NYT: Why a Symbolic Democratic Agenda Is Better Than None

[Scuba]

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/why-a-symbolic-democratic-agenda-is-better-than-none/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

But there is a very specific reason why nothing is getting done in Washington: Republican intransigence. And Democrats announced a plan this week to remind voters of that fact. They plan to push ahead with a package of at least 10 bills that would benefit the middle class and those hoping to join it, knowing full well that Republicans will either filibuster the bills in the Senate or kill them in the House.

In addition to the unemployment benefit extension they advanced today, the package includes bills to raise the minimum wage, eliminate the salary gap between men and women, cut the interest rate on college loans, and end tax loopholes that help businesses with overseas incomes. Other bills would protect Medicare from various Republican plans to cut it, spend money on infrastructure repair, and make child care more affordable.

Senator Patty Murray of Washington proposed an important expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which will be a huge benefit to low-income childless families and two-earner families, following a proposal by Mr. Obama earlier this year. And in the House, Democrats officially introduced a discharge petition to force a vote on the Senate’s immigration bill, which has languished for months.

Discharge petitions almost always fail, and so do most ambitious Democratic agendas. It’s pretty clear that for the rest of this election year, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress will produce a depressingly long list of failed symbolic bills, designed only to highlight the stubbornness of the opposition.

I only wish the Democrats would reach further left in their proposals. Why not put protection of voting rights and greater expansion of the social safety net on the table, and force the Republicans to go on record as against these popular items?

[giftedgirl77]

1. Hey, I have a suggestion.

How about they do this shit all the time? You know since it is their job & all.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. I laid out my suggestions for a Democratic agenda

the other day in one of your threads. Why will nobody listen to me?

[BlueStreak]

4. Beltway Democrats don't want an agenda they will be held accountable to

You don't see them marching forward with any bold proposals, do you? No. Their plan is to just argue that Republcans do less than Democrats do. That is a loser. If you want people to vote for you, you need to tell them why it is in the voter's interests to do so. What can the voter expect if they elect you to office? Here is a modest proposal, patterned around the highly successful Contract with America from the 1990s:

[riqster]

3. I especially like your last paragraph.

Good idea!