A false piece of conventional wisdom is like a monster from a horror movie: just when you think you have it killed, it springs back to life for a sequel.
The myth that the Democratic Party lacks an agenda is one of these persistent monsters. Despite the vast evidence to the contrary, this falsehood is so frequently repeated that it is often unquestionably accepted as true. This, one of public discourse’s most rapacious beasts, will once again be dispatched by shooting a silver bullet of truth straight through its heart.
A Democratic victory in next week’s elections will propel America in a new direction. Under the Democrats’ plan, the practice of massive deficit spending will be halted. Mechanisms will be created to lower Medicare drug costs. The federal minimum wage will be raised to $7.25 an hour. Student loan interest rates will be cut in half. Federal money will once again freely fund stem cell research. New ethics rules will dramatically weaken the ability of lobbyists to influence how legislation is written. The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission will finally be enacted after being ignored by Republicans for years. Unbelievably, this is what the Democrats intend to accomplish in the first 100 hours.
Beyond this time, it is easy to predict where Democratic policy will focus. The middle class, struggling in the current economy, will receive tax cuts to ease their financial burdens, while the rich will again be compelled to pay their fair share. Health care reform will become a priority in order to increase the quality of life for all Americans, especially our nearly 12 million uninsured children. A national energy policy will be put in place to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and promote renewable resources. Electoral reforms will be enacted to ensure that the votes of each and every American are fairly counted. A redeployment of troops will occur in Iraq to allow our soldiers to come home alive.
Most importantly, serious investigations will be made into the most shocking policy failures, incidents of corruption, and abuses of power that have infested government for years. From leading the nation to war with lies to leaving a battered New Orleans to fend for itself; from receiving bribes to sending sexually predatory e-mails to pages; from illegally listening in on America’s phone calls to ignoring the cries for help from those the CIA have tortured in our country’s name: all who have broken the law will be held accountable, including the president himself.
The Republican leadership has sculpted American government into a sort of gargoyle, a grotesque imitation of what it was originally intended to be. While the Democratic view is that government exists to socially, economically, and legally protect the most powerless individuals in society, the government carved out by the Republican Party has accomplished the opposite, strengthening those who already are powerful at the expense of those who are not.
It is time for such a baneful relic to crumble. Vote Democratic on Tuesday.
