Should we take the House AND Senate

[Mythsaje]

maybe we should take a small page from the GOP playbook these last several years.

How do I mean?

Well, recently it's become normal for Congress to allow "special interest" to write its bills. Maybe we should make use of this and allow ourselves the opportunity to write our own bills for Congress to approve. I'm sure there are brainiacs at Moveon.org and other bastions of liberal thought who'd be up to the challenge.

How about one recinding Corporate Personhood?

A cap on Executive Compensation and "Golden Parchutes?"

A REAL torture Ban is a no-brainer.

REAL Campaign Reform, including public financing of elections?

The death of the very notion of the "Unitary Executive?"

Tying minimum wage to Congressional Pay Raises? Automatic increases to minimum wage at the same percentage that Congress raises its OWN wages?

Restoration of the Fairness Doctrine?

More stringent rules governing the appointment of ideologues to federal seats, including Judicial offices?

Maybe some laws or rules pertaining to the role of science in determining policy?

*********

We really need to take control of our legislative body. It needs to be returned to the people and wrested from the command of the Corporatists. Spending money is NOT equivilant to free speech and the average person should have no less say in government than the likes of Halliburton, Enron, and their ilk.

The government is OURS. It's about time we reminded them of this little fact.

We might use investigations into the activities of this administration and its legislative enablers to push some of these sorts of bills through. We'd have our own "nuclear option," so to speak.

Aye or Nay?

[BonnieJW]

1. Don't forget

there is a monkey in the whitehouse who can veto all of this. We don't just need a majority, we need enough to override a monkey veto.

[Mythsaje]

5. Thus the big hammer...

Play along, or be investigated.

:evilgrin:

[MrCoffee]

6. Monkey Veto is the Phrase of the Day winner!!!

i'm stealing that from you, just so's you know.

:applause:

[Tigermoose]

2. These changes require a progressive, populist party.

So, until we have one of those, these are not going to happen. And the government will not be ours. Ever. The best we can hope for is to avoid bankrupting the country through unnecessary foreign wars. At least until the next Republican president.

[Mythsaje]

9. We CAN do some serious arm-twisting now...

We have a tool we've never had before, and the Beltway has felt its power this time around.

And Congress will never be ours if we get all defeatist before we even make an attempt.

[bpeale]

3. proud to be first to K&R

[MrCoffee]

4. Maybe in 2009

[no_hypocrisy]

7. No, I want Congress back to learning to debate in a civil manner,

to negotiate, to be respectful to the other side, and to be bipartison with some members crossing party lines without fear of retaliation to vote on a bill drafted by the loyal opposition.

Oh wait, you'd have to overhaul Congress and the Senate 100% and replace them with newbies.

[Mythsaje]

8. Pretty much...

We're going to have some retaliatory actions anyway. We might as well make use of it for the benefit of the American people rather than simply encouraging the corruption to take hold on the other side of the aisle.