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I titled this "What it means to be a Democrat." It will probably be ignored by everyone.
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You stand for the Constitution of the United States. That means you wholeheartedly support the First Amendment’s right to freedom of speech, the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms against a tyrannical government, and the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of illegal searches by a President who is either too lazy or too crooked to get a FISA Court approval for wiretaps against innocent Americans not even connected to terrorist groups.
You stand against the Bush administration’s theory of the Unitary Executive. In short, the White House and Sam Alito believe the Constitution implies the Executive branch can act at will during times of war, even to the point of violating other Constitutional rights. Call the Unitary Executive theory what it is: Bush is trying to justify unchecked dictatorial powers with no sunset provision during a phony war.
You stand for the decertification of electronic voting machines manufactured by Diebold, ES&S, and Sequoia Systems -- all strong corporate supporters of the Republican Party. It is far too easy to hack these machines and tilt any election toward the Republicans -- especially when there is a lack of an auditable paper trail. Until this issue is framed properly by the Democrats, the party is doomed for permanent minority status.
You stand for ending a Republican war of choice in the Middle-east. The Democratic solution involves opening a dialogue with the Arab League, requesting that they replace our boots on the ground in Iraq on a 1:1 ratio, and explaining that it will raise the prestige of the Arab League and Islam overall as forces for peace. The Arab League must also understand that a failure to assist Iraq, a fellow league member, jeopardizes its overall future credibility and that American forces will redeploy to other spots throughout the region at the earliest practicable date with or without their cooperation.
You stand for Congress having the sole authority to declare war, as stated in the Constitution. Unless there is a clear and present danger (meaning military force must be used immediately), the Executive branch must go to Congress to legally declare war against another nation or hostile entity. Congress abrogating its war powers or enabling open-ended use of Executive war powers is hereafter unconstitutional.
You stand for a new amendment granting not only equal rights but also equal pay for equal work.
You stand for a new amendment granting everyone of legal age the right to vote. As the Constitution stands, there is no specific amendment granting the right to vote. Voting rights vary from state to state, and disenfranchisement is all too easy.
You stand for a new amendment guaranteeing the right to privacy. As it stands, the right to privacy is not explicitly stated in the Constitution.
You stand for a national effort to strike down right-to-work laws and have them declared unconstitutional. States with right-to-work laws effectively shut out union organization, and that is a violation of the First Amendment’s right to assemble.
You stand for fair trade and business practices that benefit American workers. Fair trade means American corporations are for American workers and profits first and that all workers will be paid a living wage at minimum. Fair trade means American corporations must act as good citizens in their communities. Fair trade also means punitive measures will be used when a corporation outsources employment to other nations. One such measure is imposing stiff tariffs on all imported goods of a company that outsourced American jobs. Remember, when you buy at Wal-Mart, you help China control the future of the American economy and support the continued flow of American jobs overseas.
You stand for a national effort to develop alternative forms of energy for transportation, heating, and electricity. At the heart of all this is the understanding that most of our nation’s misery can be attributed to the stranglehold Big Oil has on political power and how America is addicted to Middle-eastern oil. When you break Big Oil, you also break the power of OPEC and radical Islam. The national effort in energy reform should be as ambitious, if not moreso, than what it took to put a man on the moon. It should reward innovation to corporations, universities, and individuals. And it should have a deadline of 2020 to establish energy independence.
You stand for fiscal conservatism and balanced budgets. In short, Congress should be held to the same spending rules as all Americans. If something cannot be afforded, find a way to cut costs elsewhere or raise taxes. Cutting the deficit is a must. Part of this fiscal conservatism also involves the immediate end to tax breaks that solely benefit the wealthy and corporations. Republicans always tout that tax breaks lead to corporations hiring more employees, but has anyone seen that since Bush took office? Ask a Ford or GM employee. Bush tax breaks are not good for American workers or our national budget.
You stand for the end of corporate personhood. Corporate personhood is a term used to describe the legal fiction used within United States law that a corporation has a limited number or subset of the same constitutional rights as a human being. This has led to abuses in the justice system and exotic interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment. If corporate personhood cannot be overturned, come out in support of unionized personhood.
You stand for the renewal of the Fairness Doctrine. Since 1987, when the Reagan administration eliminated the doctrine, the people’s airwaves have been dominated by only one side of political arguments, that of pro-conservative Republicans. This has led to Democrats being shut out of the free marketplace of ideas. If the Democrats want to win back the hearts and minds of middle America, it begins with the renewal of the Fairness Doctrine.
You stand for the splitting up of media conglomerates. The Telecommunications Act of 1996, contrary to its proponents’ claims, did not foster greater competition and lower prices. In fact, it did the opposite, with media giants merging with alarming frequency and prices for basic cable and Internet access going nowhere but up. The public is not served well with fewer choices, and too few corporations control content for consumption. Pro-corporate and pro-Republican agendas are standard fare on cable news channels. Network news divisions are no longer seen as prestigious; instead, they are seen as expensive and have been rolled into the entertainment division of their owners’ media portfolio and are expected to turn a profit. As a result, safe infotainment programs dominate the airwaves and hard-hitting journalism withers on the vine. If you want a free electorate, giving them more outlets for relevant information promotes the democratic process and is good for the Democratic Party.
You stand for realistic national health care reform. The United States is the only western, industrialized nation to not have national health care, and the state of health among many of our children, elderly, and poor is deplorable. People are falling through the cracks. Costs are outrageous. One such way to garner support for national health care is to lobby corporations and tell them that they can improve their bottom lines when they pass off health care costs to the government. For example, Japanese auto manufacturers considered building new plants in our country but settled on building plants in Canada because Canada has national health care. As a result, America lost the chance to gain tens of thousands well paying jobs.
You stand for the legalization of marijuana, not just for its medicinal benefits but also because people enjoy it and will pay market price for their vices. You might as well collect taxes on its legalization, because the war against marijuana is a losing proposition and fiscally stupid.
You stand for real campaign finance reform that eliminates the party funding of political campaigns and caps individual and corporate donations to candidates at $2000. So-called “war chests” are also capped at set amounts in accordance with the population of the electorate, with challengers’ caps set at 1.5 times the limit of the incumbents’ caps.
You stand for the reformation of the United States Tax Code whereby tax return forms are simplified in plain English. Part of the reformation also involves giving $100 deductions to all taxpayers who submit a receipt proving their participation in the previous tax year’s general election. Also, all faith-based initiatives are abolished as they are a clear violation of church-state separation.
You stand for a realistic funding of the Department of Defense. While this means the end to several needless pork contracts, it will, however, involve the doubling of pay for all enlisted servicemen and -women and all active reservists.
You stand for cost control with higher education. The cost for college has skyrocketed and far outstrips the rate of inflation. Middle- and lower-class students are no longer able to afford an education, and the presidents of American universities must come before Congress to testify and justify the high cost of tuition when their schools’ endowments are well past the billion-dollar mark. Furthermore, money saved on defense pork projects will now go toward Pell grants and other student loans and grants. And since so many American schools have international students dominating in the sciences, offer green cards to such exemplary students upon graduation and put their knowledge to work for our country.
You stand for immigration reform. That is, we beef up border patrols along Mexico, put up barriers where need be, deport illegals without proper papers, and impose punitive measures upon Mexico, which actively supports what is an invasion. This is an issue of national security, and the Bush administration looks the other way so the agricultural lobby has a steady stream of cheap labor. However, this policy invites terrorist infiltration, puts our citizens at risk with Mexican drug cartels, and burdens the social service systems of our border states.
You stand for marriage, both heterosexual and homosexual. And if you cannot stand for homosexual marriage in name, then stand for civil unions. When two people commit themselves to each other, it benefits everyone. What’s more, this commitment affirms the deeply held American belief that everyone has a right to the pursuit of happiness. To stand against the happiness of committed couples is not only discriminatory, but also un-American.
You stand for a woman’s right to make reproductive decisions. A person is not a person until he or she is born. However, a dialogue also must be opened with the pro-life camp wherein “pro-life” is not simply defined by Democrats as “anti-choice.” This dialogue is to the benefit of children. The pro-life side must advocate and pass full and proper funding for adoption programs, birth control, childen’s health care (including subsidized immunizations for the poor), day care/head start, healthful school breakfast/lunch programs, and after-school activities. In short, the pro-life side must demonstrate true concern for children after they are born. Until then, pro-life means anti-choice, and real Democrats will not compromise with those who want to restrict the rights of anyone.
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