An Agenda for the Democrats' Second Hundred Hours

By Sally Kohn, AlterNet. Posted January 7, 2007.

(Attention: Actual, specific, ideas contained below)

In 1994, the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress. Up to that point, Democrats had controlled the Senate for six years and the House for thirty-four years. And a Democrat, Bill Clinton, was still in the White House. Like a new jockey mounting a horse that had just bucked the previous rider, one might have expected the Republican leadership to be timid, hesitant, more concerned with maintaining power in the next election than using their power to achieve real change. But instead, the audacious Republicans went for the gold.

Newt Gingrich and the Republican leadership of the 104th Congress outlined a "Contract With America," a bundle of proposals that Republicans promised to introduce and pass during the first 100 days of their control of Congress. This was no shrinking violet agenda. Republicans set out to implement a bold vision that included eviscerating welfare, abolishing basic fiscal equity through tax cuts for the super-rich, privatizing social security, undermining the peacekeeping role of the United Nations and expanding the U.S. military for wanton escapades abroad. And while much of the agenda did not pass in its intended form, clearly variations on the theme have seeped into political reality today -- to the point where many of these proposals have recruited new adherents, including the new class of conservative Democrats in Congress.

Fast forward to 2006: the Democrats take back Congress. Pundits and political leaders declare the Democrats' victory a landslide. Even President Bush admitted it was a thumping. So, back on the horse of Congressional power -- in much the same position as the Republicans twelve years ago -- what goals are the Democrats trying to reach?

In the lead up to the election, Representative Nancy Pelosi -- in the Speaker role that Gingrich once held -- outlined a six-point agenda for the Democrats first 100 legislative hours in office, a period potentially stretching over several weeks. The "Six for '06" includes some very good ideas -- negotiating for Medicare prescriptions to lower drug prices, cutting student loan rates and making college tuition tax deductible, reducing dependence on foreign oil through new energy-efficient technologies.

But the agenda Democrats outlined can hardly be called bold and ambitious. Stopping the privatization of Social Security is important, but as Americans live longer and the baby boom generation reaches retirement, we need to expand Social Security to support all of us when we need it. Re-examining the strategy in Iraq is a nice first start, but what about re-examining the cowboy foreign policy used to justify pre-emptive war, whether on faulty intelligence or not? Raising the minimum wage is essential, but just as important is a plan for sensible trade the builds jobs and local economies in the U.S. and abroad -- rather than just building the bank accounts of multi-national corporations.

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Sally Kohn is the director of the Movement Vision Project of the Center for Community Change, which is interviewing hundreds of activists across the country to determine the progressive vision for the future of the United States.

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