Last Spring, Republicans were in trouble - a dying species by some observers. The public was frustrated and referred to them as The Party of "No" for their consistent anti-middle class stance on the economy, the first stimulus, the environment and other issues.
I also remember that Arlen Specter was still a Republican. And yet, Democrats were able to pass the stimulus and other bills last spring at a blinding pace.
Then came health care. It dragged out for months. The tea baggers rose to prominence after evolving past the embryonic phase of their life when they were little more than the new name for the birthers.
Then came Scott Brown - only putting the Democratic caucus back to it's pre-Arlen Specter head count - still a commanding 18 seat lead in the Senate.
But the public perception - and even (stupidly) in the Congress - is that the Dems are now castrated.
How tearfully untrue!
It's time to reboot before the 2010 mid term election season goes into full swing. It's time to pull the hood off of the tea baggers and reveal them to be what they really are - The party of "No" ...
Polling numbers are down for Obama and the Democrats because people feel burned out by health care talk and ignored on the jobs issue. With unemployment high, people feel that bankers got their bailouts but the people looking for jobs got the shaft - perception or not, this needs to be addressed. So let's rekindle the spirit of Spring 2009 and bring jobs, the deficit, taxes, and fixing the banking bailouts back to the forefront.
The people are complaining loud and clear. And the Dems are listening. Now it's time to start doing.
The formula:
- Move quick - Go back to last Spring's pace of bill introduction and passage. Avoid giving Republicans and pundits openings to complain about the length of bills - make them short and frequent. 5 small bills are better than 1 big bill.
- On any budget/tax bill - health care or not - don't be afraid to use reconciliation! This would send the message that Dems are ready to act fast for the needs of We the People. Being in non-health care mode for the moment, it would also help mitigate the perception of reconciliation as a "trick" in preparation for bringing up a reconciliation health care bill.
- Not one jobs bill - Several Again, jobs bills are budget bills so don't be afraid to use reconciliation. What kinds of individual bills?:
- More Green rebates and/or tax perks for buying fuel efficient cars (hybrids/electric/clean diesel) - say 35 MPG+ (and no stupid cash for clunkers)
- More Green Energy rebates and/or tax perks for installing home solar/wind power solutions
- More money for schools - school budgets around the country are in trouble
- Get that student loan bill on the floor!
- More Emergency funds to repair ailing bridges/tunnels
- More money for TSA to quickly purchase new security equipment (look into those chemical detectors they have at the Statue of Liberty as an alternative to the whole body Xray)
- Emergency measure to immediately expand mandatory vacation time to a minimum of 3 weeks for all Americans. (OK, this probably can't be done through reconciliation, but more time off means many businesses will have to hire a little more to maintain productivity)
- One or more bills to address the deficit by coming up with clever solutions to reverse the Bush tax cuts for the rich and other measures
- New small business stimulus bills:
- More money for the Small Business Innovation Research program
- Tax credits for building or expanding American factories and credits for each new hire
- More, easier to apply for, SBA loans
- Expansion of Federally operated Venture Capital funds like In-Q-Tel
- Akin to the loan guarantees for the Georgia nuclear plants, how about some loan guarantees and other federal funds for multi-square mile solar fields in the sun belt and wind farms in the wind belt.
- Quickly push for the bank tax and anything to help quickly recover TARP funds - people want their money back
- Emergency funds to hire more Census takers in traditionally undercounted areas
- A series of new farm bills to eventually replace our broken farm bill and restore the life of the family farm:
- Subsidies to encourage the production of organic non-industrial (human edible) crops.
- Subsidies and credits to convert conventional dairies to organic
- Subsidies and credits to farmers that plant crops that enhance biodiversity and fight mono-cultures (Irish potato famine, anyone?)
- Tax credits for family farms and tax penalties for corporate farms
- Tax credits for live stock growers who install methane capture equipment (cow manure is a major contributor to Global Warming)
- Financial Aid for indebted farmers trapped in contract farming agreements to help retire debt and return to a self directed farm
- Emergency Money to find a solution for Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
After the above begins moving along (hopefully not long from now), push a short (not 2,000 or 1,000 or even hundreds of pages) reconciliation bill through to give people a public health care option - preferably a Medicare buy in for all and scrap Bush's idiotic Medicare prescription drug plan and replace it with a new plan (on the public option) that gives Medicare the right (like any other insurance company) to negotiate drug prices.
Most of the above can be done through reconciliation. So, what will Republicans do?
- Employ a lot of parliamentary delay tactics. (OK, but things will still go through)
- Whine to Papa Bear.
- Skip town and enjoy the company of tea baggers at some rallies!
- Do their best to vote No. (Once again, they'll be the party of No - Success!!!)
Just as quickly as the beleaguered Party of "No" turned the tables, the tables can be turned the other way by focusing on delivering what the people want and doing it quickly. The mid-term elections can be a great success - and we can maybe even recapture our 60 seat edge or better.
There's no shortage of public pleasing things to do! So, keep it up! Our economy is in serious trouble and we want our elected representatives working for us to find sustainable solutions.