The New New Deal

If the Democrats are ever going to win another election, people say, they have to win on the issues. The post-9/11 environment has made this almost impossible, since terror apparently trumps everything else, and as mind-boggling as it is, the fumbling President and his dutiful Christian soldiers seem to provide comfort to the fearful.

But the tide is turning. The further removed we are from 9/11, the less the right wing can exploit the public's fear to push their agenda. But what agenda will take its place? If the safety and security crowd loses steam, what can Democrats sell to the public to revitalize debate and unite the country?

Energy independence to protect the American way of life.

A vision that incorporates environmentalism with open-market capitalism, exploiting the new awareness of America's energy dependence brought on by the Iraq war. Conservation must be discussed. Making America efficient. Clean energy. America taking the lead on climate change.

No more brown-outs, black-outs, or wiped out American cities. No more blood for oil. Healthier land, healthier people. No more fat Americans, no more fat corporate executives, no more fat cat Republican oilmen in the White House.

If we are to save this precious earth, the most powerful nation cannot be seen as a pig at the trough, devouring as much as it can before the rest get their fill. The vision put forth by the Bush Administration is that America is unique, and therefore need not play by the rules. America is indeed unique, but must lead by example, or risk losing the power it currently has to _set_ the rules.

The authority America used to have was in its values. How it treated its citizens. America must restore its reputation as respecting individual rights and democracy. America must lead in terms of providing support for its poorest citizens, or risk furthering the economic and political divide. America must abandon the failed War on Drugs, and work towards providing infrastructure and jobs for the working poor, with a vision that supports diversity, builds communities, and rewards innovation and initiative. America's leaders must acknowledge that poverty is a symptom of a failed economic system, not an inevitable result of freedom.