WAKE UP DEMOCRATS

 

By Ruth A. Sheets

I have noticed the Democratic Party’s current candidates are willing to acknowledge their Democratic opponents even if they lose to them in the primaries.  That is critical!  A lot of negativity has been coming from Republicans who think they can widen divisions among Democrats.  They want to make breaks between some of the Dems in leadership and the younger, but also, more progressive candidates.  The line is that those leaders are too scared of those coming along with new, powerful ideas. 

It seems though, money for some leaders is a major factor rather than an honest disparity among messages.  Minority Leaders Jeffries and Schumer filled a gap in the party after remarkable leaders stepped down.  The Party now needs something new, people who will lead into the challenges of stopping Trumplandia’s encroachment on our rights and most other aspects of our lives, even if the huge corporate money isn’t there for them. 

We need Democratic leaders to stand up with candidates who don't necessarily connect with the old Democratic agenda.  Maybe everyone can learn something from the newcomers and progressives, as well as support them in their campaigns, not undermine them, call names, and generally take on the Republican role.  Republican oligarchic money is doing a great job of undermining Democrats so Democrats don’t have to participate in it. 

We need a Democratic platform that all candidates can connect with and then add to as appropriate.  Here are a few planks for the platform I like:: 

• universal healthcare that everyone pays into and can use as needed;
• strong well-supported public schools, including Head Start;
• affordable housing for all;
• corporate, foreign,  and PAC money out of elections and every penny of every donation accounted for as to who donated it and how much;
• immigration reform which encourages a streamlined path to citizenship for DACA young people and anyone living in this country for 8 years or longer who has no criminal record and wants citizenship;
• abolish ICE and its cruel unjust, racist deportations (without American citizen family members, often to places where the deported folks don’t know the language and find themselves in war zones), and end concentration camp prisons (where innocent immigrants of color are held in appalling conditions, suffer and even die because the “guards’” and prison corporations’ cruelty has been unchecked);
• Absolutely no wars without strong congressional approval (at least 60 votes in the Senate and 250 in the House).  Acting alone by a president and cabinet is grounds for impeachment for the whole bunch at once;
• strong efforts to halt global warming with an extreme emphasis on renewable energy and  environmental restoration, including subsidies for EVs, solar panels, and other energy savers;
• bodily autonomy for all;
• severe limitations on executive privilege:  no firing government employees without just, non political cause; penalties for executive branch overreach as in destroying public properties without congressional permission and for good reason; no presidential gifts from foreign or domestic sources, nominees for all government positions with experience in the area of their nomination;
• judicial reform with justices having say, an 18 year term limit, a strong code of ethics at all judicial levels with consequences if broken, and increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court with specific qualifications and approvals for nomination to all courts;
• protection for our public lands, national parks, and monuments;
• end tariffs and work to reestablish good relations with our allies and potential allies;
• restore aid programs around the world with support for effective medical research projects. 

These are a start.  I believe all Democrats can go along with them.  Each candidate should emphasize those that connect best for their town, district, or state and add to them.  Of course candidates must point out how the current administration has chosen cruelty and chooses to ignore our Constitution, rather than working for the American people, using specific examples, but emphasis should be on the above issues. 

Democrats must go on the offense rather than always trying to defend themselves from the lies and cuts of their Republican opponents.  These ideas could get Democratic candidates more attention and win us more victories.  Putting Democratic and Independent candidates in office at all levels who actually want something better for this nation can bring us closer toward establishing a "more perfect union."