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The Lists

 

There are two strands in any plan for Democratic success in future elections.

 

In the short term, The House may go Republican in 2022. The Senate has (barely) gone Democratic, but remains vulnerable in 2022. If Biden is to accomplish larger legislative goals and court appointments, the next two years will be critical for the Democratic Party. So, we need to look at reality and focus on a few major goals for the next election. Several recent polls revealed that the top issue for Republican voters was the economy, and the top issue for Democratic voters was health care and the virus.

 

Biden and Democrats everywhere could use two clear slogans to drive their actions:

“A healthy economy” and “A healthy people.”

 

The legislative and executive agenda should focus on actions promoting these two goals. Of course, many actions to undo the damage of the last four years also need to be pursued. Where possible, these should be linked to the two goals. For those who may resist many of these actions, their resistance will become causes for people again to vote Democratic next time.

 

A Healthy Economy:

 

Economic relief should be provided to those who have lost their jobs, and the businesses which have and which may have to be closed to fight the virus. Small and medium sized businesses need preference over large ones. State and local governments also need massive relief.

 

Short-term measures: starting from March 2020, and continuing through December 2021 (at least):

 

O Provide 80% of prior income for the unemployed

 

O Provide 80% of prior income for small business owners

 

O Provide debt relief for small businesses which closed, plus a bonus to help them start up again

 

O Provide rent subsidies for the unemployed to keep them housed; this applies to those who still rent, and those who have been evicted

 

O Provide an eviction moratorium for those at risk

 

O Provide salary supplements for those who have lost their jobs, and may now be under-employed in part-time or lower wage jobs

 

O Make up the pandemic property tax losses of local governments

 

O Make up the other income tax losses of states and local governments

 

Long-term measures:

 

O Apply the minimum wage to farm workers, waiters, and all others who have been excluded up to now

 

O Create infrastructure jobs, with emphasis on opportunities for the unemployed and under-employed

 

O Eliminate the Trump tax cuts for the rich and the corporations

 

O Eliminate student loan debt

 

O Provide free public college for all

 

O Eliminate subsidies and tax breaks for industrial farms

 

O Maintain and expand subsidies for small farms

 

A Healthy People:

 

O Covid

 

O Provide free vaccine for all

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O Provide free masks for everyone

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O Provide PPE to hospitals, medical practices and essential workers

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O Subsidize testing and contact tracing in every state

 

O Health Care

 

O Enact short-term fixes to Obamacare, substantially reducing premiums, copays, and prescription prices

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O Lower Medicare eligibility age to 50

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O Make health care plans portable, and subsidize premiums for those who would otherwise lose coverage when they lose their jobs

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O Provide Covid subsidies to hospitals

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O Longer term, provide Medicare for all

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O Expand numbers of medical personnel by subsidizing their education

 

Undoing the Damage:

 

O Issue an Executive Order immediately canceling all of Trump’s Executive Orders

 

O Take action under the Congressional Review Act to quash Trump regulations issued after June 1, 2020 (not subject to a filibuster)

 

O Issue an Executive Order freezing implementation of all of Trump’s other regulations and policies, until they can be rescinded formally

 

O Provide additional funding for police departments, conditioned upon substantial accountability reforms, including independent review boards

 

O Pass a legislative package for Federal election reform:

 

O Authorize automatic voter registration

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O Eliminate state voter purges based on failure to vote in prior Federal elections

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O Extend early voting periods

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O Ensure that mail-in balloting is available in all states

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O Make Election Day a Federal Holiday

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O Provide for in-person voting for nine days prior to Election Day (prior two weekends and the week in-between)

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O Budget additional funding for election security

 

The permanent campaign to promote Democratic candidates:

 

Democrats need to follow the Republican example: a permanent nation-wide campaign for office. Every candidate should adopt a consistent set of slogans for the long-term campaign, publicizing the Democratic brand:

 

O D are the Party for the 99%; R are the Party for the 1%

 

O D are the party of jobs; R are the party of profits

 

O D want everyone to vote; R want to suppress votes

 

O D want the rich and big businesses to pay their fair share; R want to give them tax cuts

 

O D want equal opportunity for everyone; R oppose equal opportunity

 

O D want everyone to follow the law; R bend the law for the rich and powerful

 

O D see legal immigrants as a source of strength; R see immigrants as a drain on the country

 

O D like democracy; R like autocracy

 

O D are the party of hope; R are the party of pessimism, hate, and fear

 

And, most important, Democrats need to agree upon and consistently promote our legislative and policy bottom lines. We need to be explicit about our goals. Some examples:

 

O Short-term, provide the relief outlined under “A Healthy Economy” and “A Healthy People” above

 

O Ensure racial justice and environmental justice in every government program

 

O Promote more women and minority managers in both government and industry

 

O Provide education and training for those who lose jobs in the declining fossil fuel industry, with government as the employer of last resort

 

O Pass an inflation-indexed minimum wage of $18/hour for all

 

O Require paid sick leave and childbirth leave for all workers

 

O Make retirement plans portable for all workers

 

O Initiate child care subsidies for those earning up to $75,000/year

 

O Fund infrastructure programs including not just bridges and roads, but also repairing and upgrading existing housing stock and schools

 

O Restore environmental protection as a national priority

 

O Reduce the military budget and close many bases around the world, in favor of domestic priorities

 

O And so on...

 

The Democratic Party needs a full list of its specific goals to gain the support of more of our people. It’s time to raise the tide of the Party, and to show people the benefits in their lives. It’s time to get to work!

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Sunday, 10 Jan 2021

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Day One (Revised)

 

Joe Biden has won, but the Senate remains Republican and the House majority is quite slim. Aside from Covid relief, major Democratic legislation is unlikely in the short-term. The Senate will try to block anything on the Democratic agenda, as well as most, if not all, judicial appointments. What early actions are feasible? Here is a short list:

 

Biden:

 

Domestic policy:

O Executive Order rescinding every Trump Order, and reinstating every Obama Order.

O Firing every Trump appointee to Federal agencies.

 

O Issuing a commitment to having a Cabinet, Agency heads, and Federal senior managers who reflect the diversity of the country.

O Executive Order freezing and canceling every Trump regulation in progress.

 

O Executive Order requiring every agency to begin the process of rescinding every Trump regulation in effect.

 

O Executive Order eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement brutality on the border with Mexico, requiring reuniting children with their families (cash and green cards for families identifying  their "lost" children), and renewing DACA protections.

 

O Executive Order directing Justice to investigate extremist/hate groups around the country, and their influence in police departments and the military.

 

O Covid:

 

O Issuing a national declaration on Covid:

 

O The millions infected and the hundreds of thousands lost to Covid are a national tragedy, but it is not a permanent affliction.

 

O Developing and distributing an effective vaccine could take up most of 2021, if not longer.

 

O Until then, we have to pull together, and follow the scientific recommendations to drastically lower the curve.

 

O We should set a target of no more than 5,000 new cases a day, by wearing masks, washing hands, and physical distancing, plus comprehensive testing and tracing to reduce the spread of the disease.

 

O We will go to Congress for the funding to relieve the economic stress, especially for small and mid-size businesses, State and local governments, and those who have lost their jobs to the pandemic.

 

O These extraordinary steps will be needed until the pandemic is under control. By pulling together, we can end the crisis and go back to our lives without fear.

 

O Using the Defense Production Act to order for free distribution:

 

O N95 and other high-filtration masks for everyone for the next 12-18 months.

 

O PPE for hospitals, medical facilities, and first responders.

 

O Sanitizers for everyone.

 

O Testing kits and materials to allow comprehensive testing for the entire country.

 

O Computers, software, and other infrastructure for comprehensive tracing for the entire country.

 

O Foreign Policy:

O Rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, and calling for negotiations for improvement.

 

O Rejoining the World Health Association, with increased funding for global pandemic response.

O Rejoining every United Nations organization left by the Trump administration, including the Human Rights Council, UNESCO, and the Relief and Works Agency.

O Initiating steps to join the International Criminal Court.

O Signing onto international declarations protecting women and children from sexual assault and exploitation.

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 O Initiating nuclear weapons and Open Skies negotiations with Russia.

 

O Rejoining the Paris Climate accord, and the Global Compact for Migration.

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And after that first day:

 

Budget:

 

O Reducing the military budget by $200 million/year.

 

O Restoring staff and funding to the EPA and other critical agencies.

 

O Doubling state support for K-12 schools, contingent upon states changing funding formulas to equal dollars/student, instead of basing funding upon local property taxes.

 

O Funding free public colleges and universities for all.

 

O Doubling funding for HBCU’s and other minority-serving institutions.

 

O Providing adequate funding for Native American schools: construction; maintenance; textbooks; supplies; and teacher salaries.

 

O These are only a few examples of new budget priorities; many more will be proposed by interested parties in the coming months.

 

Congress:

 

O With the Senate in Republican hands, the short-term prospects for major legislation are slim. However, Democrats need to push the Senate by quickly introducing bills with broad public support, plus key progressive policies.

 

If the Senate continues to block major legislation, the Democrats need to use these bills to campaign for a Senate majority continuously, aiming for the mid-term elections: Republicans are “The Party of NO”.

O Legislation for COVID relief, including all of the current House provisions, including rental supplements and $600/week for those who have lost their jobs due to COVID, salary supplements for essential medical staff, aid for small businesses (assuring 80% of pre-COVID income for the business and its staff), relief to states and local governments to cover their COVID income losses, and relief to hard-hit school districts.

 

O Legislation creating a public option for Obamacare, plus reducing deductibles, and subsidizing premium payments for families making less than $100,000.

 

O Legislation reducing the eligibility age for Medicare to 50.

 

O Legislation determining that every citizen is entitled to vote in all elections, without any other registration requirements (such as purging for failure to vote in prior elections, or denying the vote to felons).

 

O Legislation requiring access to mail-in balloting for a period of at least six weeks in all Federal elections.

 

O Legislation declaring that political gerrymandering is a Federal criminal offense.

 

O Legislation eliminating the Trump tax cut for individual incomes over $400,000, and for the corporations.

O Legislation raising the minimum wage to $15/hour, indexed for inflation.

 

O Legislation for reasonable gun management, including universal background checks, and a ban on assault weapons.

 

O Legislation ratifying the international treaty on women’s rights.

 

O Legislation reinstating and strengthening the Glass-Steagall Act, separating banking from investment and insurance activities.

O Legislation protecting Federal Inspectors General: may be fired only for cause (e.g., criminal actions), using administrative law judge recommendations in a public report.

 

O Legislation canceling student loan debt on a progressive scale, ending for families with income over $200,000/year.

 

O Longer term legislation under a Democratic Congress:

 

O Unpacking the Supreme Court.

 

O Doubling the number of Federal appellate court positions.

 

O Undoing Citizen’s United by banning corporate political spending, including a determination that a corporation is not a person under the Constitution.

 

O Immigration reform, with a path to citizenship within six years.

O Justice reform, including a ban on private prisons and greater civilian oversight of the police; uniform bodycam requirements; investigation of hate group influence in police departments; plus a national commission on prison reform.

 

O Finally enacting Medicare for All

O Creating public service programs to rebuild our cities and towns, with renewable energy, proper insulation, and healthy indoor air as goals.

O Instituting a minimum corporate tax rate of 30%, and strengthening restrictions and penalties for tax-avoidance.

 

O Protecting a woman’s right to choose.

Obviously, there is much to be done. Biden and the Democratic Party need to govern with a mandate to crush the COVID pandemic, protect the economy, restore international alliances, reduce inequality, protect the vote, and create greater democracy, security and hope for all of us.

 

Those in the Party who would caution against moving too fast need to be replaced by a new generation of leaders committed to building a better country.

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Thursday, 12 Nov 2020

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