I got a chuckle out of the 1:00 a.m. EST prediction. Good one.
I, too, have not heard a coherent Iraq plan from Democrats. Of course, I haven’t heard a reasonable one from the Republicans, either. Stay until the Iraqis can stand up for themselves. Not gonna happen. What do you think we should do, JES? (Tone of that question: Not a pointed barb, but rather a quest for someone’s opinion)
Pelosi’s plan for her first few days as speaker (if that happens):
Day One: Put new rules in place to “break the link between lobbyists and legislation.”
Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
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.
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 [October 5].
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.
That all sounds quite good to me right here in the center (despite jg’s rants, I’m not a liberal – not that there’s anything wrong with that). I’d like to hear arguments against it from the right.
True, there’s nothing about Iraq in there. But it’s a plan for her first few days; Iraq isn’t something that can be solved that quickly. It’s not just a comma. It will never be just a comma, especially to the thousands of dead service men and women and their families. (I’m surprised that bush got away so easily with his “comma” comment. Kerry got more flak for a botched joke than bush did for minimizing the deaths of our people.) Iraq is a national disaster. Trillions of dollars, thousands of lives, tens of thousands of Americans maimed, the world hates us more than ever (which is fine unless we ever need them, which at this rate will be sooner rather than later), and terrorists more angry and numerous than ever. And what have we gotten/will we get out of it? Second chance to answer that question, right-wingers. No takers the first time.
