A Plan

The myth that Demcorats don't have an agenda should be all but destroyed by now:

Democratic House and Senate leaders are planning to reduce the cost of student loans and prescription drugs, raise the minimum wage and launch an effort to develop alternative fuels if they win back control of Congress.

In an interview Tuesday with USA TODAY, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi previewed the "New Direction for America" platform hammered out by Democratic members of Congress, mayors and governors. She and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid plan to formally unveil the plan today.

"The American people need to know, if you win, what are your priorities," she said. Reid said the party is standing "with the people we have always stood with: seniors, students and the hardworking families of America. We intend to tackle the issues that matter most."

The main points of the plan include:

1) increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour: This is a no-brainer. The minimum wage hasn't budged since 1997. This raises revenue for the federal government and Social Security while improving the lives of many people. And it's not a job killer, that's documented.

2) allowing the government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies: Again, no-brainer. This was the worst provision of the 2003 Medicare bill, which subverted the free market by denying the ability of the federal government to leverage their mass buying power.

3) Cut student-loan interest rates in half: I know people in their mid-30s who are still paying off student loans. Many of them are predatory. The last thing we should be doing in a knowledge economy is making it harder for people to go to college. And student loan companies can absolutely make a very good living lending at 3% instead of 6.8%. The government has a vested interest in a well-informed citizenry. Education is a jobs program, as the President has said. This would be an investment in education without stalling free enterprise.

4) Enacting all the 9/11 Commission recommendations: this includes fully fiunding port, chemical and airport security. It's the difference between talking about protecting the homeland and actually doing it. The gaps in our homeland security are staggering. Another Star Wars program that doesn't work is useless compared to inspecting every container that arrives on our shores.

5) Cutting tax breaks and subsidies for oil companies (you know, the richest companies in all of human history) and moving some of that money into developing alternative energy strategies: Volvo just came out with a car that runs on five fuels. Brazil is almost entirely oil-independent thanks to ethanol production from sugarcane. There is no reason we can't innovate our way to success in reducing oil imports, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and stopping global warming. Killing the electric car notwithstanding, I think the government has a lot to offer the automakers as incentives for them to invest heavily in producing alternative-fuel vehicles. This is particularly true with health care incentives (like Senator Obama's proposal). We can start a Manhattan Project for Energy and lick this problem in 10 years if provided the political will.

I would add to this list Sen. Reid's proposal, the only actual news to come out of YearlyKos, to verify intelligence about Iran with stiffer reporting requirements and stronger oversight.

Reid's proposed bill, called the Iran Intelligence Oversight Act, would require an updated national intelligence estimate on Iran, with an unclassified summary made public.

It also would require President Bush to report to Congress on his objectives and strategies for Iran.

The administration's national intelligence director also would have to show Congress that he has a process in place for reviewing administration officials' statements and ensuring they are consistent with the work of professional intelligence analysts.

"Everything they say will have to be supported by facts," Reid said. "I have no doubt the White House won't like this requirement, but after what happened in Iraq, the American people deserve nothing less."

These are real solutions and real plans that understand government exists to provide its citizens with the ability to succeed equally. At least one Republican understands that putting our plan side-by-side with their plan looks pretty good for the Democrats:

Ex-House majority leader Dick Armey, a 1994 contract author, says his former colleagues "need to do some serious substantive legislation" to improve their electoral chances. Armey, a conservative Republican, says his GOP colleagues are "wasting time" debating constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage and flag burning. "They're not doing real work. They're making political statements," he says.

So Karl Rove can continue impugning soldiers (and there's around 50 Democratic veterans challenging sitting members of Congress in November, so he'll be busy) and fearmongering on terror and taxes and gay people and brown people, but we've got a plan. And we're not putting up with the crap anymore.