Time to put the hammer down and go!
When Democrats take over the House and Senate in January, it's time to roll out the big stuff.
America just dumped the GOP agenda right where it belongs, in history's trashbin. The only bi-partisanship any of US want to see is when people who fell for the Thugs buIIshi+, see the light and come over to our side. We didn't fight all this way to now decide to stick with the Thugs bad plan.
We want change, Big Time.
We want our troops home, NOW
We want Habeas Corpus reaffirmed in Law.
We want Posse Comitatus Reaffirmed in Law.
We want the Geneva Conventions reaffirmed in Law.
We want the Fourth amendment reaffirmed in Law.
We want the people that lied us into an unwinnable disaster to be held accountable.
We want the Crony Corporations that looted our Treasury held accountable.
We want the corrupting influence of Lobbyists and their money eliminated.
We want to trust our Vote.
We want fair treatment and decent pay for workers.
We want ultra-rich people and corporations to pay their share.
We want basic healthcare for everybody.
From these dozen core issues, here are a dozen simple, direct bills that would deliver on the promises of Election '06, that would force Bush to either veto basic American values or sign his own arrest warrant, that would solidify the Democratic Party as the Party of the People.
Start with a simple one-sentence bill: No one may be held for any reason, by any officer, agent or contractor, without access to a court of law and legal representation.
Another simple one: The United States Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and the Intelligence Agencies may not be called up to make war on, or spy on Americans in America. The Coast Guard and the National Guard are to protect our nation and our coasts.
Another: Torture is never permissible. Mistreatment of any kind of prisoner for any reason is elevated to a federal crime. All prisoners of war, "Unlawful combatants", or whatever cute name they are using this month must be accounted for and released. Guantanamo and all of the covert detention facilities must be closed.
And: Any infringement of people's rights of privacy in their communications and possessions must be warranted by a court.
Despite the Century old canard, Corporations do not have the rights of People. They don't die, they can't be jailed for crimes, they can't even be put out of business as punishment. Since they can't be held ultimately responsible, they can not enjoy the rights and privileges of Citizenship. Negate Buckley vs Valeo while we're at it.
These five simple pieces will make very clear what we stand for and what we are up against. They undo some of BushCheney's most serious assaults on the Constitution. Forcing W to veto the basic principles of our freedom will isolate him and his gang.
And that will make the rest of this easier.
A congressional demand for a date certain for our complete exit from Iraq coupled with tying any more funds for the (SoCalled)WarOnTerrrrrrr to cuts in lower priority Pentagon spending (Star Wars or the f22, for example). No more emergency supplemental, the war is DOD, goes on the DOD budget, zero sum.
Raising the minimum wage and undoing the Kentucky River decision (redefining "Supervisory position" to cheat workers out of overtime) are the bare minimum that working people can expect, a roll back of the Alternative Minimum Tax and restoration of Corporate, capital gains and estate taxes would rationalize the tax code (and guarantee Working peoples' support for the Democratic party for the next half century). Repeal of the Draconian Bankrutpcy bill will blunt some of the assault on the Middle Class that we've experienced over the past decade or two. It would also be a good idea to stop subsidizing businesses that outsource jobs overseas with tax breaks.
45 million Americans can't afford the greatest healthcare in the world. For those that can, the cost is three times the price for their care compared to any other industrialized nation. American companies are at a disadvantage in international competition, in part, because the cost of healthcare for their employees and retirees is higher than the cost of materials in their products. Expanding Medicare to cover everyone in the country with basic medical care, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug and medical equipment prices and removing the huge corporate profit margins by eliminating the need for private Insurance will bring excellent medicine to all Americans and bring much needed relief to American Businesses.
Meanwhile we investigate.
The lies that led US into Iraq must be brought out and exposed to the sun. Thousands of people have died, thousands more are wounded and none of the reasons we've been given have been true. There are so many people involved in the illegal wars and criminal detentions that there really ought to be a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we cannot afford to sweep this fiasco under the rug like Watergate or Iran/Contra, we must put a stake through it's heart this time.
Henry Waxman has a running start on the corrupt war profiteering by Halliburton, Bechtel, Custer/Battles and a host of others, you can be sure, the taxpayers are going to enjoy finding out where their $40 billion went missing.
John Conyers has already held hearings on Election Problems, both the technical side and the political dirty tricks aspects, there's lots more where that came from.
Campaign Fundraising, Election spending, Earmarks and Lobbying all meet in a particularly greasy neighborhood of DC, K-Street. And since Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff fine tuned the money machine to favor the GOP almost exclusively, this would be a great time to dig into that particular cesspool. It will devastate the Republican Party and if there are dirty Dems that go down, so be it, good riddance.
Nearly every committee in congress could find malfeasance to investigate and once the results start to show, Impeachment, not only of Bush but Cheney and a double dozen of the primary players, becomes inevitable, with indictments following close behind.