A 'CONTRACT WITH AMERICA'
WISH LIST FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
By: Kevin Tuma
I just did what, six years ago, I would have considered preposterous. I voted Democrat, for the first time in my life.
It took me a long time to get to this point. I used to think myself a conservative, until after 9-11, when it became obvious that the only conservatism in Washington was neo-conservatism---and that neo-conservatism and Liberty could not co-exist. Of course I have been a libertarian all my life, so this tended to stick in my craw.
Although it was patently obvious that Democrats had no ideas, I voted for them anyway. Oh, I knew they were socialists..but so were their opponents. At least the Democrats have been a relatively blank slate ideologically of late, and that could be a good thing. They might be willing to listen to new ideas.
I will therefore attempt to explain my vote in ideological terms.
Democrats, I did not vote for you because I like your philosophies on abortion or the Bible or gun rights. I did not vote for you because I think the government spends too little money on welfare, health care, or education. I certainly did not vote for you because I wanted to see an increase in the Federal Minimum Wage. (Why should I want to pay $10 for a cheeseburger, when they are already overpriced at $6…?)
None of my interests in supporting your party are based on federal handouts or the relative economics thereof.
I voted Democrat for constitutional reasons. And I’m not alone.
This was not a landslide victory, as proclaimed by pro-Democrat pundits like Michael Moore. It was a rather ordinary victory that could have been a landslide. And make no mistake: Things could have been much, much worse for the GOP.
It wasn’t a bona-fide landslide because the Democratic base was not energized. Democratic voters were frustrated with their own party after six years of Lapdog Liebermanism, and they were cynical. The plain truth is that this election victory was determined by Reagan conservatives and libertarians.
Reagan conservatives, finally overcome by disgust, stayed home after 12 years of GOP socialism---years marked by insolence, power grabbing, open borders, and runaway spending. Ronald Reagan, with his free market laissez-faire ideas and belief in smaller, less intrusive government, had nothing in common with Republicans in Washington today. Reagan was a real conservative, at least in outspoken ideology. Bush and his friends in the Rockefeller Wing have been neo-con warmongers who throw good money after bad, and define ‘patriotism’ as obedience to the throne. They are not conservatives; they are federal imperialists. Reagan voters have known this for a long time, but it took a long series of outrages and usurpations before they finally started to spit them out of their mouths.
Until a new Ronald Reagan emerges---hardly a foregone conclusion with this bunch of silver spoon-born bunglers--Republicans can expect a continuing downward trend in future vote turnouts.
Libertarian voters, of whom there are many, weighed the options of voting for their itty bitty, teeny weeny, next-to-insignificant Third Party, and went to the polls and voted Independent or Democrat. The result was all the push the GOP needed to topple like dominoes. Libertarians have been supporting Republicans for years--primarily because of dislike for gun control and high taxes. This year, after watching five long, ugly years of GOP war on the Constitution, they finally stopped. It made a huge difference that the elitist media probably hasn’t noticed.
The Republican media spin is that this election was “a moratorium on an unpopular war”. “The American people are war-weary”, they like to say--as if the war was something unavoidable that had been dumped in their laps. This is a twist of the truth that avoids the real issue. The issue is lying to the American people. The war was a pre-emptive war of aggression, started on a foundation of lies, that continues unabated for no honest or logical reason. Like everything else the administration has done since 9-11-01, it has been a very expensive power grab based on pure deceit.
What the libertarian silent minority (that is slowly supplanting conservatism)--and the frustrated Democratic base--both want is the same thing: Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Ending the pointless, stupid war in Iraq is nice, but doesn’t go nearly far enough.
Since the Democratic Party had no “Contract With America” to offer angry voters, allow me to suggest one. I will do what all statists do—coercively express my ideas in the collective “we”. Consider the following a wish list for the Democratic Party, from swing voters who voted for change:
(1) Impeachment. We want this President impeached and removed from office. Do not tell us “we need a spirit of bipartisanship in government”. We don’t need any such damn thing. We need a constitutional republic that sets a good example of the Rule of Law, not the Rule of Men.
Nixon’s first drafted Article of Impeachment was that he “lied to the American People”. Bush has openly admitted to far worse, and he called the Constitution “a goddamned piece of paper.” Despite the enormous differences in their intellect, Bush is like Nixon on his very worst day, with a good mixture of J. Edgar Hoover thrown in for good measure. Forget the ‘war crimes’ the Republican Congress tried to pardon Bush for recently…this President is clearly above all US laws, and he will stay that way until he is forced to obey constitutional boundaries. If we do not rein in his powers, it sets an ill precedent for future officeholders. At this late date in his administration, ‘setting a precedent’ really means only one thing: Congressmen, do your duty.
(2) Clean up the election system. No more whining about stolen elections, please. You now have the opportunity to clean them up--beginning with the elimination of Diebold-style touch screen machines from the system. We need a Federal Clean Elections Act, and we need it now. A new federal law needs to eliminate all forms of computerized voting and restore the paper ballot and pen as standard…insuring a fully accountable Paper Trail in each and every future election.
(3) Restore the Fourth Amendment. We want our constitutional checks and balances at least marginally restored. But until that happens--presumably by future Supreme Court actions--we want the Patriot Act repealed. Since the modern Congress is loathe to repeal much of anything, the best way to take out the Patriot Act is to supercede it with a new law overriding its powers. We also need regulations aborting other Bush-era civil liberties violations like the National ID Card, the NAIS program, and so on. It can all be wrapped up in a single bill. It could be called the “Fourth Amendment Restoration Act”. It could be easily done, and would receive bipartisan support from constitutionalist Congressional Republicans like Ron Paul of Texas.
(4) Write a New War Powers Act. This is a no-brainer. We need a tougher, more restrictive version of the 1970s War Powers Act, to restrain future presidents with Napoleonic impulses. The United States can no longer afford to be ‘Policeman to the World.’ It is bankrupting our economy and needlessly killing off our soldiers in foreign lands. While it is true that the Constitution invests military power in the Commander in Chief, it does not grant powers for ‘police actions’ and undeclared wars. Senseless wars like Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq fall into the latter category. They can and should be eliminated by force of Congressional mandate.
(5) A return to government by the People.
In brief summary:
We at least want to see America return to being a straightforward Democracy--instead of an empire governed by unitary executives who are Kings in all but name only.
We want to see a return to the Watergate-era phrase “the President is not above the Law”.
We want legal brakes put on the abuse of signing statements and Executive Orders.
We want an adversarial Congress that checks the Executive Branch, and directly controls the President’s ability to make war.
We want the Fourth Amendment restored. We are sick and tired of living under a national government that increasingly resembles the ones depicted in George Orwell’s 1984 or Alan Moore’s ‘V for Vendetta’.
The freshman democratic Congress has the power to enact these things. Do these things for us, and you have our support. (Hell, I may even write you a campaign check.)
But please note, Democrats: We expect results, not excuses. At least if you want us to vote for you again. Help reboot individual freedom in this country, and do your duty under constitutional law.
After you have done your constitutional duty, we can discuss National Health Care and all that other fluff.
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