The Spoils of Victory

Now that Barack Obama and the Democrats have resoundingly defeated John McCain and the Republicans, there will be much talk about uniting the nation and bringing people together. That is all well and good, but I believe that the campaign will have been for naught if the Democrats do not take advantage of this opportunity to enact some desperately needed legislation.

President-elect Obama has made clear that he considers the economy to be issue number one. Lame-duck Bush has indicated that he might veto an economic stimulus package during the coming months. If Congress and Bush have not already done so by the time Obama takes office, he will have to submit and Congress will have to enact a massive economic stimulus package, including the extension of unemployment benefits, aide to the states, and public works projects.

We need a mammoth program to repair and rebuild our infrastructure. This will provide needed jobs and get America working again. As Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winning economist, has said: in times like this it is necessary for the government to spend substantial amounts of money even if it means large deficits.

The next thing that needs to be done is the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. This will not end the war against terror, but it will lower the cost in lives and money of that war. We will have to redirect some of the troops to Afghanistan where our real enemies are located. That should have been done long ago.

Frankly, I do not care whether conservatives consider health care legislation to be socialistic. This country has suffered for too long with an inadequate health care system. It is time to provide universal health insurance. The program announced by Barack Obama may be adequate, but I hope Democratic members of Congress can convince him to create one that is more like the single-payer system used by European countries. There should be mandatory health insurance for all Americans, not just children. Moreover, Congress must abolish the Medicare Part D drug program, a boondoggle for the Pharmaceutical and Insurance industries, and enact a program for seniors that covers all prescription medications as part of Medicare.

Congress needs to eliminate both tax breaks for oil companies and tax loopholes for rich corporations. We need to tax the windfall profits of oil companies, and thereby force them to invest their profits in alternative sources of energy. We need to repeal the tax breaks given by Bush to wealthy Americans and provide tax relief for the middle class. Moreover, Congress should provide tax relief for companies creating jobs in America.

Congress needs to protect America from the rapacious oil and gas industries and permanently prevent oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge as well as in additional offshore areas and in the 360,000 acres of public land recently opened by Bush for drilling in Utah. In addition, Congress should mandate that the oil companies begin drilling in the millions of acres where they already have leases--or lose those leases. Congress should also pass legislation supporting and encouraging companies engaged in alternative energy exploration and development. Such legislation could create many thousands of new jobs.

Bush and his head-in-the-sand Republicans have ignored the coming calamity of global warming for far too long. Democrats, aided by responsible Republicans, must now enact legislation to save our planet from disaster. We need laws that compel the big industries beloved by Bush to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. We need laws that compel auto manufacturers to lower carbon emissions and increase gas efficiency. And we need to sign the Koyoto Accord and other accords in order to bring the United States into line with foreign countries in the fight against global warming.

President Obama should also take this country out of the dark ages by reversing many of Bush’s executive orders, including rules regarding governmental investment in stem-cell research. Further, Congress should protect poor people from freezing to death this winter by promptly renewing and increasing funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

There are other programs which need to be enacted. During the past few years, President Bush and the Republicans in Congress were able to stifle these initiatives with vetoes and endless filibusters, but after January 20th it should be possible to go forward. Unity is a fine thing, but we have waited too long for Congress to get going.