Pelosi: 'Democrats Will Create the Most Open and Honest Government in Hist

[sabra]

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=4953

Pelosi: 'Democrats Will Create the Most Open and Honest Government in History'
Congressional Desk

<snip>
...

"That is why, with our Democratic Declaration of Honest Leadership and Open Government, we are pledging to enact and enforce legislation that will:

Ban all gifts and travel from lobbyists. Period.

Kill the K Street Project, the Republican plan that trades favors for lobbying jobs, and toughen public disclosure of lobbyist activity.
...

"When it comes to contracting and cronyism, we intend to:

Eliminate the practice of irresponsible no-bid contracts, bring criminal penalties against war profiteers, and ensure that the government contracting process is honest, open, competitive, and fair. No more Halliburtons.

Prohibit cronyism in key appointments by making sure any individual appointed to a position has proven credentials. Brownie certainly wasn't doing a 'heck of a job' for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

[Bandit]

1. "bring criminal penalties against war profiteers,"

Oh no if they do that they may just put an end to wars. At least Republican Wars.....

[Beetwasher]

2. Wars Should Be Made NOT PROFITABLE

IOW, if you are a contractor during war time, the rules should be that your profits are VERY small, if any, and the awarding of contracts should be VERY competitive. If you want the gov't contracts, then you do it out of PATRIOTISM not for profit. That would absolutely ensure that wars will not be fought to fatten coffers, they will ONLY be fought when absolutely necessary. Take the profit out war and you end war for profits.

[FloridaPat]

3. What's the point of war if it's not profitable? You think governments

are going to invade other countries just for the thrill of war?

[Beetwasher]

4. Heh?

:shrug: I assume that's sarcasm? I think gov't are going to invade other country's only if it's necessary for immediate nat'l security concerns. Take the profit out war, and there's more chance that that is the ONLY reason wars will happen.

[FloridaPat]

20. Half sarcasm. Throughout history, nations have gone to war to take

women, gold, food, markets, land, riches - from other people. I don't think things have changed any yet. We sure didn't invade Iraq for democracy.

[Old and In the Way]

5. bring criminal penalties against war profiteers

Kill the Republican business model. Great stuff....Democrats needs a list of 6 or 8 of these and get every Democrat to memorize them as talking points. Lets start a dialogue on retooling our economy and infrastructure to transition out of our dependence on ME Oil. Invest in new energy technologies that put people 1st in both jobs and real national security.

Republican Vision = Oil = War = Dead-End
Democratic Vision = Renewable/Alternative Power = Jobs = A Real Future

[madrchsod]

6. maybe

they`ll be better than the republicans but don`t think the democrats will be saints.

[mike_c]

7. I believe that just about as much as I believe...

...Bush's promise to "restore honesty and integrity" to the WH. Very few of the current crop of political leaders, on either side of the aisle, are capable of open and honest gov't, IMO. They've been doing it the other way for too long, and they're too beholden to corporations and financial institutions.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

8. Oh, they ALWAYS SAY THAT

and then somebody goes and screws it up.

I don't have a high opinion of politicians anymore.

I think DU is turning me into an anarchist. Wonder if I can get a size 4X T shirt? My students would think it was cool.

[Orsino]

9. Not until they get the money out of it...

...and ban the secrecy.

[yurbud]

16. strengthen FOIA and similar laws

[WorkingPeace]

10. Yeay Pelosi!

A good punch after Gore's speech.

[yurbud]

11. attach independent analysis of who profits to legislation

which members of congress they donated to, and how they voted

[yurbud]

12. Doesn't go far enough on lobbying ban

It should be for life, or if not, you lose your Congressional pension permanently.

For senators and presidents, it should be for life period.

[yurbud]

13. Ed Schultz had a simple but effective one: post schedule of

how congress members spend their time, who they meet with, where, and what was asked for.

Since they are representing us and our interests supposedly, that is hardly an intrusion into the privacy.

I would prefer to staple webcams and mics to the side of their heads and stream everything they do on the internet live, but their personal lives might be a little to seamy for family viewing.

[yurbud]

14. on war profiteering, change all contracts to cost ONLY

during hostilities and freeze exec salaries, dividends, and bonuses.

When we are at war, they should all become non-profits, so they still have an incentive to make stuff for us, but not lobby for war.

[yurbud]

15. Require that the president lists who will profit from war on TV

Our oil companies will profit by replacing the French and Russian companies Saddam contracted to pump his oil, and by our denationalizing their oil.

Halliburton and Bechtel will profit through rebuilding contracts even though they rebuild next to nothing.

And prosthetic limb makers will profit when our troops return home...

[yurbud]

17. replace ethics committee with a non-partisan inspector general

or commission

[yurbud]

18. Democrats can do better than "America can do better"

That sounds like a slogan for a student council campaign or what a beauty pageant contestant would say.

How about the "people not the powerful"?

[texanshatingbush]

19. So far a day late and a dollar short.

Sounds like the proposed Dem plan is very similar to the Repug plan being trotted out now. I don't mind the Dems being a little slow in coming out with a plan as long a it's something comprehensive and ground breaking. Something the Repugs could never agree to. But so far it's not happening, don't they have staff capable of putting something together.