The Democrats' plan via Pelosi

[ballz2wallz]

Well the Democrats have a 'plan', and here is what it contains:

Halliburton, the CIA and big tobacco companies are among the early targets identified by top Democratic staff to ABC News as likely targets for investigation once the Democrats take control of the House at the beginning of next year.

The staffers say Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), now expected to become speaker, has told top Democratic donors there is a "100-hour agenda" she wants to push through -- taking on the minimum wage, drug and energy prices and corruption.

So what exactly about Halliburton are they planning on doing? I assume they are going to do something about the CIA and the wiretaps. I don't know what else they plan to do with it; Bush has spent so much money and so much time trying to rebuild the intelligence community that the Clinton admin. so lovingly debilitated. And what do they plan on doing to the Big Tobacco companies?

It seems like they are living up to everyone's expectations.

Defense contractors, including Halliburton, the intelligence rationale for the war in Iraq and CIA secret prisons are what one staffer called "uninvestigated scandals."

Hmm...I smell 'impeachment' on their minds.

Let's take a look at this '100-hour agenda' she has in mind.

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."

I can't say that I disagree with this, although I'm curious to know exactly what she's going to do about it.

Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

I suspect it'll take more than a day to do this. Nonetheless, this could prove interesting; it might even change peoples' minds on the Democratic stance on national security.

Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.

Raise in minimum wage? Uh oh; say goodbye to the good economy we have going on. I predict a drop in the market, an increase in unemployment, and an increase in prices. Lower drug prices for Medicare patients just means the rest of us have to pay higher prices.

Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds _ "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday.

Nope, definitely didn't get a veto-proof majority.

All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority.

To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. Details will have to be worked out, she emphasized.

Excellent...she admittedly wants to raise the taxes.

"We believe in the marketplace," Pelosi said of Democrats, then drew a contrast with Republicans. "They have only rewarded wealth, not work."

"We must share the benefits of our wealth" beyond the privileged few, she added.

How socialist of her.

[ballz2wallz]

What bothers me most is that they plan to also target big oil and retirement packages of big companies. What exactly do they want to do to oil companies? Force them to lower their prices? And they will dictate how much a CEO can get in his retirement package? Are they this stupid?

[Scrum]

[Ardentfrost]

You gotta remember, they're a lot of talk right now because it's still just after election. They won yesterday (which I'm happy about), but they didn't win big enough to do a lot more than to put the breaks on the stupid shit that was going on before. I honestly hope they concentrate on the meaningful stuff (wiretapping, getting something started, er, ended in Iraq, habeus corpus, etc...). My fear is that they'll spend too much time on the stupid shit like gay marriage or raised minimum wage or increasing oil (or other big company) regulations, when there's NO WAY Bush would let those bills pass. They need to realize what is and what is not realistic for them at this time.

[Scrum]

I agree. I hope they concentrate on those things and leave the stupid stuff alone (but I don't think the gay marriage issue is stupid).

[hsmith]

nothing will happen

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

I agree. I hope they concentrate on those things and leave the stupid stuff alone (but I don't think the gay marriage issue is stupid).

Well, it's stupid for them to concentrate on it when Bush would just veto it. It's a waste of time.

I, personally, find the entire marriage issue stupid, but since it IS an issue that will be addressed eventually, I am only talking about dems choosing their fights to not waste time.

[Scrum]

And I would love to see some investigations into where all this money we have poured into Iraq has gone, but i'm not going to hold my breath.

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

And I would love to see some investigations into where all this money we have poured into Iraq has gone, but i'm not going to hold my breath.

I am actually looking forward to investigations. This is going to be the best lame duck presidency ever!

[tbone]

The number one reason Dem's are now in power in at least one house of Congress is change, if they don't do anything after taking control they will look very weak. Most of this is just posturing politically, some may come to fruition, but not all.

[kinggovernor]

a few decent points I agree with, but big tobbaco

I love the idea that wealthy people don't work hard

[ballz2wallz]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

I love the idea that wealthy people don't work hard

[SpicyMcVoodoo]

Thank fucking god someone is going to investigate Haliburton. They've been raping the tax payer with impunity for years now, and they even got caught doing it to the tune of millions, yet there were no consequences. The gravytrain just kept on rolling for them, courtesy of Republicans.

[SpicyMcVoodoo]

Originally Posted by ballz2wallz

Excellent...she admittedly wants to raise the taxes.

lol, yeah, only for the top 4% of American earners. Joe Six Pack is gonna be PISSED.

[garbagemanlb]

I found this Democratic congressional plan somewhere, I don't remember exactly who it's from.

The first order of business is to mandate abortions for all minors under the age of 18. Free of charge, of course. The empty fetii corpses will then be fed to the blacks on welfare, along with large monthly checks, to encourage laziness and increase the unemployment rate. Oh, and all small businesses will have their taxes increased 100%, with the resulting money being spent on funding fundamentalist Islamic organizations overseas and to North Korea, as a peace offering.

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by SpicyMcVoodoo

lol, yeah, only for the top 4% of American earners. Joe Six Pack is gonna be PISSED.

How can you say that? democrats are all over the map on taxes and none have given a straight answer with regard to taxes.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

I love the idea that wealthy people don't work hard

Paris Hilton, the work ethic of the hardest laboring coal miner

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

Paris Hilton, the work ethic of the hardest laboring coal miner

The poor families of the makers of her purses... she won't be able to afford as many anymore

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

How can you say that? democrats are all over the map on taxes and none have given a straight answer with regard to taxes.

It's something that's going to have to be discussed with Bush before they try anything, thats why its all over the place

If Bush is going to veto it, theres no point in having a big huff over raising taxes (just to Clinton-era levels) on those making over 200,000 a year...when its not going to go anywhere but a campaign commercial

[Thorgrim]

BTW huge disadvantage for GOP:

Democrats can bring up all the wedge issues they want (stem cells etc)

and the Republicans can bring up NONE, they have NO control on bringing up legislation