though Bush has spent half of his time vacationing and napping, he has been plenty busy with his scorched earth brand of governing.

The next president really won't be able to make his own impact upon this country until his or her second term

AL GORE-'08!

[Ignacio Upton]

13. Cleaning up that mess will be a bitch

And the next President will be targeted by the VRWC for "raising taxes," and if a recession, even a midl one happens durng the next President's term, you can bank of the right-wing to blame it on the policies used to clean up after Bush. One thing that we on the left need to do once we're back in charge is not retreat to the Clinton-era complacency that brought us an organized VRWC and the feeling that a vote for somone else like Nader won't matter. We need to keep the netroots mobalized in support of our President and to counter-act Limbaugh & Co.

[depakid]

14. Treat the Republicans exactly as they treated the Dems

Stop legitimizing the far right and relegate it far right back to the fringe where it belongs.

It's naive to think we can work with people like that- and it's just plain self-destructive to enable them.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

15. Should Govern As A President. Honorably, Graciously, Compassionately,

diplomatically, ethically, responsibly and with integrity.

They should govern in the spirit of the proud democratic way. They should reach out to all and stand on principle.

Wanting them to govern in such a way to just treat the repubs as we have been treated would make us no better then them. It would be stooping to freeper level and is shameful to even propose (I know you aren't proposing it, I just mean generally :) )

A dem president should govern in such a way that glorifies all of the ideals that are at our core. Honesty, integrity, compassion, ethics, responsibility, care of the environment, and a spirit of good will to all.

[blm]

23. That's the presidency we all HOPE for.

.

[Kerrytravelers]

17. Like an actual president... not a dictator.

[blm]

19. I think he should commit to OPEN BOOK GOVERNMENT and let the chips fall

where they may. It's past time we have government OF the people, BY the people, FOR the people and accountable TO the people.

Open the books on the biggest scandals of government. There should be no excuse for any blacked out sections of the Kennedy assassination, dealings with Nazi government, MLK investigation, Watergate, UFOs, IranContra, BCCI, Iraqgate. OPEN THE BOOKS.

[Cleita]

20. If only!

It's the right thing to do yet I think this will get huge resistance from both sides of the aisle.

[leftofthedial]

21. 1. totalitarian, ruthless extermination of all neo-theocon criminals

and their accomplices; withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, of course

2. destruction of the fundie infrastructure, including drastic modification of tax laws.

3. nationalize the oil industry, the arms industry, the healthcare industry and national broadcast and cable news media

4a. destruction of the privileged operation of corporations and the absurd principle that corporations have individual rights

4b. taxation of corporations escalated to the max; to the gulag with any executive earning more than 20 times the average worker; loss of license to operate for any corporation using offshore accounts to dodge taxes; loss of license to operate for any corporation that offshores one American job

5. taxation of the wealthy until they are middle class--something on the order of a one-time windfall tax on the obcene breaks they've received during the bush gang's rule of terrror, and then a 99% top tax bracket

6. implementation by executive order of universal health care

7. once the heavy lifting is done in turning America back into a modern nation, elimination of the totalitarian powers assumed by the bush crime gang and implementation of a charity and love and warm fuzzies government.

[Rocknrule]

24. You're assuming the next Dem president won't be impeached

the second he takes the Oath of Office