We won. Now what?

[Cicada]

Repubs aren't coming back. The House will be theirs only for a while, until their redistricting games are overwhelmed by changing demographics. So we can do what we want. What's that? We need to balance the budget but cutting defense won't be enough to cover the costs of more retirees. So new taxes are needed. It is probably true that consumption taxes are better for growth than income taxes so a carbon tax is obvious since it also limits climate change. Price controls screw up markets but health care isn't a normal market good - consumers don't really have expertise sufficient to know when paying less or not buying is smart. So I think we should limit prices on some medical costs. Almost all other countries do that. And get rid of needless insurance firm costs with a single payer.
More and smarter taxes, lower medical costs - that's what we need IMO.
What else?

[JaneyVee]

1. Single payer Healthcare & affordable higher education are BIG.

If you can keep your population healthy & smart they will repay you in ways you can't even imagine.

[Incitatus]

2. Price controls on medical care sounds like a good idea, since many on both sides seem to agree

that current costs are ridiculous and since we do not have single payer yet that may be something the insurance companies will support as well. I don't know about more consumption taxes, that's regressive. Higher estate and capital gains taxes should be an option.

[RKP5637]

4. I've had a few normal medical tests recently and I've been really stunned at the

staggering costs for standard medical procedures. ... colonoscopy, echo/stress test and the like of which there are probably thousands performed each day. And a routine computerized imaging xray. The cost was in the thousands.

[RKP5637]

3. We need Citizens United to go away and get the grotesque amounts of money out

of elections. We need a fairness doctrine for large megaphone media that loves to spew lies and misleading deceptive misinformation. We also need to get 'over the top' Hate Media under control before they start another civil war in this country. I don't call that censorship, I just call it promoting a responsible MSM since they are incapable of doing it themselves.

[pa28]

5. I'm fine with absolutely nothing. Winning was enough IMO.

If the choice is between President Obama scrambling to make "grand bargain" with Republicans for the sake of action or just playing golf and helping his daughters with their homework I'd take the latter.

Sometimes doing nothing can be a very good thing.

[reformist2]

6. 1. Campaign finance reform/public funding of elections. 2. Move towards a wealth tax.

1. Eliminating big money from corrupting our election process isn't a panacea, but it's pretty darn close. In any case, no other meaningful fiscal/financial reforms will be lasting without it.

2. Once we are ensured free and fair elections, laying down the groundwork for a fair tax code is next most important thing. And despite what many liberals think, taxing income is not really the fairest way to go about rraising revenue, since there are many people with many billions of dollars who have very little income. You could raise the top rate to 90 and still not put a dent in their trust funds. With a wealth tax, even the idle rich will have to pay their fair share.

[JaneyVee]

7. Now we gloat & bask in the sweet schadenfreude.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. "So now we can do what we want." You are whistling past the graveyard.

Maybe you're only looking at the electoral college numbers and forgetting how the popular vote went.

If I had a nickel for every time I read an OP on DU that claimed the republicans were either dead or irrelevent I'd be seriously consider retiring earlier than I already do.

Careful... keep whistling past the graveyard and there's no telling which zombies you might wake up.

[theKed]

9. Four Big Things

Out of a much longer list, naturally

1. Campaign Finance Reform

2. Estate Tax Reform

3. Income Tax Reform

4. Government Lobby Reform

1 and 4 will go a long way to cleaning up government, and keeping corporate forces away from the levers of power. 2 and 3 will make it possible for the government to do what it needs to do.