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A Progressive/Liberal Agenda

by: buhdydharma

Fri Nov 07, 2008 at 10:48:29 PST        
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Folks here seem to be clamoring for a list. Somewhere to spell out and prioritize the many issues facing us and our new President. This is critically important for many reasons, among them being the outside shot we still have at a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, AND a Mandate for Change. Thus we have the chance to actually pass Progressive legislation. What will that legislation be, and with what priorities? What do we fight tooth and nail for and what do we compromise on?

A clear agenda is important as well with the opening of a new era of internet citizen participation in our government, represented by (theoretically!)the launch of Change.gov, President Obama's website for citizen input into our government.

From the opening page:


Open Government
It's Your America: Share Your Ideas

The story of the campaign and this historic moment has been your story. Share your story and your ideas, and be part of bringing positive lasting change to this country.

In the sidebar, there is a box labeled The Agenda:

Revitalizing the Economy

Ending the War in Iraq

Providing Health Care for All

Protecting America

Renewing American Global Leadership

That was all I could find in a cursory view of the site. Certainly our list is a bit longer!

The idea here being that we make up our list, TRY to get some consensus on prioritization and submit it to the site. As well as posting it other places on the internet for input and reaction. My list (though I have yet to get to domestic policy, coming soon!) is pretty much contained in the The Vision Thing series.

So....what are YOUR priorities? What is your list? Consider this a preliminary sounding board, throw some stuff out there (or really go for it, if you so choose!) and we will refine it from here. Let's start there and see where we get to! I am going to put a rec button on this so we can keep it up as long as possible to allow as many folks to participate as possible. Suggestions as to how to prioritize, categorization, format, etc. are all welcome as well. This is YOUR project, your agenda, so go to it!

 
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A Progressive/Liberal Agenda | 52 comments
Ready, set,...........go! (4.00 / 14)
Photobucket

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

Obama's first press conference (4.00 / 2)
Obama held his first press conference since his election today, focused on the financial crisis, and outlined a series of domestic proposals that are according to RawStory...

...including relief for the middle class and plans to help the struggling auto industry.

   This morning, I met with members of my Transition Economic Advisory Board, who will help guide the work of my transition team in developing a strong set of policies to respond to this crisis. We discussed several of the most immediate challenges facing our economy and key priorities on which to focus on in the days and weeks ahead:

   First, we need a rescue plan for the middle class that invests in immediate efforts to create jobs and provides relief to families that are watching their paychecks shrink and their life savings disappear. A particularly urgent priority is a further extension of unemployment insurance benefits for workers who cannot find work in the increasingly weak economy. A fiscal stimulus plan that will jump-start economic growth is long overdue - and we should get it done.

   Second, we must address the spreading impact of the financial crisis on other sectors of our economy: small businesses that are struggling to meet their payrolls and finance their holiday inventories; and state and municipal governments facing devastating budget cuts and tax increases. We must also remember that the financial crisis is increasingly global and requires a global response. [...]

   Third, we will review the implementation of this Administration's financial program to ensure that our government's efforts are achieving their central goal of stabilizing financial markets while protecting taxpayers, helping homeowners and not unduly rewarding the management of financial firms that are receiving government assistance. It is critical that the Treasury work closely with the FDIC, HUD and other government agencies to use the substantial authority they already have to help families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.

   Finally, as we monitor and address these immediate economic challenges, we will be moving forward in laying out a set of policies that will grow our middle-class and strengthen our economy in the long-term. We cannot afford to wait on moving forward on the key priorities that I identified during the campaign, including clean energy, health care, education and tax relief for middle class families.


[ Parent ]
The RawStory article (4.00 / 1)
is here.
[ Parent ]
accountability. (4.00 / 10)
an absolute must-have from my perspective. these people can not be allowed to get away with fucking up an entire region, responsible for over 1 million dead, the global financial system meltdown... depleting our treasury... i can't remember it's so long a list...

if they walk, then we've really come no where.

President Obama, put in place a Justice Department that will enforce subpoenas.

and oh. if you wouldn't mind, Mr. President, please ask Nancy to refrain from comments like "we have to govern from the middle." please. i beg you.  

Well the first man comes along that can read Latin is welcome to rob us, far as I'm concerned. I'd like a chance t' shoot at a educated man once in my life. Gus McCrae, Lonesome Dove

Free chocolate and wine.... (4.00 / 13)
Well. With respect to energy I want subsidies and tax breaks ( big ones) for people who decide to install alternative energy entities in their homes. Right now tax breaks and subsidies are at the state level and they vary widely. I would for example put solar panels on ye old homestead but the start up cost is too much for me.

A national energy plan a la man goes to the moon.

Universal health care. Either force the insurance companies to offer affordable health care through legislation (which would cause a blood bath, I know )or allow a two tiered system to come up.

Guaranteed access to post secondary education through a community service program or infrastructure re-building program. If you help build roads and bridges or teach literacy in your community for a fixed amount of time you can trade that for college.

Massive funding for small/organic farmers pretty much none for the agri-drones.

Federally funded free wi-fi zones.

Subsidies and housing help for people who work in key services areas (teaching/medicine/social work/cops) but can't afford to live in the cities that need them.

The establishment of a national mass transit system not run by the individual states.

A bunch of other stuff that will take long after I am dead to complete.

This was off the top of my head.

Oh and... (4.00 / 11)
National day care and after school programs. National standards won't leave that to the states either.

I don't mind forcing private companies with a large work force to pay for on site day care. If they can pay their exec millions of dollars when they don't make money they can afford to look after little Johnny while Mommy and Daddy toil as office slaves.

And (4.00 / 8)
Also federal mandates for phys ed, science programs and art in schools.

Little Americans lag way fucking behind other kids internationally in science and they are becoming obese. I don't mean a no child left behind thing either. But national standardized testing isn't necessarily evil just conceived in a shitty way.

I was no genius and I had to do it and we had to take a fitness test every year unless one had a medical exemption. And I went to a crappy public school.

UCC, check out Agenda in (4.00 / 1)
Change.gov and see Additional Issues

Some of your concerns, well, all of our concerns, are covered there.  

Say "YES" to Generation We  Go there, read the Petition and sign, if you agree!   Say "YES" to GENERAL STRIKE

[ Parent ]
Kick Rove's Ass. (4.00 / 6)


"The second teaching from the golden eternity is that there never was a first teaching from the golden eternity. So be sure."  Jack Kerouac


I volunteer! (4.00 / 6)


Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Now I will shush (4.00 / 6)
and go out searching for scallops. I really wanted seared scallops in a wine sauce tonight for dinner.

Oh. And. ek needs to do a seafood edition of his What's For Dinner gig at Great Evil Salmon.

Well done! (4.00 / 6)
Can you compile that into one list...

Or are you gonna make me do it?

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Um... (4.00 / 5)
possibly later I am going shopping for groceries and since I am a fucking Latte Loving Liberal, get a coffee.

I want that on a t-shirt: Fucking Latte Loving, Gay Hugging, Commie Liberal Cheese Eater. Say OTB......

[ Parent ]
No rush (4.00 / 5)
post it here later, or in the next edition.

My shirt would start with ...Lazy Fucking Latte Loving, Gay (and tree) Hugging, Commie Liberal Cheese Eater.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Agenda (4.00 / 6)
Buhdhy- there is a pull-down tab along the top bar of the site labeled "agenda" that leads to a bigger list of topics, ech of which then links to a new page with an overview of the item and the Obama/Biden position for action.

At the same time, perhaps one way the netroots can be pro-active going forward is to create a list or statement from folks at this (and other) blogs, input from virtual communities that can be sent to the website. Since they are reaching out in this domain let's give them the input they are asking for!

/.2 cents

"It's pretty clear now that what looked like it might have been some kind of counter-culture is, in reality, just the plain old chaos of undifferentiated weirdness." -Jerry Garcia

Thanks! (4.00 / 4)
And yeah....dat's de idea!

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
I'll keep it simple... (4.00 / 7)
...and say the same damn thing again lol.  Though it will happen when hell freezes...

A floor for society.  A minimum income level and health care.  Replace every entitlement program which isn't directly tied to stimulus -- including social security -- with a social floor.

An abolition of the standing army.

Massive reinvestment in basic and postsecondary education.

That's all I want!!!

Did you want ceramic tile for that floor (4.00 / 6)
or something cheaper?

I like the living wage idea. How about guaranteed housing geared to income and housing for the homeless not those shitty shelters. I always try to keep a loose buck or two in my pocket especially when I am in the city just to give away but I really think a minority of the homeless "chose" to be fancy free.

[ Parent ]
old linoleum is fine. (4.00 / 6)
Heh, I forgot to add decriminalization of victimless crimes.

But nah, I actually meant something like Nixon's negative income tax (though of course it wasn't his idea).  The laziest bum in the world gets x dollars, geared to the cheapest open market housing and moderate food costs for area.  Seriously.  I think that even now, America can afford it.  I think people want to work, actually.  Most people want to be part of something that works and is larger than themselves.  A society which says to everyone "you count" is going to get very different things back from it's citizens than one which holds up absolute ruin as the alternative.

That also encompasses living wage, in that if you can have industries and companies which do not, in fact, pay everyone well enough to live at first -- the people launching the enterprise live at the floor level, for awhile -- and the difference is made up.  

But then, I'm a socialist.  But, eh, yes, this is what I'd really like to see.  

Free wifi?  

[ Parent ]
The free wifi (4.00 / 6)
because we aren't as wired as other nations...

I just want us to catch up to the Euros...

Oh. And end the stupid fucking War on Drugs it causes unbelievable pain for other countries (Columbia, Mexico) helps explain our high incarceration rate and distracts us.

Get rid of private prisons. Don't trust the idea of them as profit makers.

[ Parent ]
hence the... (4.00 / 5)
...victimless crimes caveat :)

Yes.  Though my thought -- though this is all so blue sky my eyes hurt lol -- is that if there is an agreed bottom in the social contract, then even great injustices don't remove people from the commonweal.  It is a story in which vengance and "them" become much less attractive memes.  It's "us" -- and if you don't like the other "us", well, one is motivated to find better alternatives than imprisonment and ruin, since there's a shared investment in our common success.

[ Parent ]
heh... (4.00 / 4)
...I guess that's true about being wired.  Though I am so wired, down to national broadband, it's invisible to me.  I mean, I check my email in the bath...never mind.
[ Parent ]
Absolutely, the private prisons (4.00 / 4)
have become just another venue for "torture" of some unfortunates.  Trust me, it's been happening.

Say "YES" to Generation We  Go there, read the Petition and sign, if you agree!   Say "YES" to GENERAL STRIKE
[ Parent ]
I like the idea of a floor, a lot! (4.00 / 5)
If we add in some sort of supplemental day labor kind of program where people can work a bit to get off of the floor as much as they want to, I like it even better!

Btw, there are vast rural swaths that don't even have broadband, I saw a proposal over at talkleft for a program to bring broadband to the country just as we did electricity. Maybe have free wifi in the cities as part of that. Thought the cable co.s would scream of course.

Interesting stuff.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
I really don't like... (4.00 / 5)
...the day labor thing.  It was sensible in Roosevelt's time.  But day labor isn't going to teach you a damn thing, and it doesn't go anywhere.  I fear it quickly becomes workfare.  I think people deserve to live even if they are not useful or virtuous, and I think that's an important part of the story we tell, actually.  If we are going to require something back, require them to attend school, or organize something themselves, or do something which genuinely moves them forward.  Not something which gives them an artificial job for people who are "doing good".  I know that's not what you are directly describing, but it's my reaction to the "revive the conservation corps" idea in general.  To me that's just...dehumanizing, in the worst way.  If we believe that people are valuable, and capable of growth, let's educate them!
[ Parent ]
No no no (4.00 / 5)
Workfare IN ADDITION to the floor. So people aren't chained to the floor so to speak. And yet aren't chained to having to participate in society either, if they choose not to.

And of course, all sorts of incentive and educational opps for those who do want them.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
gotcha... (4.00 / 6)
...I don't care if we drag them into society, a little.  If you're too depressed to learn to read, we'll pay you to see a shrink :} But I've no objection to seeing some sort of productive activity factoring in, as incentive, at all.

I think we'd be doing really well, generationally well, to just introduce the idea of a floor, without any bells or whistles or punitive visions of virtue attached!  Eh.  It's so far from what's possible I don't like to think of this all too often, it makes me too sad.

[ Parent ]
Got to have goals (4.00 / 5)
for them to become possible!

It is just a restructuring and reframing of the existing iteration of the new deal....and now is the time to propose the impossible, at least to get a compromise that is a step forward, the old overton window, and all.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
yes, that's true. (4.00 / 5)
There's some hope for it now.  The great society, more than the new deal.  I don't know if Obama has the vision or courage to reframe the social contract.  It's so...beaten into us, that such a thing is wrong and impossible.  I think he'll try to tune it up and make it a bit more fair, certainly.  

The biggest barrier I see is the idea of taking away the existing entitlements...because that's where the budget would come from...and replacing them outright.  It is entirely as revolutionary as the Great Society.  I can see selling people the idea that everyone deserves a second chance, a new deal.  I can see that rolling back a number of injustices, from the war on drugs and disenfranchisement to avaliability of social services.  I am not sure that Americans can be sold on the idea that everyone has value.  I don't think enough of them believe it, of themselves or others.

[ Parent ]
If... (4.00 / 6)
...I can get over the sad part (and I probably can't, which is why I'm a sucky blogger instead of an actual activist) I'd write a peice on "The American Social Justice Act of 2010".  About an act that focussed on second chances (and third) rather than on an institutional commonweal, but accomplished many of the same things.  A law that might actually pass, if it had real support.  It would:

a) Re-enfranchise felons who had served their terms per federal statute
b) End the drug war entirely
c) Require all civil penalties to be resolvable within five years of the court order, after which they would be void
d) Extend SSD to all Americans without a waiting period provided they qualified; end the process of automatic denial and replace it with a genuine, comprehensive review.
e) Merge Medicare and Medicaid into a second tier health system based only on income and ability to pay (with a very few excluded assets: if someone still preferred their kid's inheritance to their life, sobeit)
f) Provide higher education financing as outright grants and make every citizen eligible for up to five years of assistance.
g) Eliminate all SSI and federal taxation under 60k per year; and make it nearly confiscatory over 500k.  In short, restore the individual deduction as a meaningful amount and make it, again, progressive.
h) Eliminate federal minimum sentences

I mean, this is out of my butt...though the general gist, I think, would actually be passable.  I don't think we need to get my first-posted wish list to have a commonweal.  But we will need to move things back more than Obama seems likely to...

[ Parent ]
We certainly don't have a shortage (4.00 / 7)
of vacant houses right now!

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Brilliant framing! (4.00 / 5)
Really!!!

But I must put in a Marx bros joke.....can't we just buy chairs for the army?

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
snort... (4.00 / 4)
...no.  They can buy their own chairs, from their negative income tax payment, while they are studying up to re-enter civilian society :}

Nobody likes an angry democratic socialist :}  Even on Fridays.

[ Parent ]
I want to incorporate the 'floor' thing (4.00 / 3)
fer sure!

Is that yours or is there like, literature on it to cite?

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
I think... (4.00 / 5)
...you can go back to Engels on that one :))

Negative income tax is actually Milton Friedman's(!).  I did find this article, in a quick search, which has a useful reference section (though I did not agree with their conclusions, necessarily):

http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de...

There are of course lots of folks who have framed it this way.  I'm guessing someone with a better polisci and econ background than my own would have good references.

[ Parent ]
Cool! (4.00 / 3)


Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
"Pragmatism". (4.00 / 8)
I imagine that from a purely "pragmatic" (jesus, I hate that word) standpoint Obama is going to be receiving hundreds of thousands if not millions of emails sent through that form on his new site.

There is no way they are all going to be read. It's just not feasible.

Probably what will happen I think is that his programmers have already developed search algorithms to winnow out the ones that contain agenda preferences that represent large numbers (millions) of people. He's going to need a "constituency" lobbying him.

Anyone interested in taking on the task of contacting operators of all progressive and many centrist blog operators and co-ordinating development of a commonly agreed upon "wish list"?

Christ. For an extreme far left moonbat I sound like a politician.

hehehe (4.00 / 6)
That's what winning does, lol!

Maybe another petition drive when we get the list hammered out? That will carry some weight.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Now look... (4.00 / 5)
I almost made it to sixty avoiding responsibility. Cut me some slack here, ok? ;-)

Petition drive sounds good. Get all the blog operators in on it?

Have to head out for a couple of hours...

[ Parent ]
Sounds like a plan! (4.00 / 4)
And a lot of work, lol!

But you just keep thinking Butch! Wouldn't want to responsibilfy yer delicate self, lol!

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
My own short list (heh!) (4.00 / 6)
would be war crimes charges against bush/cheney/rumsfeld and other war criminals and accessories (pelosi) in and out of the administration, withdrawal from Iraq, repeal the MCA and FISA, stop the bailout at the point it's at now (and maybe even tax back whatever funds already handed out?), close Gitmo, and a bill to finally and completely outlaw torture and reaffirm international treaties against it.

That should take care of February 2009... ;-)

[ Parent ]
Correction here.... (4.00 / 4)
"Torture" is already illegal under both US and international law.

Maybe a bill that outlaws making end runs around the treaties, as Bush did and other ways lawyers could think of, would be enough?

And add Gonzales and Mukasey and Addington and Yoo (at least) to the list of war crimes accessories.

[ Parent ]
What not you, "honey?" n/t (4.00 / 2)
[ Parent ]
The ACLU has drawn up . . . (4.00 / 9)
. . . an excellent list of priority items and recommendations for the first day, the first 100 days, and the first year of the Obama administration, here.

Items include stopping torture and abuse; closing Guantanamo and restoring the rule of law for detainees; ending and prohibiting the practice of extraordinary rendition; and then--after the first day, but still in the first hundred--rescinding Bush Junior's assaults on the Constitution (specifically itemized); and gradually broadening out to everything from legalizing medical marijuana to network neutrality to accessible and affordable birth control and guaranteeing the civil rights of sexual minorities.

Excellent! (4.00 / 7)
Thanks k!

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
And here is part of Obama's list: (4.00 / 2)
And here are 10 key campaign promises made by Barack Obama, you can see his full platform here http://www.barackobama.com/iss...

-Reduce the US's carbon emissions 80% by 2050 and play a strong positive role in negotiating a binding global treaty to replace the expiring Kyoto Protocol

-Withdraw all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months and keep no permanent bases in the country

-Establish a clear goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons across the globe

-Close the Guantanamo Bay detention center

-Double US aid to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015 and accelerate the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculoses and Malaria

-Open diplomatic talks with countries like Iran and Syria, to pursue peaceful resolution of tensions

_De-politicize military intelligence to avoid ever repeating the kind of manipulation that led the US into Iraq

-Launch a major diplomatic effort to stop the killings in Darfur

-Only negotiate new trade agreements that contain labor and environmental protections

_Invest $150 billion over ten years to support renewable energy and get 1 million plug-in electric cars on the road by 2015

Say "YES" to Generation We  Go there, read the Petition and sign, if you agree!   Say "YES" to GENERAL STRIKE

[ Parent ]
I spoke recently of immediate (4.00 / 5)
concerns re the bailout!  On Friday, November 14, 2008, Kucinich will have a Hearing: Is The Treasury Using Bailout Funds as Congress Intended?

From Dennis Kucinich:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 6, 2008) - On Friday, November 14, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154, the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, "Is Treasury Using Bailout Funds to Increase Foreclosure Prevention, as Congress Intended?" This will be the Subcommittee's sixth hearing in the 110th Congress examining the foreclosure crisis and its solutions.

The purpose of this hearing is to assess Treasury's use of and clarify their intentions for a $700 billion fund, known as the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Congress established the TARP on October 3, 2008, and provided it with two sequential tranches of $350 billion. One of TARP's core functions is to prevent future foreclosures through the acquisition of mortgage-related assets, such as whole loans, mortgage-backed securities and other financial products, and the implementation of a plan to stem foreclosures on those loans. In creating TARP, Congress was aware of the efforts of the private mortgage servicing industry to prevent foreclosures, and committed an extraordinary sum of taxpayer funds to expand those efforts. In light of public statements by Treasury, and the department's commitment of more than two-thirds of the first tranche to purposes other than foreclosure prevention, important oversight questions remain.

Hearing witnesses will be announced shortly.

Wall Street Fat Cats Are Trying to Pocket Billions in Bailout Cash

They got us into this mess, and now they want to cash out -- will President Obama stop them?

The election results pretty much confirmed the extent to which Main Street is rightly livid about the Wall Street mentality that led to our financial crisis. During his historic victory speech, President-elect Barack Obama told supporters, and the rest of the world, "If this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers."

But, it seems that Wall Street didn't get that memo. It turns out that the nine banks about to be getting a total equity capital injection of $125 billion, courtesy of Phase I of The Bailout Plan, had reserved $108 billion during the first nine months of 2008 in order to pay for compensation and bonuses (PDF).

Paying Wall Street bonuses was not supposed to be part of the plan. At least that's how Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson explained it to Congress and the American people. So, on Oct. 1, when the Senate, including Obama, approved the $700 billion bailout package, the illusion was that this would magically loosen the credit markets, and with taxpayer-funded relief, banks would first start lending to each other again, and then, to citizens and small businesses. And all would be well.

That didn't happen. Which is why it's particularly offensive that the no-strings-attached money is going to line the pockets of Wall Street execs. The country's top investment bank (which since Sept. 21 calls itself a bank holding company), Goldman Sachs, set aside $11.4 billion during the first nine months of this year -- slightly more than the firm's $10 billion U.S. government gift -- to cover bonus payments for its 443 senior partners, who are set to make about $5 million each, and other employees. . . .

But that's not quite the sharing that Wall Street wanted from the bailout package. Yet, if "change has come to America," as per Obama's promise, then it's high time for Wall Street to shoulder its part -- starting with this bonus season. A decisive move by Obama on this topic would go a long way toward solidifying the central promise of his campaign.

I think the bailout issue is of immediate concern -- like right now.  Obama and we need to fight any future payments to be made.  NO MORE of our monies for fat cats' "healthiness."

The UCLA pretty much covered many issues, including one I was going to mention on the subject of the laws Bush has put in place and the signing statements he used to avert laws.  Obama should appoint a committee, made up of Constitutional experts to go through each and every law and signing statement and make its recommendations for repeal of those that are not in accord with our Constitution.  

Once in office, Obama should immediately focus on reducing global warming and creating jobs via building wind mills, solar panels, states growing their own non-edible crops to be used for ethanol, without the requirement of shipping other than intrastate.

And, of course, notwithstanding the foregoing, accountability should be urged upon Obama, whether it's right now, or once he's in office.  It must somehow be done!  This would give us back a "core" from which to work and move forward!



Say "YES" to Generation We  Go there, read the Petition and sign, if you agree!   Say "YES" to GENERAL STRIKE

Just received an e-mail on this -- might be interesting to follow! (4.00 / 5)
American Progress Action

Release of Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President
November 12, 2008, 9:30am - 12:30pm

Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President is a framework to help the next administration steer the government in a new, more progressive direction. In conjunction with the release, we are hosting a series of exciting panels on economic policy, national security, democracy, and climate change led by the authors of the book. . . . .

The Center for American Progress Action Fund is headed by John D. Podesta, former chief of staff to President William J. Clinton and a professor at Georgetown University Center of Law.  John Podesta is serving as Obama's Transition Chief, from November 5, 2008, through January, 2009.



Say "YES" to Generation We  Go there, read the Petition and sign, if you agree!   Say "YES" to GENERAL STRIKE

[ Parent ]
OK... my turn (4.00 / 4)

1. The economy
2. Health Care
3. Bring the troops home
4. New energy policy
5. Global warming/environment

Honorable mention list: lowering education costs, close Guantanamo, and reversing Patriot Acts I and II, civil unions & gay marriage.

Too many damn issues to cover.  

ctrenta, please see Obama's partial Agenda above, (4.00 / 2)
your concerns are covered -- but go here and see his Agenda Change.gov  See Issues in the Menu above.

And, yes, you are so correct -- "too many damn issues to cover."  

We need to help -- each in our own way!  Obama has taken on the very WORST situation our country has EVER been in.  I wouldn't wish his job on anyone, yet, he has courageously chosen to try and right it!  Can I, or anyone, but admire him, even if it is just for that alone?  But, honestly, I believe he will do his very best, though, I believe there will be SOOOO MANY who will attempt to thwart him.

I see it, as buhdy sees it, as OPOL sees it, as pf8 sees it, etc. (and so many more) that we must be omni-vigilant -- there is no choice.  We must watch what those of evil dispositions may continue to try and inject into our society and the presidency, but we must also attempt to guide Obama, should he falter, and he, himself, said that he may do things that may not please all, but he welcomes our responses.  What more can we ask?

But he has also admonished that what needs to be done may not be done in a year, or even one term.  To me, that's totally understandable and should be to everyone -- considering the absolute damage and destruction of the past eight years -- to right the wrongs is going to take time!

Personally, Impeachment of these criminals would make me feel the most secure that I might feel for eight years now.  The "terrists" R US!

Say "YES" to Generation We  Go there, read the Petition and sign, if you agree!   Say "YES" to GENERAL STRIKE

[ Parent ]
Rahm Emanuel's take on Obama mandate (4.00 / 3)
In a WSJ article this morning Obama's incoming WH Chief of Staff makes it clear what to expect initially from Obama, any by omission what not to expect as he makes it clear that he will do his utmost too keep Obama reined in as a center right Democrat.

Basically a play it safe non progressive administration.

In Rahm Emanuel's telling, the Democratic victories on Tuesday were a continuum of what began in the 2006 midterm elections, when his party won majorities in the House and the Senate for the first time in 12 years.
...
Recently, I spoke with Mr. Emanuel during a short layover at the Detroit airport. Officially, he hadn't yet been offered the new post, and when queried about the prospect of serving in the Obama White House he demurred. But Mr. Emanuel, who turns 49 later this month, was eager to discuss Congress's agenda going forward. He explained how Democrats can avoid the mistakes that felled the Republican majority, and he reflected on the lessons learned as a high-ranking member of President Clinton's brain trust in the 1990s.

Asked what Barack Obama was elected to do, and what legislation he's likely to find on his Oval Office desk soonest, Mr. Emanuel didn't hesitate. "Bucket one would have children's health care, Schip," he said. "It has bipartisan agreement in the House and Senate. It's something President-elect Obama expects to see. Second would be [ending current restrictions on federally funded] stem-cell research. And third would be an economic recovery package focused on the two principles of job creation and tax relief for middle-class families."

The last time a Democratic president's party also ran Congress was 1992. Just two years later, however, voters changed their mind about that arrangement and gave the GOP control of the House and Senate. Mr. Emanuel said he's not at all concerned that the party will overplay its hand this time. He insisted that his caucus is mindful of what happened to Democrats in 1994 and the Republican Congress in 2006.
...
"the lesson is to do what you got elected to do," said Mr. Emanuel. "Do what you talked about on the campaign. If you got elected, that's what people expect. Don't go off on tangents where part of your party is demanding an ideological litmus test. Neither of those things was part of the campaign."
...
So I asked Mr. Emanuel if the election of an unabashed liberal like Mr. Obama has made the New Democrat strategy obsolete. Perhaps what we witnessed on Tuesday means that liberalism is ascendant and the U.S. is no longer a center-right nation. "I think the country is incredibly pragmatic," he responded. "Pragmatic and progressive. But you still have to mix and match different approaches to reach your objectives. You have to be flexible."

He said the similarities between Barack Obama and the last Democratic president matter more than the differences. "Both Barack and Bill Clinton have an incredible connection to the public," he said. "Both ran on a message of hope. Both ran against failed policies that let the country down prior to them being elected. I don't think the country is yearning for an ideological answer. If anything it's the opposite. They want real solutions to real problems. And if we do an ideological test, we will fail. Our challenge is to work to solve the actual problems that the country is facing, not work to satisfy any constituency or ideological wing of the party."


Get rid of his signing statements andThe Patriot Act (0.00 / 0)
ASAP!!!!!

I still want Bush and Cheney in jail!
A Progressive/Liberal Agenda | 52 comments
 

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