Possible "Contract with America" to present to voters in '06?

[WI_DEM]

1. We the Democratic party affirm that we will fight to protect the right of a woman, in consultation with her physician to get a safe abortion. We must never return to the days when a woman is forced to seek a "back ally" abortionist and risk her life.

2. We believe that sensible gun control is needed, especially when so many people in law enforcement favor it, but we also recognize that this is a state issue and it is up to the states to decide to what extent they will control the selling of arms in their states.

3. We affirm that a balanced budget is the duty of our government and we call for a amendment to the constitution which calls for the president to present a balanced budget to the Congress every year. It is worth noting that the only presidents who made serious progress towards a balanced budget in the past forty years have been Democratic presidents.

4. We affirm we will fight any effort to privatize social security. We have a contract with the people of this country that if they pay in they will receive the benefits of the system and the Democratic party will keep this contract and work to strengthen the system.

5. We affirm that EVERY vote counts in elections and will work to make sure that our electoral system is reformed. Too many questions have risen about the legitimacy of voting machines around the country in 2000 and 2004 that a national investigation is warranted.

6. Given the politicalization over the years of appointees to the High Courts the Democratic party calls for a return to the type of selection process that many presidents used that produced the likes of Hugo Black, John Harlan, Potter Stewart, William Brennan and many other distiguished jurists--by soliciting advice from the ADA and a list of qualified candidates. Additionally, we call for a two/thirds majority vote to confirm a Supreme Court Justice--this is a lifetime position and it is one where we should have a consensus rather than a simple majority. This will help to lessen the political divide by forcing our presidents to nominate jurors who are not polarizing.

These are just a few ideas, feel free to add or discuss if you want. I'm actually very serious about the two-thirds vote to confirm Supreme Court justices. It would weed out (I believe) many undesirable appointees because the only way to get a consensus would be to nominate people who are truly qualified.