I’ve been so hung up following the election, agitating for my team, and generally freaked that the bad guys could do another Tehran two-step, blow a pandemic flu our way and declare martial law, or some other “surprise” that would contravene the will of the people — so hung up on that stuff that I haven’t spent much time dealing with my ‘druthers. What do I want Obama to change? How can he change it? What are the odds that he’ll get it done right? How can I help improve those odds?
Complicating the creation of a practical agenda is the lame duck administration and the mischief they’ll do before leaving town. This is more than a matter of removing the W from all the keyboards, although that was a pretty funny trick. No, what I expect them to do is echo the evil they’ve summoned with the Syrian incursion, dig us in deeper and make it harder for Obama to make changes to the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. Let’s start there…
First on Barack’s list should be to end the “war on terror.” Declare victory and move on. Put a fork in it. It’s done. I want him to clear the fog of uncertainty and doubt about our presence in Iraq and how we intend to disentangle ourselves and just move to do it. We’ve made some powerful enemies over there and their combined strength is something we ought to beware. Syria, Iran, the Afghanistan opposition, the Iraqi insurgents, Pakistani factions that wish us no good…. If we could return to the honest perspective that terrorists are criminals who must be brought to justice, conspirators whose evil plans must be foiled, then we would be on our way to untangling the mess that Bush/Cheney created to pump money into their own pockets and “project the power” of the military-industrial complex Ike warned us about.
Organize power in Washington: The Democrats will have majorities in both houses but they will need cooperation from middle of the road Republicans to effect sweeping changes in health and education, to assure that budgets are developed that help repair the damage that years of deregulation has done. Barack will have to find his filibuster proof majority somehow so that the obstacles to progress in the House and the Senate are neutralized.
Build an administration that has regulatory teeth and turn them loose on the banking industry and securities traders. Conduct a thorough review of the rush to privatization that has been our ruin, and restore public services to drive the excess and windfall profits out of government contracts, eliminate mercenaries, and whatever else needs doing to restore public property and common wealth to the people.
Restore the civil service. Drive out the ideologues and nurture the bureaucrats. Restore pride in government service and recruit excellent young people who are inspired by the vision of doing public good.
Oh yeah, repeal the effing PATRIOT Act and restore the Bill of Rights. And while that’s in process convene a grand jury to consider indictments against the worst law breakers in the Bush/Cheney regime.
That’s enough for starters, but these thoughts need refinement, and Barack needs to have people working on these things now.
(Next time I go to Washington DC I’d like to visit a city that functions like London, not some banana republic dictatorship. Get the troops off the streets. Restore public access to public buildings. Assure security through conventional means. Lift the cloud of paranoia that has ruined our public experience since the cowards Bush and Cheney began their reign of fear.)
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