Dem control of the Hill is the best shot we have now of govt by the people

[Skidmore]

However, if we get Dem legislators in there, we need to very quickly let them know who is the boss--especially the incumbents, who have become comfortable with big money and perks. Between now and the end of the year, we need to be jerking some chains instead of stroking egos. This is how we get change and reform. We need of list of ethical expectations to present every elected official from the Democratic party with a reminder attached that they are serving the people and we will not hesitate to remove them no matter how large their war chest or well connected they are if they forget the principles they signed on to uphold.

Agreed?

[2Design]

1. problem is they will be blamed for the mess left behind

just like carter inherited the mess from before

inflation has been bad and the economy has been bad

the only thing keeping it going was the atm in housing values which were spurred on by greenspan keeping interest rates too low

so it is all false security

and when the reality hits - interests rates will soar
taxes will not be able to be raised to pay for public funding of roads, public health, public land or anything public and collectively shared

it is really a dilemma - it we win we lose - if we lose it will get even worse

[Skidmore]

2. Then we need to be smart about how we address those issues

and make certain we keep the interests of the nation at heart and talk to the people about how they can be involved in solving those problems. Ask for input and quit asking people to shop as a solution. It's time to roll up our sleeves and clean house with a strong disinfectant. If done with integrity, we can do it, but if we continue to support politicians on this side who are beholden entities that would corrupt them, then we will have problems. We need to clean house.

[Selatius]

3. I'm not optimistic it will happen, not if history is any indication

When US troops returned from Viet Nam and the Civil Rights Act was passed, the people went back to sleep. Foreign policy remained as corrupt as ever, and it would lay down the groundwork of future US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Politicians still fratranized with the influence peddlers sent by big business, and they would get the pay-off eventually as Reagan and Bush Jr. cut their taxes at the expense of social programs, and the war profiteers still made money in the wars that occured since then. Black people still don't have as many opportunities as White people, and poor people are further behind than they have been in a long time. Just talk to the Katrina victims to know.

Why did all of this happen? People didn't finish the fight like it should have been finished.

"Hey, I could go all the way and take the fight to the corporatists and truly change the country, but I've won enough, and I'm tired. I'm going home and tuning into television."

I have a very bad feeling people will do the same thing again, fight half-assed and then go home without finishing off the enemy for all time and leave future generations to deal with the consequences.

[magellan]

4. Most will just ignore such demands

I don't disagree that we'd be better off while the Dems are in charge, but I sincerely doubt we'll see any sudden reversal of course for the country. There are too many of them who are co-opted by either the neocons or neolibs; too many who don't see what's happening, or refuse to see for their own reasons.

At best, instead of the suicide dive into darkness we're currently experiencing, the Dems will pull the nose up a little. But it will only prolong the inevitable.