By David Swanson
If Democrats threw out the filibuster today and rapidly passed legislation over the next 8 months as if they gave a damn — as if they were, oh, I don’t know, the Supreme Court — and if they put just what they’re increasing the military budget by into their Build Back Better bill, if they put through with majority votes just those items they were elected on that are favored by significant majorities in the country, they’d have done enough by 6 months from now to not lose those elections. And if they kept going, they’d need never lose an election again. The whole premise of keeping the filibuster around to restrain the Republicans is the plan to go on sucking badly for 6 more months in order to lose — combined with the delusion that Republicans are going to be restrained by something that THEY can and will choose to throw out. The Republicans will certainly plan on never losing an election again. Any elections they can’t win or rig, they can ask the Supreme Court to fix up for them — and hire Al Gore to explain to us that we should sit back and take it.
If the Democrats were not fundamentally committed to sucking, here’s what they might do:
1) abolish Congressional vacations for the next 8 months
2) abolish the filibuster
3) abolish student debt
4) make college free
5) tax billionaires
6) tax quasi-billionaires
7) tax corporations
8) de-fund nuclear weapons
9) pass a major Green New Deal
10) close foreign military bases
11) create enhanced and public Medicare for All
12) restore the minimum wage
13) strip the Supreme Court of major powers assumed by it
14) expand the Supreme Court and fill it with ideal justices just out of law school
15) ban war weapons from individuals
16) ban war weapons from police
17) legislate a universal right to 18th century muskets for members of the National Guard, with no further gun rights for anyone
18) legislate abortion rights
19) ban school prayer
20) ban school sports prayer
21) ban Congressional prayer
22) legislate card-check organizing and ban “right to work” laws
23) legislate paid sick and family leave
24) legislate the inalienable right to vote for all U.S. residents over 16
25) create universal preschool
26) create a decent system of trains
27) create public financing of election campaigns
28) make the test for citizenship possession of a pulse
29) rip down borders
30) abolish weapons sales to foreign governments
31) quadruple non-strings non-military actual humanitarian foreign aid
32) create a department of unarmed nonviolent civil defense
33) ban fracking
34) give back Oklahoma again
35) tax offshoring
36) remove the cap on Social Security taxes and expand Social Security
37) abolish the federal death penalty
38) Decriminalize marijuana
39) Eliminate cash bail and mandatory minimums
40) Ban armed drones, mass surveillance, telemarketing, and Congress Members owning stock
41) Break up high-tech monopolies
42) Make DC and Puerto Rico states
43) Convene hearings at which to hear and learn from nations that handled COVID well
44) Announce a schedule of impeachments of horrendous abusers of power currently and formerly holding high offices in government, including in Congress and on the Supreme Court
45) End the war on Yemen
Do one of those a day for the next 45 days and you’re at mid-August. Then keep going. Make clear that you intend to keep going. Make clear that you’ve decided to copy from Republicans their willingness to act rather than their funders and policies. And then explain to me how the Democrats are doomed to lose the next elections and so had better keep the filibuster in place and rely on Joe Biden vetoes to save the world, as if Biden ever saw something horrible he would veto, as if Biden wouldn’t make a key bipartisan principle out of not vetoing, as if the world could survive simply by slowing the destruction rather than implementing the radical changes required, even if Biden would lift a finger to slow it.
Doing only a part of this would get my vote. I would also put on the list that FEMA should be expanded to assist people in homes that have been contaminated with pesticides, fire extinguishers, mold, asbestos, smoke, and other health threats that now are being abandoned by their homeowner’s insurance companies, with no justice in the courts, and refused assistance by nonprofits that would help if it was a natural disaster.
Don’t forget to keep voting BLUE no matter who/what or why not!
Clearly it is working wonders so far…
There’s still time for another party to run in 2024.
The level of fraud and manipulation that exist in the USofT sub-system “elections” is equal to a voting system in some mob environment…
This is just the latest example of the scam the entire sub-system is:
https://rumble.com/v1arewj-dems-illegally-kick-3rd-party-off-ballot-in-north-carolina.html
You left out the biggest game changer. The root cause of the ‘right’ things not getting done, things that individuals in both parties want, is the lack of TERM LIMITS. Think about it, if politicians had no concern regarding a re-election, they would mostly do the right thing for the public at large.
Have thought about it – have looked at its results where implemented – have written about it for decades – it clearly is no substitute for creating the ability to vote people out who don’t obey the public. It amounts to giving up all control — as does the current system.
I’ve been voting dem since I was able to vote, I even organized a state campaign in my town when I was 16 – I was a true blue believer. Then I woke up to reality. I remember the promises of universal healthcare that pulled me in. In 1994. Eventually you have to realize – it’s all empty promises. Because they’re owned by the same corporate donors as their bosses in the GOP. The only difference is their marketing. Check the Princeton study that concludes – were no democracy. As chomsky said “democracy and capitalism cannot coexist – they are opposing forces.” Yes the dems suck – but it’s the system, not which faces populate it. When you find yourself asking over and over “are they just stupid, or are they complicit?” Well, what’s the difference at this point? Is there any meaningful difference? The problem is capitalism and it’s literally killing us and the planet. Nothing changes until that does. Thanks for your wonderful work!
Write on, August, and David,
It is the system, the personalities come and go but the ‘system’ (capitalism) continues to kill. Examine the system; (capital = money) + (ism = system) = capitalism = money system. We have had a privatized global monetary system built up over the last 400 years that runs through the commercial banking system. Accumulated money is power, and more with the privilege of creating and allocating it. The finance industry owns the corporations and directs the public policy of most governments making the Bank of International Settlements the boss. No banker in the BIS system can be prosecuted as they have de facto immunity. Nations need to take back their sovereign right to issue their own money, the most vital prerogative of democratic self-governance because any government that does not control the money is controlled by those who do and is an oligarchy not a democracy.