Earn This

Before I say one more word, I should point out that the official holiday for Veterans Day is tomorrow, and I want to wish any veterans who may be reading this a good day and say thank you once more for your service and sacrifice on behalf of our country. And though I didn’t really plan it this way, it turns out that there is what you might call a military theme of sorts that I’m trying to articulate in this post, so it ties in somewhat.

As I’ve had some time to ponder the full extent to which the Democrats have completely and thoroughly whipped the Repugs in the recent elections, primarily in the U.S. Congress (helped largely by the epochal tragedy in Iraq), what has come back to me over and over again is the climactic scene in “Saving Private Ryan.”

As Tom Hanks’ character Captain John Miller lay dying by the side of the road after being hit by a German sniper, he fires his pistol at an enemy tank and, in an improbably lucky shot, manages to ignite the tank into flames. At that moment, an Allied air strike approaches and the enemy, surrounded by Allied forces, surrenders.

Soon after that, those remaining in Miller’s platoon approach him, including the movie’s title character. The last words uttered by Capt. Miller towards James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), the Army private for whom Hanks and many of those under his command have lost their lives, are the title of this post (as in, make yourself worthy of the sacrifice others have made for you).

I don’t mean to be melodramatic here, since those of us who have worked in any way at all towards this week’s election victories sacrificed their time, their labor, sweat, tears (hopefully no blood), and money. To my knowledge, no one sacrificed their lives or was seriously wounded in the process (I hope not, anyway).

Still, by virtue of everything we’ve done, we’ve placed our trust in what you could call with no exaggeration (I believe) a new generation of Democrats (except for Lieberman and a few others, of course). And it is incumbent upon them to “earn this” every day.

They must do this because, in addition to being watched by us who will give them the benefit of the doubt as much as we can, they will be watched by our corporate media, the wounded Repugs who will be simmering with rage as they prepare for another turn in a few years, and the rest of the world who are hoping and praying for sane political leadership from this country.

I took a few minutes to review some prior “Where The Rubber Meets The Road” posts where I commented on legislation in the U.S. House and Senate over the past few months, and I also checked elsewhere to come up with a list of issues that the new Democratic Congress should address after they are sworn in next year. They appear below (and I readily admit that some of these are “wish list” items):

- At the very least concerning Iraq, adopt a resolution demanding deadlines for a phased redeployment of our troops currently stuck over there to an “over-the-horizon” force, start transitioning others to Afghanistan and Pakistan as needed, and start bringing the rest of them home, in accordance with the recommendations of PA-08 Congressman-elect Patrick Murphy, among others.
- Pass the serious ethics reform legislation sponsored by the House Democrats that the Repugs gutted last May, which included the provision that it is a felony offense for a lawmaker to influence hiring decisions within lobbying firms (goodbye “K” Street Project).
- Pass a bill immediately revoking the new FISA guidelines and reinstituting the old ones.
- Pass a bill expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, including funding for development with new stem cell lines.
- Establish a commission to examine allegations of fraud by defense contractors and other firms related to the Iraq war, along the lines of the commission proposed by Rep. Louise Slaughter.
- Demand an accounting from this administration concerning jobs lost to offshoring in this country and anticipated future losses, and if none can be provided, demand the immediate resignation of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
- Begin a comprehensive review of OSHA guidelines overturned by the Bush Administration and take every means to see that they are reinstated, including those concerning repetitive strain injuries in the workplace.
- Raise the hourly minimum wage at long last from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in a bill with no other riders, provisions, or amendments.
- Make sure that the Department of Defense and all federal agencies comply with environmental regulations as promised by presidential candidate George W. Bush in the 2000 election (there’s so much more that needs to be done to try and remedy the environmental crimes of this administration that I don’t think it’s possible to list everything here).
- Demand the immediate resignation of U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton (that may be happening soon anyway).
- Restore the Advanced Technology Program, which provided venture capital funding across a wide geographic area of the country in diverse industries, including electronics, information technology, materials and chemistry, biotechnology, and manufacturing.
- Repeal the estate tax cuts immediately and return the tax to its level before it was changed, and remove the $90,000 ceiling on earnings subject to Social Security withholding.
- Establish a bipartisan commission to look into Medicare Part D reform, including elimination of the “donut hole” and the provision to negotiate drug prices as well as buying drugs in bulk quantities (other measures advocated by Patrick Murphy among others).
- Pass a bill establishing habeas corpus rights for “enemy combatants.”
- Pass legislation to ensure electronic screening of all U.S.-bound containers, including appropriating the funds to modernize equipment at our ports to accomplish this as needed (short of 100-percent screening, we should work diligently on this to the most practical goal we can achieve).
- Approve $1.5 billion for mass transit and inner city rail systems as a follow up to the 9/11 Commission recommendations to ensure safety against a terrorist attack.
- Bar the Pentagon from spending funds (in accordance with HR 5631) on a contract with a public relations firm to generate “positive news” on Iraq.
- Pass a resolution to forbid drilling in the ANWR once and for all.
- Add $750 million to the Department of Homeland Security grants to cities at a high risk of suffering a terrorist attack (this measure was defeated last June).
- Pass legislation to establish an oil refinery reserve that would be brought to full capacity during emergencies to stabilize commercial markets (also work on legislation to protect consumers against price gouging by energy providers, particularly pertaining to rising gasoline prices after Memorial Day which, as if by magic, fall again by Labor Day).
- Call for an investigation into the Food and Drug Administration concerning the chronic shortages of flu vaccines in this country (Henry Waxman would probably be a good person to handle this since his committee has monitored this agency for some time).
- Call for an investigation into the use of thimerosal in vaccines and the possibility of a link to autism, and DO NOT automatically exclude pharmaceutical companies.
- Pass legislation reducing the fines on “broadcast indecency” from a maximum of $325,000 back to the prior maximum of $32,000 that stood until last June (fining a performing artist, radio or TV personality, broadcaster or media company a third of a mil for accidentally uttering a bad word is insane).
- Immediately restrict the sale of nuclear technology and fuel to countries that do not comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, so we don’t have a replay of Dubya’s sale of same to India; though we have friendly relations, they have not signed the NPT.
- Pass an amendment requiring that new Defense Secretary Robert Gates reports to Congress on Iraq at least every three months.
- Pass legislation to ensure strict privacy controls over medical records transmitted over the Internet.
- Authorize federal grants to promote sex education as a deterrent to teen pregnancies.
- Authorize additional funds and additional law enforcement personnel for online predator surveillance.
- Approve a supplemental pay raise for all military personnel of at least 2 percent (a 2.2 percent pay raise was approved as part of a supplemental appropriation in September, but I’m sorry…we should do better than that for our service people, given what they’ve endured under Bushco).
- Expand TRICARE health coverage to National Guard and Reserve personnel serving overseas.
- Pass an amendment barring spending on producing or selling cluster bombs until such time as the Pentagon sets rules for their use near civilians.

That’s all I can think of at the moment.

We’ve all worked hard, as have you, new members of Congress. Now, start to address these issues and craft the best possible legislation that you can in response.

We’ll be tolerant and understanding knowing what you’re up against (after all, this country was WAY TOO TOLERANT of Bushco and the Repug congress that got us into this mess, so the least we can do is extend to you the same courtesy).

But we want results, and we have every expectation that you’ll deliver.

Earn this, Democrats.

Update 12/8: Looks like diarist MissLaura at The Daily Kos has a list also.