National Democratic Party Score Card 2005

12/20/2005

December 20, 2005
Paul Munnis

In our opinion in terms of doing the job of acting as the loyal opposition we Democrats are doing a good job on Iraq, a fair job concerning Civil Liberties, a poor job on the Economy, and the Environment.

Iraq:

In terms of Iraq, the work of Rep. Jack Murtha once again has the U.S. moving forward on Iraq. There is no question that we would have little to no forward momentum if Rep. Murtha had not blown the whistle and called peoples attention to the fact that the Bush Administration was providing a disaster wrapped in illusion and calling it a war on terrorism. If we can sustain forward movement on that effort then we will do just fine. In the end most of the future of Iraq does not belong to Bush, the GOP, or to Democrats and Americans, but to the Iraqi people themselves. A choice for civility or barbarism is at their doorstep and it’s all wrapped up in religion. They need to cut through all of the illusion and choose a future for themselves and for their children. We hope for their sake that they choose Democracy.

American Foreign Policy

When viewed in the larger context of Foreign Policy the Bush Administration is leaving America isolated and insulated. We give very high leadership grades to former President Clinton on providing international assurances that America is just going through a bad period with the Bush Administration and that we have a future as a trustworthy partner in advancing international peace and prosperity once again. Clinton’s recent performance at the Montreal conference on climate and energy is a case in point. His willingness to go to the mid-east and to lecture on the value of democracy to Arabian nations and the future leaders of the mid-east at a time of fundamental societal change and doing this at mid-eastern Universities is yet another example of his leadership quality. By leading tsunami relief efforts and the Katrina hurricane recovery program Mr. Clinton is keeping a solid Democratic presence. Most important of all, he is leading multi-national companies to see the benefits of continued investment in America in a post-Bush era. He is buying America time.

American Civil Liberties

In terms of American Civil Liberties and assuring them for our U.S. citizens the GOP has worked at doing something about the atrocities being committed in terms of torture and abuse and in the name of fighting terrorism. John McCain has held the Defense Appropriations Bill hostage to reform. We have supported Sen. McCain with our votes.

We Democrats have done little concerning restoring key liberties such as the writ of “Habeus Corpus” to our civil liberties that were seized by the Patriot Act. Yes, the Patriot Act is on the ropes right now but that is not Democrats doing and the GOP can take it off the ropes at a moments notice if they choose to. They may choose to pork the Patriot Act and blame it on the Democrats and if so we should gladly accept the blame. 

When it comes to spying on the public we are doing a little better thanks to the NY Times publication of the Bush Administration’s violation of laws on spying on American citizens. Bush is now on record as having violated the law and he is wiggling about searching for justification for his illegal acts. He is vulnerable to being turned out of office over this. So is Alberto Gonzales. Peopoe are howling for Bush’s sca;p now and there will be more to come.

International Crime:

When it comes to international criminal prosecution of the Bush Administration on crimes of illegal invasion of foreign nations and crimes against humanity, we have done little as a Party as yet. In all fairness Bush cannot be prosecuted prior to his exit from public office after 2010 for he has diplomatic immunity afforded to heads of state. We can work to assure the proofs and evidence is clearly available and is being collated, cataloged, and prepared for trial use. Some of that is going on but more needs to be done.

The U.S. Economy

As for the economy the Democratic Party does not get great grades. We are losing jobs in America at a huge rate. Examples are GM, Ford, and the Airlines. To stop these losses then heath care for Americans must be available from an affordable source. The private sector has failed America as an affordable source of affordable health care insurance and so it falls to the public sector to meet the needs of the Commons. That is where Democrats should shine but in fact where we are dozing and failing to lead. This must become the leading issue for the 2008 campaign and it wouldn’t hurt us to use the 2006 election to sound out Congressional wannabe’s on this subject and winnow out those who oppose a public sector solution.

We have collapsing pensions and failing healthcare as key issues and we have Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as the foundations to build upon. We should not be afraid of the GOP on this issue. It is a major 2006 issue with a 2008 result in my mind.

The Environment:

As for the Environment, we are being tested now over the attempt to include ANWR into the House Defense Appropriations Bill. Before the next 72 hours end we will know how to grade Democrats on this subject. It is important that Democrats get on the right side of this issue and support preserving the ANWR area and if necessary risk it all by doing a filibuster on the Defense Appropriations Bill. It does not matter if the Defense Bill is not passed by Christmas, it can be tabled and work can resume on it after the holiday ends or it can even carry over to the next Congress in February of 2006. Remember, our nation runs on a fiscal year starting in July of 2006 and these appropriations are supposed to be for the period forward of July 2006. So there is plenty of time to work on these issues and we should not give into a stampede mentality by the GOP. Everything that the GOP has passed in haste has come back to bite them. As the loyal opposition we do not want the GOP to fail in this matter, we need to force them to do the right thing. If we need time to do it then by all means buy the needed time.

The Health of Capitalism

Other aspects of the economy are also poor. For example the stock market is still stalled and the investment climate is poor. Jobs are going overseas at a rapid rate in 2005 and will accelerate in 2006. The balance of payment on account for world trade is in woeful shape and globalization is about to hurt the farm sector of America big time.

The GOP spin machine is spinning our economy as a positive story but most of the numbers are false or are of little real consequence. After five years of neglect our American stock market remains near its post 9/11 low and a good part of that has to do with false accounting, failure to bring labor into the board room, and lack of incentive to invest money in America by multi-national companies.

We Democrats have to grind Bush’s nose off over these issues and force him to restore the progressive tax structure, provide R&D tax credits, and redirect pork to provide for economic regional stimulus. I know that we don’t control the Congress but time spent now in making noise about these issues acts as an educational forum for the public and when we need their understanding for the 2008 election we will have made the investment and we can then reap the rewards from an informed voting bloc.

Conclusion:

We conclude with a satisfactory scorecard for our Party for 2005 but we are facing major challenges for the period 2006 to 2008.

Remember, getting into office is one thing but governing well after getting there is something else. Bush is not governing well and it’s up to Democrats to provide leadership in the absence of the GOP. They are asleep and we need to keep the electorate aware of it while at the same time keeping America moving forward in spite of the GOP.