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John Kerry: What do you want for our country in 2007?

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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 02:59 PM
Original message
John Kerry: What do you want for our country in 2007?
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 03:11 PM by globalvillage
Senator Kerry is looking for your thoughts on how to move America forward in 2007. Many of you have said here in DU what you would like to see our new Democratic Congress do in the coming year. Here's your chance. Tell him what your priorities are for the country in '07.

Check out the blog and leave a comment.


I'm interested in hearing what you want in 2007 for our country. What are your goals and priorities for our nation? I won't be available today to respond to comments but I am interested in hearing from you.

Happy New Year, my friends.

-- John


edit please leave comments at the following link:

http://blog.johnkerry.com/2007/01/happy_new_year.html
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mdmc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:01 PM
Response to Original message
1. I want liberal leadership in the DEM party
Kerry, you are on of the good guys in our party. I hated your Iraq tripe, but you are one great American!
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diane in sf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 04:33 PM
Response to Reply #1
20. I agree (eom)
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dwahzon Donating Member (338 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:01 PM
Response to Original message
2. Thanks for the alert
on this, globalvillage.

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Initech Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:04 PM
Response to Original message
3. Hmmm... easy one... oh yeah - GET THE FUCK OUT OF IRAQ!!!
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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:07 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. He won't read it here.
You have to go to the Kerry blog.

I would advise slightly more reserved language, they edit over there.
:-)
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beachmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:04 PM
Response to Original message
4. This is no joke. Remember a year ago when JK posted on dailykos
and a million people screamed "Filibuster Alito" at him, and he went and did a crazy thing and gave it a whirl? Well, who's to say that won't happen again? I already went in and told him what I thought should happen with Iraq policy -- somehow I think many DUers may agree with me on that score.
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malaise Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:09 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. Get out of Iraq and
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 03:14 PM by malaise
Impeach Bush
Sp.
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beachmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. Go to that link and tell him; otherwise he won't know how you feel. n/t
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 03:11 PM by beachmom
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zalinda Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:20 PM
Response to Original message
8. I read the comments there and couldn't
think of a thing to add.

zalinda
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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:25 PM
Response to Original message
9. YAWN. Now he's copying Edward's populist message...give it up, John.
My priority for 2007 is to vote for any Dem other than Hillary and you.

J
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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. Happy New Year, what do you want for '07
is Edwards' message?

Damn, lots of people copying that one.
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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:41 PM
Response to Reply #9
12. Kerry doesn't have to copy anyone's populist message.
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 03:47 PM by ProSense
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) -- Leans People Party: Throughout his career, Kerry has defined himself on issues other than kitchen table economic issues, such as international terrorism. But last year he made a very bold move in sponsoring legislation to give workers the same rights as corporations in international trade deals. That said, this year he voted for the Oman Free Trade Agreement, over the strong objections of labor, human rights and environmental groups. Kerry's overall record -- especially recently -- suggests he strongly leans toward the People Party, and my guess is he will go toward this direction if he runs for President.
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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:51 PM
Response to Reply #12
14. Yeah...yeah. Still shilling for John, I see.
Your boy tried and FAILED. He has no chance in HELL of capturing the South in a general election, and in general US polls, he doesn't rate high in likability.

J
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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:03 PM
Response to Reply #14
22. I didn't write that piece, but to your point: he did it before and can do it again. n/t
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rox63 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:08 PM
Response to Reply #14
23. Your guy ran in 2004 and also failed
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 05:10 PM by rox63
Edwards couldn't win the nomination in 2004. Didn't he also "already have his chance"? Since when is there only one chance?
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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:56 PM
Response to Reply #23
29. Edwards was not my man. Dean was my hopeful.
I'm still convinced that if not lynched by the MSM, Dean would have cleaned the Chimp's clock in a general election.

J
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karynnj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 07:12 PM
Response to Reply #29
37. He was not lynched by the media
The scream happened after he already imploded in Iowa. He was favored to win and got 18% to Kerry's 38% and Edwards' 32%. Kerry then got momentum from that win - just like other candidates who convincingly win a primary. People looked at Kerry a second time - and liked what they saw.
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ray of light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:33 PM
Response to Reply #14
54. umm...stating the obvious too...Your boy failed in 04 too. Ditch him.
Vote for Hillary. She didn't fail in o4. But Clarke, Edwards, Kerry, and Dean all failed in 04. Gore failed in 2000.


The only one left is Hillary. And my Republican brother is just praying as hard as he can that Democrats pick Hill.
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beachmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #9
13. Big difference between Kerry and Edwards
Edwards solicited advice for whether he should run AFTER he had already made his decision. John Kerry would never patronize people like that. He actually reads this stuff and keeps it in mind. As I said upthread, he listened to the call to filibuster Alito on dailykos.
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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:54 PM
Response to Reply #13
15. Right. And, he also gave a forceful floor statement on the DSM...
Kerry, while a fine man and Senator, will NEVER be President.

Care to lay a wager on his winning the Dem primaries? No? I didn't think so...

J
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beachmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 04:40 PM
Response to Reply #15
21. He called for an investigation of the DSM; only NINE senators
signed on. He's way out in front; I wish the others would catch up.
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MH1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:31 PM
Response to Reply #15
27. So, what did Edwards have to say about the DSM?
Could you regale us with the story of how the shining knight John Edwards, on his white horse and wielding his gleaming sabre, hewed down all the evil republican trolls and brought the DSM to the light of the media and the entire American public, thus forcing an investigation leading to the impeachment of those who lied us into war?

:popcorn:


Oh, wait...

:eyes:
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fedupinBushcountry Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:02 PM
Response to Reply #15
43. Care to admit
why you are so afraid of a Kerry run ? If he "will never be President" according to YOU, then what are you chirping about ?
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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 11:26 PM
Response to Reply #43
58. I'm afraid that the DU Kerry Corp can't understand political realities.
The reality is this...

In poll after poll the majority of Americans do not favor John Kerry. They find him stiff and snotty. Granted this might be a silly way to judge someone or pick a President, but until our country's average IQ rises above 90 most will treat the 2008 elections like a popularity contest. In a popularity contest with most of the frontrunners on the other side, Kerry would struggle mightly (and maybe lose). Our country has gone through enough bullshit over the past 8 years of Chimperior reign and it's not enough to have Dem out front that will just "squeek by." We need more certainty in our candidate to offset the persistent Southern states problem.

I don't hate Kerry. I just don't think he's a candidate who will give us a healthy margin going into the general election.

J
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JI7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 11:33 PM
Response to Reply #58
59. ?
i don't see the point of your posts. it's not a matter of whether Kerry will run or win or anything. some people just like him and would support him if he does run. if he doesn't win, then that's that. you seem to be holding some grudge or something. as if people don't even have a right to like or support someone because you don't.

nobody is coming here and claiming Kerry will win for sure and making bets with everyone that it will happen. you are assuming your way of thinking on other people.

and the original thread post was from a blog piece on how Democrats are going to start leading Congress and asking for people's thoughts on what they would like to happen.

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MH1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:28 PM
Response to Reply #13
26. Yeah, that was real "populist" wasn't it?
"Tell me what you think! Really!'

(pssst...I've already made up my mind...)
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JI7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:12 PM
Response to Reply #9
24. that's crap, Kerry has done the same before many times
asking people their thoughts. he responds back many times also such as on Kos, huffingtonpost and other sites.

and i see you change the subject after others brought up that fact. if you don't want to support him that's fine.
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politicasista Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:26 PM
Response to Reply #9
25. He has a right just as the others to do what he wants
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 05:37 PM by politicasista
If you think that trashing a good dem like Kerry while promoting Edwards in the same sentence is going to help Edwards, then you are in for a rude awakening. It only makes him look bad.

If you think the media will go easy on him or any other Democratic candidate except Kerry, then you are in for a rude awakening.
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LittleClarkie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 06:48 PM
Response to Reply #9
32. Any plans beyond the freakin' primaries, dude?
He's done this sort of thing before, and it's been suggested to him by some that he be more connected to the net roots. Why would that be a bad thing.

And even if he's copying, why would copying a good idea be a bad thing? He's proven before that he actually responds, and leaving him a message isn't voting in the primary.

The primaries are a long way off, by the way. Don't tell me that's all you're focussed on ALREADY?
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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 08:51 PM
Response to Reply #32
41. Continue to shill for guy. I know the Kerry Corp are active around here.
So, here's my retort...

Why don't you bet your screen name, if you think that Kerry is SO GREAT and will win the Democratic primaries? Come on, support your man! I'll bet right now my screen name that he doesn't.

I'll stand by my convictions...how about you?

J
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TayTay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:01 PM
Response to Reply #41
42. You want to bet someone's screen name on a primary?
Why? Is the degradation of the process of evaluating and nominating candidates so complete that now somehow the only way to prove allegiance is to bet on the meaningless? How terribly sad.

I am sorry that someone's else conviction drives you crazy. That must be awful. Perhaps you should try posting positive things about the people who like, maybe detail what you think they will do for this country and what they believe in. That is usually preferable to going in and randomly and nonsensically trashing someone else.

You see, if someone else does win, they also have to win everyone in the Dem Party over to their side to support them. Memories of being trashed for nonsensical things makes that harder. Would you bet your screen name on whether or not Gen. Clark or anyone else would like to see that on the blogs? Do you really think that they would want you to only consider them through negative lenses? Is that all you really have to offer?
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LittleClarkie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:05 PM
Response to Reply #41
44. How was my post a shill for the guy? What do you mean by shilling anyway?
As in, do you think I get paid?

How do I bet my screen name if we can't change out screen names?

Not that it matter's by the way, but I started off way back when as a Clarkie, and used to call myself on another board "just a little Clarkie for Kerry" which for some reason caught on.

How about an answer as opposed to a retort?

Why yawn and accuse Kerry of copying? How does that do anything at all? It's still a Senator asking for feedback if nothing else. Why not give it to him?

It's not about supporting him for president. I'm not worried about that right now. I've supported Clark and Dean and Edwards when they needed it.

I'm a Democrat you see. They're Dems. I support them. How about getting your head out of the primaries, like I said?
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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:21 PM
Response to Reply #41
46. I don't understand your comments.
Is there some reason you're opposed to people posting their support of Democrats on this board?
I thought that was the point.
These folks all seem to be longtime posters here, with the same rights as everyone else. They also appear to be contributors, as their stars indicate.
Did someone put you in charge of who can support whom at DU, or are you just looking for an excuse to argue with someone?
No one is attacking you. Why are you doing this?
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JI7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:27 PM
Response to Reply #41
48. how fucking old are you ?
who the fuck talks like this ? if he doesn't win the primary then he doesn't win it.

but what's with all this shit abou t"yo u wanna bet he wont win" . does it make you feel like a big man or something.

maybe you forgot but this is a Democratic board and people will post articles on people who are Dems. you might not always like them but they do have a right to post.

none of your posts on here have any substance. just jackass emotional respones. first you claim Kerry is copying Edwards when pointed out Kerry has done this many times before you bring up some other shit.

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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:05 PM
Response to Reply #48
49. Please patronize elsewhere.
I was simply making a point that the Kerry cheerleading crew around here at DU does a great job of talking up their man, but when it comes to actually standing for their convictions they fold like a house of cards. Kerry had his chance and blew it. That's my opinion...take it or leave it.

J

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JI7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:24 PM
Response to Reply #49
52. that made no sense at all
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karynnj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 07:09 PM
Response to Reply #9
36. Kerry was a grassroots activist years before Edwards
As to reaching out to speak to people, Kerry has done this several times on Dkos and other blogs for over a year - before Edwards did. The technology exists - I expect ALL candidates will do it.

To suggest that Edwards has greater claim to being a grass roots activist than John Kerry ignores theri biographies.

- Kerry was a leader in the anti-war movement in the 1970s
- Kerry was involved in the environmental movement before he was allowed to protest the Vietnam War - he gave a speech at the first earth day in Boston in 1970.
- Kerry was with Allard Lowenstein in the 1970s giving speeches to persuade young people to register to vote.

- Kerry in the 1990s when he re-introduced the bill he authored and sponsored with Wellstone on Clean elections, spoke on the Senate floor about how citizen activism was heard every time the country needed changing.

- After the defeat in November 2004, it was Kerry who reached out with a message to get involved and then provided easy ways for people to do so. I know he motivated people I know in my community to stay involved if they were and to get involved if they weren't.

- In January 2005, at the Brookings institute, when Kerry spoke on the environment partially on what people, organizations and states could do given that little was getting done at the federal government level.

- In April, 2005, as part of a speech that has since developed furthur that he has especially used at colleges, Kerry has pushed people to become activists. Kerry spoke of the 1970s environmental movement, telling how they voted 7 of the dirty dozen out of office, The dirty dozen were the 12 Congress people who the LCV designated the wost in the country. He then spoke about how that action moved Congress to pass good environmental literature.

Some of that activist message was on the segment that Luntz tested - Kerry scored better than anyone else on this segment.

When did Edwards become an activist? From his biography, he was not particularly invoved in politics until he ran for the Senate. It takes a lot of nerve to say that Kerry in
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Mass Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 07:27 PM
Response to Reply #9
38. He has been saying that for at least two years.
Edwards does not have a monopoly on these issues, you know.
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TayTay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 08:24 PM
Response to Reply #9
39. All elected officials ask what their constituents want
That is part of being an elected official. That didn't start in this century or in that last. It is a part of running and keeping elected office.

It is a strange claim to make that asking people what they think should be the priorities of the nation is somehow proprietary to any one person. Ahm, that is rather like saying that one person invented air and we are all cribbing off the by the act of breathing. Ah, no, that is what people do.
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blm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 10:05 AM
Response to Reply #9
61. HAHAH...Kerry hasn't copied ANYONE in over 35 years. He certainly wouldn't start now
and 'copy' Edwards.
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Gregorian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 03:40 PM
Response to Original message
11. Justice.
Blind justice. Not Limbaugh justice.
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4nic8em Donating Member (382 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 04:02 PM
Response to Original message
16. The exact same thing
that I wanted in 2000, and much more of the same thing I wanted in 2004. Sorry for the generality...way too long to list. I don't expect this new Dem Congress and Senate to perform miracles, however, I do expect to see a hell of a lot more of what I heard before and during the midterm run-up.
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diane in sf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 04:11 PM
Response to Original message
17. thank you for the alert--my entry...
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 04:31 PM by diane in sf

My first wish is for honest elections.

Our election process should NOT be privatized. We should be using paper ballots and counting them in public view with representatives from all interested parties free to observe. Our voting is now in the hands of Christian Dominionist Republicans and defense contractors. If the election situation is cleaned up, we will never have to worry about a Republican majority again. Anyone who ever studied statistics and looked at exit polls vs reported votes will realize the Republicans stole the last two presidential elections, a number of congressional races in 2002, 2004 and stole roughly 3m votes in this last set of races. Luckily this time they appear to have vastly underestimated the public's level of disgust.


My second wish is to have the Democrats go directly to the public for funding and bypass the corporations.

I will be happy to donate a sum each month. But better yet we should publicly fund elections and restrict the amount of money that can be spent on any campaign. 30 second ads are bs, kill any intelligent discussion of issues and are just a cash cow for the media--who are using our publicly owned airwaves. We need to pry the corporate hands off our government. They should be subject to the rules we the people set up. They should not be running our government and writing our laws.


My third wish is to get out of Iraq, now.

We need to wean ourselves off oil and we can go a long way toward doing this with existing technologies. Developing new sources of power and new types of autos will create local jobs that cannot be exported. New clean technologies (wind, solar, better batteries, bio fuels--not nuclear or coal) will also help address the issue of global warming. Clean, decentralized power is also not a viable target for terrorists like a nice juicy oil refinery or oil pipeline or nuclear power plant.


My fourth wish is for single payer health insurance for all Americans.

This is something all civilized industrial countries have. We are now paying too much and getting too little.


My fifth wish is for every effort to be made to support the middle and lower classes.

This means a fairer tax structure. This means penalizing corporations for sending their jobs overseas and hiding their income from taxes. This means supporting unions, public education, inheritance taxes, and minimum wages.

A wish or two I forgot to mention!

1. Very thorough investigation into any and all crimes committed by the Bush administration and their cronies followed by prosecution, impeachment and restitution of stolen money. This last should include such things as Halliburton no-bid contracts. This would also include impeachment of appointees, since the appointers were never actually elected. If these creatures had been stopped and thoroughly prosecuted after Watergate or Contragate we might not have come to such a sorry state.

Please tie these creatures up so thoroughly that they have no time to start a war on Iran and Syria, plan any more terrorist attacks or do anything except spend time with their attorneys.

I still want to know who put all the puts on United and American Airlines stock before 9.11. I don't think this is too much to ask.

2. Rescinding garbage legislation including, but not limited to: the bankruptcy bill, The "Patriot" Acts, any Orwellian named thing like "Clean Air, Healthy Forests, NCLB," and the increased arsenic in the drinking water bill.

3. A Happy New Year and fresh new start to all of us:

Health, Wealth and Happiness!

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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 04:12 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. Excellent list. n/t.
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diane in sf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 04:32 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. thanks--I just added to it (eom)
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Island Blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 05:55 PM
Response to Original message
28. K & R.
Thanks for the heads up, Globalvillage. Imagine - a leader who is actually willing to listen.
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dwahzon Donating Member (338 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 06:32 PM
Response to Original message
30. Thanks
for posting this, GV.

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kster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 06:45 PM
Response to Original message
31. To get the Politicians to accept the fact, that
a hell of allot of us know about the vote manipulating machines, and for them politicians to make REAL changes in e-counting.

A hell of allot of us know what REAL changes mean, in other words stop trying to make us believe you are doing something about the problem, when you are just trying to word your solution to the e-counting problem in a way that looks like reform is being done, but in the end the manipulation continues.

When I say REAL, I mean REAL!!! To dumb it down, Your kid is running for class president, the kids vote, and then the Principle takes the votes, and tries to count them in his office, IN SECRET. Would you allow that? REAL E-Counting Reform.

GOT IT?
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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 06:56 PM
Response to Reply #31
34. Do you really think he'll hear you in DU?
Why don't you post to his blog? You have a very important issue that needs addressed by Congress, and he's looking for your input.
Probably not necessary to dumb it down for the Senator, though, he's a pretty smart guy. I think he'll get it.
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SammyWinstonJack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 06:53 PM
Response to Original message
33. Impeach george and cheney and restore our Democracy! Is that too much to ask for?
Next, a national health care program, you congress people enjoy one courtesy of us tax payers, why not the same for us? Restore our jobs, again, it that too much to ask for? Make the Corporations pay their fair share in taxes, after all, they benefit from American labor, do they not? And Sen. Kerry, take it from there! I have so much faith in you, I know you have faith in us!
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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 06:59 PM
Response to Reply #33
35. Please post this, Blue State.
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MH1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 08:31 PM
Response to Reply #33
40. Corporations to pay fair share in taxes...
Kerry introduced a bill last session, that I'm sure he'll reintroduce in the 110th, called Export Products not Jobs.

It closes a lot of tax loopholes that currently give corporations incentives to move jobs overseas.

I think you'd like it. Don't get scared off by the small decrease in the top corporate tax rate - keep in mind that Europe has much lower corporate taxes than we do, and that situation also contributes to giving corporations incentives to move jobs overseas. Making our rates closer to Europe's only makes sense. The revenue is made up by closing the other loopholes, so "good" corporations (who keep jobs here) are rewarded, "bad" corporations (who offshore jobs) will end up paying more taxes. (Unfortunately some lefties run screaming from the room at the mere mention of cutting the top corporate rate, without stopping to get the facts and think).
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stillcool Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:16 PM
Response to Original message
45. .....................
Corporate Government be gone and soldiers come home. Open the books, get rid of the crooks. Make 2007 be the year the "White-Collar-Criminal" gets nailed...or hung.
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wisteria Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:22 PM
Response to Original message
47. Run Senator Kerry Run, throw your hat into the ring. We need your
wisdom and your leadership.

Now besides that, we need to bring the Iraq war to and end, have the Iraq's take over their own country and start bringing our soldiers home. Real security should be addressed.
We need to address the lack of job opportunties in this country- not the part time jobs without benefits, but good jobs that pay a decdent wage for a decent days work.
We need to make sure all children have access to healthcare and when we have taken care of them we should start looking into good healthcare for all Americans.
And, higher education should be less expensive and available to everyone who wants to pursue it.
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Cleita Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:11 PM
Response to Original message
50. My wish isn't really very nice.
Edited on Mon Jan-01-07 10:12 PM by Cleita
After all the years that the neo-cons and their enablers have spent destroying our country, I would like to see all those conservatives loaded on ships and sent somewhere else. I would like to see the GOP made illegal like the Nazi party was in Germany after WWII to accomplish this. But this isn't really liberal of me is it? Forget it.
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wisteria Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 10:34 AM
Response to Reply #50
63. Actually, sometimes the rules have to be broken to do what is best
for our country.
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pitohui Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:12 PM
Response to Original message
51. i tried but my message failed boo hoo
please senator kerry universal health care
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jillan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:31 PM
Response to Original message
53. Done!
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globalvillage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:37 PM
Response to Reply #53
55. Hey you!
How are ya?

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derby378 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 11:15 PM
Response to Original message
56. Here's my wish list...
I want US troops out of Iraq. Period. I want them redeployed to Darfur, the Congo, and of course Afghanistan. Last I heard, Osama bin Laden is still on the run, and we've been meaning to have a little chat with him about this whole 9/11 affair.

I want a workable, universal, single-payer health care system where every American can get the treatment they need for whatever condition they have without some insurance company bean-counter telling her that she can't get the medicine she really needs in order to make it through the day.

I want the Department of Homeland Security abolished. They proved their worthlessness with their anemic response to Hurricane Katrina and its devastation of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. FEMA needs to be freed to do what it did best before the DHS made the scene - namely, managing disasters and other emergencies.

I want a multi-spectrum approach to cutting down on pollution and global warming. The ice caps are disintegrating, weather patterns are changing, and the Gulf Stream itself may be in danger unless we get serious about these critical issues.

I want scientific observation and experience to be unshackled from any sort of religious and/or political dogma. As Bill Nye once said, "Science rules."

And yes, it's all there on the blog. Enjoy!
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Imagevision Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 11:18 PM
Response to Original message
57. I want a government for the people and by the people, not lobbyist controlled
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karynnj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 12:22 AM
Response to Reply #57
60. Which seems Kerry's wish as well:
Edited on Tue Jan-02-07 12:26 AM by karynnj
Here's his Senate speech on Clean Elections, which Kerry authored, when he and Wellstone resubmitted it:

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I want to speak before you today about a critical challenge before this Senate--the challenge of reforming the way in which elections are conducted in the United States; the challenge of ending the ``moneyocracy'' that has turned our elections into auctions where public office is sold to the highest bidder. I want to implore the Congress to take meaningful steps this year to ban soft money, strengthen the Federal Election Commission, provide candidates the opportunity to pay for their campaigns with clean money, end the growing trend of dangerous sham issue ads, and meet the ultimate goal of restoring the rights of average Americans to have a stake in their democracy. Today I am proud to join with my colleague from Minnesota, PAUL WELLSTONE, to introduce the ``Clean Money'' bill which I believe will help all of us entrusted to shape public policy to arrive at a point where we can truly say we are rebuilding Americans' faith in our democracy.
For the last 10 years, I have stood before you to push for comprehensive campaign reform. We have made nips and tucks at the edges of the system, but we have always found excuses to hold us back from making the system work. It's long past time that we act--in a comprehensive way--to curtail the way in which soft money and the big special interest dollars are crowding ordinary citizens out of this political system.
Today the political system is being corrupted because there is too much unregulated, misused money circulating in an environment where candidates will do anything to get elected and where, too often, the special interests set the tone of debate more than the political leaders or the American people. Just consider the facts for a moment. The rising cost of seeking political office is outrageous. In 1996, House and Senate candidates spent more than $765 million, a 76% increase since 1990 and a six fold increase since 1976. Since 1976, the average cost for a winning Senate race went from $600,000 to $3.3 million, and in the arms race for campaign dollars in 1996 many of us were forced to spend significantly more than that. In constant dollars, we have seen an increase of over 100 percent in the money spent for Senatorial races from 1980 to 1994. Today Senators often spend more time on the phone ``dialing for dollars'' than on the Senate floor. The average Senator must raise $12,000 a week for six years to pay for his or her re-election campaign.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The use of soft money has exploded. In 1988, Democrats and Republicans raised a combined $45 million in soft money. In 1992 that number doubled to reach $90 million and in 1995-96 that number tripled to $262 million. This trend continues in this cycle. What's the impact of all that soft money? It means that the special interests are being heard. They're the ones with the influence. But ordinary citizens can't compete. Fewer than one third of one percent of eligible voters donated more than $250 in the electoral cycle of 1996. They're on the sidelines in what is becoming a coin-operated political system.
The American people want us to act today to forge a better system. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 77% of the public believes that campaign finance reform is needed ``because there is too much money being spent on political campaigns, which leads to excessive influence by special interests and wealthy individuals at the expense of average people.'' Last spring a New York Times found that an astonishing 91% of the public favor a fundamental transformation of this system.
Cynics say that the American people don't care about campaign finance. It's not true. Citizens just don't believe we'll have the courage to act--they're fed up with our defense of the status quo. They're disturbed by our fear of moving away from this status quo which is destroying our democracy. Soft money, political experts tell us, is good for incumbents, good for those of us within the system already. Well, nothing can be good for any elected official that hurts our democracy, that drives citizens out of the process, and which keeps politicians glued to the phone raising money when they ought to be doing the people's business. Let's put aside the status quo, and let's act today to restore our democracy, to make it once more all that the founders promised it could be.
Let us pass the Clean Mo ney Bill to restore faith in our government in this age when it has been so badly eroded.
Let us recognize that the faith in government and in our political process which leads Americans to go to town hall meetings, or to attend local caucuses, or even to vote--that faith which makes political expression worthwhile for ordinary working Americans--is being threatened by a political system that appears to reward the special interests that can play the game and the politicians who can game the system.
Each time we have debated campaign finance reform in this Senate, too many of our colleagues have safeguarded the status quo under the guise of protecting the political speech of the Fortune 500. But today we must pass campaign finance reform to protect the political voice of the 250 million ordinary, working Americans without a fortune. It is their dwindling faith in our political system that must be restored.

Twenty five years ago, I sat before the Foreign Relations Committee, a young veteran having returned from Vietnam. Behind me sat hundreds of veterans committed to ending the war the Vietnam War. Even then we questioned whether ordinary Americans, battle scarred veterans, could have a voice in a political system where the costs of campaigns, the price of elected office seemed prohibitive. Young men who had put their life on the front lines for their country were worried that the wall of special interests between the people and their government might have been too thick even then for our voices to be heard in the corridors of power in Washington, D.C.
But we had a reserve of faith left, some belief in the promise and the influence of political expression for all Americans. That sliver of faith saved lives. Ordinary citizens stopped a war that had taken 59,000 American lives.

Every time in the history of this republic when we have faced a moral challenge, there has been enough faith in our democracy to stir the passions of ordinary Americans to act--to write to their Members of Congress; to come to Washington and speak with us one on one; to walk door to door on behalf of issues and candidates; and to vote on election day for people they believe will fight for them in Washington.
It's the activism of citizens in our democracy that has made the American experiment a success. Ordinary citizens--at the most critical moments in our history--were filled with a sense of efficacy. They believed they had influence in their government.

Today those same citizens are turning away from our political system. They believe the only kind of influence left in American politics is the kind you wield with a checkbook. The senior citizen living on a social security check knows her influence is inconsequential compared to the interest group that can saturate a media market with a million dollars in ads that play fast and loose with the facts. The mother struggling to find decent health care for her children knows her influence is trivial compared to the special interests on K Street that can deliver contributions to incumbent politicians struggling to stay in office.
But I would remind you that whenever our country faces a challenge, it is not the special interests, but rather the average citizen, who holds the responsibility to protect our nation. The next time our nation faces a crisis and the people's voice needs to be heard to turn the tide of history, will the average American believe enough in the process to give words to the feelings beyond the beltway, the currents of public opinion that run beneath the surface of our political dialogue?
In times of real challenge for our country in the years to come, will the young people speak up once again? Not if we continue to hand over control of our political system to the special interests who can infuse the system with soft money and with phony television ads that make a mockery of the issues.

The children of the generation that fought to lower the voting age to 18 are abandoning the voting booth themselves. Polls reveal they believe it is more likely that they'll be abducted by aliens than it is that their vote will make a real difference. For America's young people the MTV Voter Participation Challenge ``Choose or Lose'' has become a cynical joke. In their minds, the choice has already been lost--lost to the special interests. That is a loss this Senate should take very seriously. That is tremendous damage done to our democracy, damage we have a responsibility in this Senate to repair. Mr. President, with this legislation we are introducing today, we can begin that effort--we can repair and revitalize our political process, and we can guarantee ``clean el ections'' fu nded by ``clean mo ney,'' elections wh ere our citizens are the ones who make the difference"

I love this speech - in its respect for grassroots activists and against the "moneytocrity". This was a Senate speech heard only by CSPAN addicts. This was not grandstanding, saying the words honoring the voice of people - if it were he would have selected a different audience.

Last year, Kerry gave 4 excellent Speeches at Faneuil Hall in Boston - a building that has been the place for discussion since the revolutionary war. Kerru's speeches are an attempt to start a discourse on where we should be going. Senator Kerry is a unique mix of statesman, public servant and activist - that's what his life shows and who he is.

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beachmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 10:30 AM
Response to Original message
62. Kick. nt
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emmadoggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 02:14 PM
Response to Original message
64. Here is my post...
I want all of the above. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has set us back and done SO much damage the last six years that it will take many years to undo and repair it all - and sadly, many things can't be fixed.
But just to get things started I would like 2007 to kick off with...
1. Hold the Bush administration accountable and restore our Democracy!! Investigate and Impeach!! They have commited a laundry list of impeachable offenses and if they are not held to account it sets a dangerous precedent for our country.

2. Single-payer healthcare for all.

3. Raise the minimum wage - quickly, not stepped-out over several years. We have too much ground to make up.

4. Please, please, please throw the following in the GARBAGE where they belong....The Military Commissions Act!!!! The Patriot Act, NCLB, Clear Skies etc.

5. Hand-counted paper ballots throughout the land.

6. Media Reform!! The situation with the corporate-owned media is a large part of why we have fallen into such a mess and the Bush administration has gotten away with all of their corruption and crimes. The media is supposed to be the government watchdog for the public. Instead, we now have a government propaganda machine.

7. Close the corporate tax loopholes and make them start paying their fair share!!

8. SERIOUS and IMMEDIATE attention with REAL ACTION on global warming and the environment. Time is quickly running out!!

9. Get us out of Iraq!! Restore our good name in the world. Use our power as a force for GOOD in the world - not war and oppression.

10. Restore FEMA to a competent and working agency.

11. Implement the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. Secure our ports and borders.

12. Campaign finance and lobbying reforms.

13. Get the Stem Cell Research bill passed.

And there is so much more work that will need to be done, but this will be plenty for this year and beyond.
Thank you, Senator Kerry, for your hard work, dedication, and integrity and for caring about what the people of this country want! Happy New Year to you and your family!


:)
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leftofthedial Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 02:19 PM
Response to Original message
65. I don't give a shit
it's too late for this country--Dems, repukes . . . it hardly matters.

progressive leadership could take over now and it would be too little too late.

I just want a fucking job.
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wisteria Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 02:55 PM
Response to Reply #65
66. I hope you are able to find work.
And, please keep in mind, leadership does make a difference.
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leftofthedial Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-02-07 05:07 PM
Response to Reply #66
67. Actually, I'm semi-optimistic that we'll have a positive change over
the next few years.

I see some token pro-worker talk from Democrats, but not what I'd call a progressive agenda. I also see a horrifying acceptance of the repuke crimes of the last 30 years as just business as usual.

Our democracy is on life support. The environment is already across a global warming line from which there is no retreat.
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