Moderate Democrats unveil economic agenda

[Ron Burgundy]

Moderate Democrats unveil economic agenda (AP)

AP - Moderate Democrats think they have the key to winning back power in Washington and across the country — a package of economic proposals aimed at giving every American a shot at reaching the middle class.

DENVER - Moderate Democrats think they have the key to winning back power in Washington and across the country — a package of economic proposals aimed at giving every American a shot at reaching the middle class.
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"We thought it was important and necessary to rekindle the American dream," said Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, a potential 2008 presidential candidate and the chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist think tank.

Sadly, Vilsack said, many of America's children nowadays don't have faith in the idea of an American dream.

"They don't believe in the notion that somehow they're going to have a great life, and many adults are just hoping that their kids have it as good as they have it. Deep down in America's psyche that troubles a lot of us," he said.

"I don't want to be part of the generation, the first generation in this country's history, to basically look my kids in the eye and say: 'Sorry. Hopefully you'll have it as good as we have it.' And, I don't think too many American parents want to have that conversation with their kids either," Vilsack said.

Additionally, the Iowa Democrat said: "We are a competitive nation. We don't like losing and if we're going to compete in the global economy, we're going to have to do things differently."

The centrist organization, best known for helping
Bill Clinton secure the White House in 1992, was to unveil Monday its "American Dream Initiative," which lays out policies on education, health care, retirement and income.

Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who led the yearlong effort and also may run for president, will outline the specific proposals in a speech to nearly 400 local elected Democratic officials from more than 40 states attending the organization's annual meeting in Republican-leaning Colorado.

The site underscores the organization's contention that the party must broaden its appeal and reach out to voters in rapidly growing areas of the country if it wants to win control of Congress this fall and the White House in 2008.

With congressional midterm elections little more than three months away, Democrats see an opportunity to reclaim the House and Senate from Republicans who have been in power for the past dozen years. By double-digit margins, a recent AP-Ipsos poll showed Americans more inclined to vote for Democrats than Republicans at a time of rampant federal spending, soaring gas prices and continued bloodshed in
Iraq.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, his counterpart in the House, Nancy Pelosi of California, and Democratic Party Chairman
Howard Dean say voters have a clear choice — more of the same under Republicans or a new direction with Democrats in charge.

But some critics within the party have criticized those leaders in Washington, saying they have failed to articulate a clear and detailed policy platform heading into the midterm elections. Some question whether Democrats need a document like the "Contract with America," which was credited with helping Republicans seize power in 1994.

The DLC's effort to create an economic agenda began a year ago, when Vilsack asked Clinton to lead the charge and solicit ideas from political, business, labor, civic and intellectual leaders across the country.

The result is what Al From, the founder of the organization, called "a set of ideas around which Democrats of all stripes can rally as we head into the fall election."

Still, he and other moderates are under no illusions that every part of the party, liberals in particular, will embrace the agenda. Said From, "My guess is that there are some people who will not be happy with the ideas."

[ballz2wallz]

i'm really curious to know what the plan contians when it's unveiled today. should be interesting. if anyone finds it before i do, post it.

[6SpeedTA95]

So where the hell is the plan?

[ballz2wallz]

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

So where the hell is the plan?

this is all i can find for now

The American Dream Initiative is a year-long project of the DLC that will engage political, business, labor, civic and intellectual leaders in a "national conversation" to help shape a positive agenda for our country and the Democratic party. The Initiative will focus on challenges facing America including: keeping our country safe, building an opportunity society, standing up for families and making sure our political and electoral systems work for all Americans.

[TekDragon]

Originally Posted by ballz2wallz

this is all i can find for now

If vaguery was worth money - the DLC would never need to campaign again.

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by TekDragon

If vaguery was worth money - the DLC would never need to campaign again.

Isn't that the truth, there in lies their problem. I dont have a big problem voting for democrats, I do it on a local level from tiem to time. However the DNC is once again scrambling for an agenda. They want to bash the President and the Republicans for mistakes they've made and much of it is criticism thats valid. The problem is the party leadership still wont give us details. If I'm gonna consider voting for a democrat I need to know what they stand for and their plans. This "we have a plan to right the american economy and revive the american dream" and then saying nothing about how to get there is just flat

[ballz2wallz]

it's supposed to be unveiled today but i'm still patiently waiting...to pick it apart

[bheld]

Vilsack is the biggest do-nothing I've ever known. It's a joke he's even thinking of running for president.

[kinggovernor]

so like where is the plan?

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by Ron Burgundy

"They don't believe in the notion that somehow they're going to have a great life, and many adults are just hoping that their kids have it as good as they have it. Deep down in America's psyche that troubles a lot of us," he said.

"I don't want to be part of the generation, the first generation in this country's history, to basically look my kids in the eye and say: 'Sorry. Hopefully you'll have it as good as we have it.' And, I don't think too many American parents want to have that conversation with their kids either," Vilsack said.

what makes people believe that this is going to happen

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

so like where is the plan?

It doesn't exist

[ballz2wallz]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

what makes people believe that this is going to happen

don't expect Ron to answer you. he ignores everyone.

[Ron Burgundy]

Democrats offer new economic policy plan (AP)

AP - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, sounding a lot like a 2008 presidential candidate Monday, accused President Bush and the Republicans of making a mess of the economy and failing to ensure affordable services for the nation's middle class and poor.

DENVER - Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, sounding a lot like a 2008 presidential candidate Monday, accused
President Bush and the Republicans of making a mess of the economy and failing to ensure affordable services for the nation's middle class and poor.
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"It's the American dream, stupid," said the former first lady in a riff on her husband's successful 1992 campaign mantra — "It's the economy, stupid." Democrat
Bill Clinton served two terms in the White House.

"They're not taking care of America. They're bankrupting our country and failing to address the problems," the New York senator said, citing skyrocketing gas, college and health care costs and lamenting a GOP "failure to provide Americans with economic security."

"Once again America needs to work for everyone not just the privileged and the powerful," Clinton said, adding that Democrats can be the "change agent" this fall by winning control of the House and Senate from Republicans.

"Democrats know we must stop passing on debt to our children and start doing what's best for our country and our children," she said in a speech to moderates attending the annual meeting of the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist think tank best known for helping her husband win the White House in 1992.

She unveiled the "American Dream Initiative," a package of economic proposals aimed at strengthening the middle class and helping the poor work their way out of poverty — and offered a version of her husband's campaign line.

The 20-page document proposes steps to curtail federal spending, make college more accessible, ensure solvent retirement accounts and make health care more affordable, all with the goal of correcting the country's current "misguided economic philosophy" and giving anyone who is willing to work hard the opportunity to get ahead.

"It seems to me that everybody in the country understands what this administration has done wrong. It is important now for this country to understand what we need to do that's right," said Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, the organization's chairman and also a potential 2008 presidential candidate.

He urged Democratic candidates to embrace the economic agenda in their House and Senate races this year, saying the party should "send a message that we understand and appreciate and believe in the American dream."

The
Republican National Committee took issue with the characterizations of the president's record.

"Only liberal Democrats like
Hillary Clinton could attack an economy that has produced 5.4 million jobs in the last three years, grew 5.6 percent in the first quarter of this year, increased payroll employment in 47 states, and is the envy of the industrialized world," said Danny Diaz, an RNC spokesman.

With congressional midterm elections little more than three months away, Democrats see an opportunity to reclaim the House and Senate. By double-digit margins, a recent AP-Ipsos poll showed Americans more inclined to vote for Democrats than Republicans.

Exit polls from the 2004 presidential election showed that those with family incomes between $30,000 and $50,000 split their votes evenly between President Bush and Democratic Sen.
John Kerry.

The median family income in 2004 was just over $43,000, according to the
Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances. The
Census Bureau put the median income at slightly more than $44,000.

One step up the economic ladder, however, those with family incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 supported Bush — 56 percent to 43 percent.

[6SpeedTA95]

Where can I get this 20 page report?

[ballz2wallz]

Originally Posted by TekDragon

Can we get a and a ban up in here?

Ron is quoting bull shit news and isn't even bothering to defend himself

[ballz2wallz]

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

Where can I get this 20 page report?

i got it.

http://www.dlc.org/documents/ADI_Book.pdf

[motivez]

Merged

[Donkey®]

Cliffs? Better yet....I will wait for the democrat haters to tear it apart so I can localize my reading.

[ballz2wallz]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

Cliffs? Better yet....I will wait for the democrat haters to tear it apart so I can localize my reading.

in case you missed it, this is an agenda by the moderate democrats, of which you admittedly are not one.

anyway, here are the cliffs:

Here are the pillars of a new opportunity agenda:


Every American should have the opportunity and responsibility to go to college and earn a degree, or to get the lifelong training they need.

Every worker should have the opportunity and responsibility to save for a secure retirement.

Every business should have the opportunity to grow and prosper in the strongest private economy on earth, and the responsibility to equip workers with the same tools of success as management.

Every individual should have the opportunity and responsibility to start building wealth from day one, and the security and community that come from owning a home.

Every family should have the opportunity to afford health insurance for their children, and the responsibility to obtain it.

In order to expand opportunity for all Americans, we must demand a new ethic of responsibility from Washington: to put government's priorities back in line with our values -- and its books back in balance -- by getting rid of wasteful corporate subsidies, unchecked bureaucracy, and narrow-interest loopholes; collecting taxes that are owed; clamping down on tens of billions of dollars in improper payments and no bid-contracts; and restoring commonsense budgeting principles like pay-as-you-go.