On the election outlook for Democrats next year:
"You could make the argument they [voters] are rejecting Democrats ... because if there is a Democratic program, it is not getting out there. They have become the Just Say No party. They have enough juice to offer a spirited defense on Social Security... [but] what they are not coming back with is a program that seems to matter to a majority of people. "
Daily Kos posted an outline awhile back:
Consumer and Taxpayer ProtectionWhile I believe most of these are worth developing, I have to disagree with a couple. Outsourcing is one. Without outsourcing, the US will fail to keep up with global competition. The best story about outsourcing is one that I saw during the election. A woman had just lost her job due to outsourcing and was complaining about how awful it is. The funny thing is, she worked at HONDA, and the plant had moved to her town from Japan several years earlier. She happily took a job that someone else had lost. We need to be sensible about this, Dems. There should be restrictions on outsourcing. If a company comes into a town and subsequently becomes the town's economy, it should be required to somehow compensate the town for their losses. Someone much smarter than I can work out the details.
Consumer credit protection
Consumer credit protection to keep American families away from the bankruptcy courts. We will regulate the credit card companies and place strict limits on the interest they can charge. We will ban deceitful lending practices.
Progressive tax reform
We will pass true tax reform (as opposed to Bush's Orwellian tax reform) that determines income tax brackets based on total income from all sources, and eliminates shelters for the very rich. We will maintain exemptions for families with children, for family farmers, and other deserving groups, but we will eliminate corporate tax shelters. Large corporations pay taxes like everyone else. It's time the rich learn to play fair. True tax reform is necessary to balance the budget.
Energy Independence
Government support of alternative energy sources
It's time to ween this country off foreign energy sources. We will provide sizeable tax credits and other subsidies for start-up companies in alternative energy--particularly wind and solar--which are in plentiful supply and can quickly replace our current reliance on dwindling fossil fuel supplies.
Government support for energy research
We will aggressively increase government funding for energy research. America needs to have state-of-the-art energy capabilities to meet our growing needs and the realities of the 21st century.
Integrity of the election processFederal Standards.
We will pass meaningful federal standards for voting machine technology, including the addition of a legally-binding paper trail or receipt. We will create an oversight committee with teeth and will create federal laws requiring nonpartisan voting boards and administrators.
Federal funding for federal elections.
We will provide federal funding for all candidates for the House of Representatives or Senate in a plan similar to Colorado's successful experiment in publicly-funded elections. It's time to give ordinary Americans a chance to compete for elected office on even footing with the rich. With a more egalitarian House and Senate, the needs of ordinary Americans will be met more completely.
Integrity of Government
Get the special interests out of Washington
We will increase government restrictions on lobbyists and reduce the influence peddling and corruption in Washington.
Balance the budget
Bush and the Republican congress have saddled our children with impossible debt. We will write a balanced budget amendment requiring the federal government to pay as it goes. We will allow a deficit only in times of war, with war clearly defined as being openly declared by congress. To reduce the burden on working Americans, we will balance the tax code so that the rich and the most powerful corporations pay their fair share.
Openness and Accountability
We will strengthen the Freedom of Information Act and require that all government business save requisite defense and homeland-security-related measures be a matter of public record. Bush's closed-door dealings will be a thing of the past.
Outlaw misuse of government funds
We will require that all government contracts be awarded through competative bidding, and we will outlaw the current presidential practice of billing the government--and American taxpayers--for unending campaign expenses.
Corporate Reforms
Credit Reform
We will place limits on interest rates for credit and loan companies, and tie them to within a few percentage points of federal rates. We will outlaw deceptive and bait-and-switch practices.
Media Reform
Corporate bias and interest must in all cases be divulged clearly and honestly. The current political sympathies of the controlling editorial body of any paper or media outlet with national distribution must be a matter of public record.
Health Insurance
Health insurance costs have skyrocketed and it's all largely of Republican deregulation. We will work to limit the rising costs of health insurance.
End outsourcingWe will eliminate all existing financial incentives for corporations to ship jobs overseas, and will require U.S. companies to keep a majority of their jobs in the U.S. if they wish to maintain their U.S. registration.
Education
Return control of schools to local school boards
We will increase government funding, and stop government meddling, in local schools. We will decrease the frequency of tests mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act and increase the amount of time students spend learning useful information.
Don't punish our children
We will remove punitive fiscal measures for poorly-performing schools, and will instead require increased government oversight and teacher and administrator re-education for failing schools. You can't teach our children by closing their schools.
Increase the quality of public education
De-emphasize test-preparation and emphasize critical thinking. Pure memorization is no preparation for life in the workforce.
Environment
Restore the power of the Environmental Protection Agency
Under Bush, the EPA has been gutted of its oversight abilities. Irresponsible corporate lackeys have been installed at all levels. The Bush EPA even proposed a corporate-sponsored plan to test pesticides on American children. It's time to restore the protective role of the EPA. It's time to start cleaning up our environment again.
Support research in clean energy
It's time government took a proactive roll to further our energy independence and promote clean energy. Wind and solar can help ease the rising costs of crude oil. Government-funded research will kickstart a transition to clean energy.
Health Care
Health Reform
We will form a research group to find the best way to provide health care to all Americans. We will look seriously at a national health plan, but will never sacrifice the quality care that Americans have come to expect. Health care is a civil right, and a Democratic congress will treat it as such.
Social Security
Meaningful Social Security Reform
To ensure the continued solvency of Social Security, we will eliminate the cap on social security taxes. All Americans will pay social security tax from now on. It's time to stop making middle class and poor families carry more than their fair share of the burden.
Also, we need to focus on helping small businesses. Small businesses are operated by individuals. They will adversely be affected by the bankruptcy bill. If we can win over some of the small business owners, we can draw some of the gop base to the Dems.
We also need to limit media influence over politics. There is no way that a newspaper should be allowed to endorse a candidate.
A lot of the Kos plan seems to be reactionary, still. Exactly what Zogby was saying. Stop criticizing, start planning.
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