Project 2029 - 2

Dear Friends,

 

There are two broad goals that the Democrats must address in Project 2029 – improving the lives of working people and improving our democracy.  There are, of course, many other goals, but if the changes are made to improve our democracy, many of the other goals can be achieved through normal democratic processes.  

 

There are two prerequisites to achieve these broad goals – elimination of the filibuster in the Senate and significantly enlarging the Supreme Court.  Other than legislation that can be shoehorned into a reconciliation bill, the filibuster will need to be eliminated to pass the legislation needed to accomplish the two broad goals.  In addition, the concept of the unitary executive, currently in vogue with the radical right majority on the Supreme Court, will need to be defeated.  Under the unitary executive theory, the President can do what Trump has done – ignore the legislation and the authorized spending and just do those things that (s)he wants. 

 

So, every Democrat running for the Senate must be asked “what legislation will you fight for that will improve the lives of working people and will improve our democracy?”.  The follow up question is “will you work to and vote for the elimination the filibuster and the enlargement of the Supreme Court?”.  If the candidate is not willing to eliminate the filibuster and enlarge the Supreme Court, they are not serious about improving the lives of working people or improving our democracy.  Without eliminating the filibuster, the legislation cannot become law; and without enlarging the Supreme Court, a President can avoid duly executing the law. 

 

The goal is not to look like we are fighting but to take action that improves the lives of working people and improves our democracy.

 

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal

The Democrats' Project 2029 -1

Dear Friends,

 

The Republicans developed their Project 2025 to provide a clear list of their priorities and the actions they would take if they took control of the Congress and the Presidency in the 2024 election.  They have been devastatingly efficient at accomplishing their goals because Republican elected representatives were complicit in the destructive policies and because they pursued their goals without regard to the Constitution and laws of the country.  

 

The Democrats must prepare their own Project 2029 to provide a clear list of their priorities and the actions they will take when they control the Congress and the Presidency after the 2028 election.  It can also be used as a campaign platform in the 2026 midterm elections.

 

I have decided to help the Democrats out by beginning a draft of Project 2029.  My next few posts will consist of first drafts of portions of Project 2029.  I can use all the help I can get so feel free to critique and augment my draft.  As a start, here is a couple paragraph preamble to Project 2029.

 

The goal of the actions and priorities outlined in Project 2029 must be to reestablish and insure the future of our country as a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-religious liberal democracy in which we all respect, value and support each other, and governments at all levels respect, value and support all the people, ensuring their constitutional rights, keeping them safe and providing them with the opportunity to meet their potential and prosper.  

 

Project 2029 provides a bold vision and list of priorities to be pursued by the Democrats including both short term and long-term policies to enact and implement asap once they control the House, Senate and Presidency.  As a prerequisite for this vision, the Democrats must immediately eliminate the filibuster and reform the Supreme Court by enlarging it and in the longer-term instituting term limits and a method of providing each Presidential term with some nominations.  

 

There are many issues that must be addressed.  The Democrats must take them all on at once, much as the Republicans did with Project 2025, except that the Democrats must follow the rules.The Democrats must within the first two years of unified control prove to the voters that they are going to make good on their campaign promises.

 

Future posts will outline the various policies and actions that I think should be included in Project 2029.

 

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal