Ditto copyright reform & Internet access.  These are  important, and would peel off some technophile libertarian types, but aren't there other things that rate higher?  I would put real tax reform (or even just enforcement) ahead that, for example.  What about rebuilding public health and scientific research?  (and these are two groups that disproportionately vote Democratic.  Throw us a bone, please).

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so snarky, but the list seems a little parochial.

Imagine if we had a transit system connecting not just the city with the suburbs, but suburbs with other suburbs, with stops at shopping centers, schools, etc. And what if we had sidewalks to so people could actually walk whereever the transit system did not go?

Of course, the logistics of building something like this may make it impossible, but I think it's something to look into.

I've always thought about how different America would be if the automobile had been invented later, so that small towns had time to grow and expand without being designed around the car.

Also, why give in to impeaching Rummy, when he is not the Boss?

I like the privacy amendment, and it has long been overdue.

The others are either a little wishie-washie, or just not worth doing.

7 I'm actually overtly opposed to.  The corporate governance thing has long been an overstated "necessity".  Why?

Bad companies go under.  And if you're dumb enough to invest in them, you deserve to lose your money.

The sooner Americans stop wasting money on the stock market -- a proven non-winner -- the better.

Hold corporations to the law: minimum wage, labor standards, non-invasiveness.

Fine.

Don't waste your time making them be better companies.

The market will bury them.

By replacing phrases of belief with words defining actions we can hopefully reposition ourselves as a party of doers rather than a party of talkers. The one thing that I think is implicit in your statements that you don't discuss is the fundamental divide that I see between the modern Republican party and what I believe to be a defining feature of Democrats. We believe that a well run government can make everyone better off... On a final note, while I love your list I can't help but try and reduce it even further and get to an even simpler version, so here goes:

•  National Free Internet Access
  
•  Full Corporate Governance Reform to End Corporate Corruption
  
•  Raise Minimum Wage
  
•  Universal Health Care
  
•  Impeach Donald Rumsfeld

The first topic that needs to be addressed is how to overcome the objections to change. This consists of two parts, first the general problems with changing the status quo that always occur and then the specific objections that may happen on a per project basis.
For example, wind power is a widely promoted goal, but when it comes time to build windmills at a certain locale the NIMBY issues defeat it.

The second topic is how to handle the transition. For example people have suggested eliminating SUV's. Now suppose we set this as a goal and propose to scrap all the existing ones. We don't have the capacity to build new automobiles at a rate that would allow replacement in under a decade or so. In addition we don't have designs which are efficient enough to make the change over pay for itself yet. So a transition plan needs to be formulated.

You can read my three part essay (goals, objections and implementation) on my web site, if you wish. Just follow the link in my signature.

Lots of organizations put out lofty goals (the UN for example), but fall short on the rest of the process.

• A Real Investigation Into the Iraqi War Intelligence.

• A Constitutional Right to Privacy

• A Living Wage for Real Workers

• Healthcare For All As a Consitutional Right

• Access to Higher Education or Job Training for All Americans

• National Mass Transit

• 50% Energy Independence in 5 years

Here are my top 4:

• End the war

• Repeal the tax breaks on the wealthy

• Create a tough national voting system--with teeth

• Create a universal health care system

I agree with them, but you'll never get the Dems in Congress to agree to 'em:

National Mass  Transit--

Just not a priority electorally- since Dems don't need more votes in cities- we need votes in rural America.

Copyright-

This is one area both parties are horrible on.  Unfortunately, the entertainment industry lobby won't let the Dems go the right way on this one.

The public is crying out for this and it's the right thing to do.

It's also an opportunity to show yet another bright line of difference between us and them.

I'm thinking something like this:

Advance Individual Rights

 * A Constitutional Right to Privacy
 * A Constitutional Right to Vote

Build Prosperity For A New Century

 * A Higher Minimum Wage--Indexed to Inflation
 * Universal Health Care
 * Universal Preschool
 * Free University Education
 * National Free Internet Access and Copyright Reform
 * National Mass Transit
 * A Marhsall Plan for Clean, Renewable Energy

Rebuild Mutilateral Cooperation

 * Sign On To Kyoto Protocol & Press For New Round
 * Sign On To International Criminal Court
 * Transfer 1% Of Military Budget Into International Humanitarian Account To Underwrite Civilian Overseas Assistance

End Cronyism, Corruption, Incompetance & Dishonor

 * Impeach Donald Rumsfeld for Abu Ghraib & other Iraq War Atrocities
 * Fully Investigate How We Went To War In Iraq--With Possible Prosecutions And Impeachments As A Result
 * Comprehensive Review of Bush Administration Appointments for Cronyism, Corruption, Incompetance and Ideological Attacks Against Sound Science and Professionalism
 * Full Corporate Governance Reform to End Corporate Corruption

Enhance Democracy

 * Get Private Corporations And Elected Officials Out Of Handling Our Elections
 * Place Election Administration In Hands of Non-Partisan Commissions In All 50 States and DC
 * Pass National Clean Election Law
 * Reinstate Fairness Doctrine

This is just riffing off the top of my head, but you get the idea.

The rest are very good ideas, but very expensive.  How do we pay for them?  Raising taxes heavily (to Pre-1980 levels) is political suicide, and while I am all for cutting pork will Senators and Congressmen of either party be willing to cut the money that brings jobs and amenities to their districts and gets them re-elected.  The Senators and Congressmen do display partisan ship, but it doesn't seem to extend beyond bringing jobs and money to their state.  So how do we get around it and pay for things?

Polls in 2003 showed only 40% support for a single payer system but more than 60% support for Medicare for All. Even though the two are pretty-much the same thing. It all comes down to how you present it.

#1 - The Constitution allows for the impeachment of cabinet officials, but going after Rumsfeld would be very difficult.  First, the Democrats would have to present evidence that he committed a crime that rises to the level of an indictable offense.  Slapping a vague notion such as "mislead the country" or "conspiracy to torture" would set a terrible precedent for future impeachments if it were actually to go through.

#2 - In what terms do you define privacy?  Does it just apply to personal issues, such as abortion or lifestyle choice, or does it have a tangible scope, such as the boundary of "in one's home"?  Once again, it wouldn't be wise for Democrats to charge into an issue and advocate such a drastic solution.  It would just fuel the conservative fires behind bans on gay marriage, flag burning or English as the national language.

#3 - While libertarianins such as myself don't endorse this plank, it is fairly consistent with the Democratic platform and its a big deal.

#4 - Once again, the devil is in the details.  Will this entail a universal expansion of Medicare and Medicaid or will it involve a semi-nationalization of medicine (British and Scandinavian model)?  A model that has been toyed around with involves the creation of a two-tiered system of private medical practice and publically-funded hospitals.  The public hospitals would be run similar to the USPS and would be financed by the federal government based on the annual number of treatments each makes (as opposed to assigning an arbitrary block of money to each hospital).  This system would provided basic care to everyone, but also allow individuals to purchase private care and encourage public sector competition.

#5 - Considering that the United States higher education system is the most expansive in the world, universal free education would be impossible to finance.  Moreover, would this involve a nationalization of the higher education system or just government subsidization of universities?  If the latter, who would be responsible for paying the subsidies, states, the federal government of both?  A better alternative would be to set aside more money for programs like "Teach for America" that offer to repay student loans in exchange for teaching service in disadvantaged school districts.  Since the US has such uncontestable lead in higher education, I would be wary of attempts to fix a system that isn't broken.

#6 - I don't even know where to begin with this because it just doesn't make sense.  Worst of all, advocating that unions be put in charge of implementation is wrong - shouldn't the customers have a say in their service as well?

#7 - No problems here.

#8 - I would hold off on free Internet access until a feasible WiMax scheme can be implemented - also, nothing is ever free and at least a minimal tax would need to be levied for it.  It is a good idea to keep this as a national issue plank, but I would emphasize that localities take the initiative on this one.  As for copyright reform, you need to clarify your position.  Are you advocating the reform of how patents are issued or the rights they bestow?  I think the Democratic Party should pledge to return patent duration to 10-15 years (down from 27 years).

B)Social Issues
  1)Abortion- Democratic Party Platform on Abortion should be Abortion should be legal-safe and rare. A woman's right to choose should occur during the first 2 trimesters- but before she chooses to have an abortion- we should require a 5 day waiting period in which she is required to seek advise and counseling. Late-terms Abortions should be banned except during a case of rape,incest,or when a life or health of the women is at stake.
  2)Affirmative Actions- Democratic Party Platform on Affirmative Action is mend but not end Affirmative Actions- Abolish quotas.
  3)Crime and Drugs- Democratic Party Platform on Crime and Drugs is on Drug Policy- Legalize Marijuana. Abolish a mandatory-minimum on Drug Convictions. Remand them into drug-treatment programs instead of incarcerating them in prison. Support a life prison sentence to violent criminals- Abolish the DeathPenalty except for childkillers,drugdealers,copkillers,killing of a governmet agents,and terrorist. Support mandatory DNA Testing in Death Penalty Cases.
  4)Education- Democratic Party Platform on Education is to Fully Fund the  No Child Left Behind. We should give college graduates incentives to go into teaching- We need to hire more teachers, Build more classrooms- as an attempt to reduce class size. We should allow students to have access to the computers- whether it is at the library or in a classroom. Make sure students use new and updated textbooks. Increase Head-start funding. Provide Free College Loans and Scholarships to students who want want to attend college for a associates or bachelor's degree if they have a B- average- They must maintain a B- average while they are attending college.
   5)Enviroment- Enforce Clean Air and Clean Water Act. Protect ANWR, Forests, and Beaches.
   6) Euthanasia- Democratic Party platform on Euthensia is we should have a constitutional amendent allowing Euthenasia- An individual has a right to decide whether or not his or her life should be ended without Government interference.
   7)Gay Rights- Democratic Party Platform on Gay rights is we should have a federal constitutional amendent legalizing Civil Unions and Domestic Partnership Benifits. But leave the Gay Marraige issue up to the states. Government should not regulate actitivies between two consenting adults- whether two guys,two girls,are Santorumizing each other, themselfs or a dog.
  8)Guns- Democratic Party Platform is we should support a Five Day Waiting Period for Gun Buyers. Gun Dealers should conduct and instant background checks on gun buyers- to see if they have any arrests,conviction, they are in the country illegally.
  9)Health Care- Democratic Party platform on Health Care should be we should support a single payer- Universal Heath Care Program.
Foriegn Policy/National Security Issues
  1)Foriegn Relations- US Should support Democratic Countries around the world that provide health care and education benifits to their consituents and believe in  strong labor and environmental standards and basic human rights. Support a multilateral policy.
   2)Military,War,Veterans- We should support a strong military,homeland security and national defense. We should never go to war based on outdated intelligence. War should only occur as an act of self defense- excluding pre-emptive strikes. War should occur with the support and backing of the international community. We should make sure Veterans recieve housing and health care assistance.
   3)Immigration- Democratic Party Platform on Immigration is we should send border patrols and national gaurds from preventing people from crossing the Mexican and Canadian Border illegally. Allow existing Illegal Immigrants who have no criminal records and have employment and family in the United States to apply for citizenship.

As for impeachment.....have you ever seen the Godfather?  You don't go around telling everybody that this is what you're gonna do!  Besides, I imagine that most people don't want impeachment to happen and remember, impeachment DOES NOT MEAN REMOVAL FROM OFFICE!  This is one of those things that you start talking about after you get elected.

1 Is more about conduct of domestic leaders than foreign policy and the same with 2 which has larger implications for domestic plans.

I also understand how things like education and transit would stregnthen national defense, but I think some sort of statement about foreign interventions and international organizations or relations should be put up on there.

I'd like to point out also, something that Yglesias said that I found pretty interesting on universal university education. That if the bar is raised to that, the rich will just find some way of raising it again so they are "better" than the rest of us.

Also, something else. I honestly believe that a  part of the population doesn't need to go to a university but would be better served by vocational schooling. Now I have no idea how you would go about determining that (and asking the people themselves is problematic, how many people really know themselves at 18?) but I figured it had to be said.

Right here, I would add:

* Repeal 1996 Deregulation Act

The Plame scandal proves that Clinton's signing of this act was a mistake. The NYTimes, The WaPo, and NBC is guilty as all hell for aiding and abetting the involvement of their own high-profile salaried journalists without ever kowtowing to "public interest" (e.g. the public's right to know) via full disclosure. In his capacity of Executive Editor of the NYTimes, Bill Keller should've FIRED Judy Miller for insubordinately going back to covering Iraq instead of accepting and publishing her articles after they warned her.

Likewise, NBC should fire or suspend both Chris "Tweety" Matthews and Tim Russert for "pretending" to be objective in their news coverage of Plame when they themselves were deeply involved in the matter, appeared before Fitzgerald, and not once stated so on their programs. The WaPo should do the same with Bob Woodward.

The fact that they didn't is proof positive that, IMO, the moment the upper brass at all three of these media insitutions decided to protect their own journalists and bury their own involvement instead of informing the people, they ceased being a free press protected under the Constitution and all sheild laws and became state propaganda organs. Each of them need to be stiffly fined, rebuked, or even dismantled -- they were all willing accessories to the Bush Administration's lies as well as the cover-up.

Clinton's Deregulation act made all of this possible for we know live in an America where all of our news and information (and thus how we perceive not only our own nation but the world around us) is dictated and "filtered" by a handfull of corporate-minded, profit-driven, tax-break loving, all-ready-too-rich idealogues and their shareholders ... and I wouldn't trust these sonsabitches to sit the right way on a toilet seat let alone deliver the truth to the people. Judging by the growing success of blogs, I doubt I'm alone in that sentiment.

1.  The environment: put an end to the raping that the Chimp Administration has done on the environment.

2.  Personal freedom:  Give back the personal freedom that Chimp's stollen.  Make America safe without Gestapo techniques.

3.  Separation of Church and State:  Why can't the extremem right see the similiarities between themselves and the Taliban?

I love this list, which is the first time I've seen in a codified fashion a Dem alternative to the Contract On America.

I have, of course, some modifications.

Number 1 - I see what you're doing by concentrating on ends here, but I think maybe as a means of galvanizing people around the torture issue and making it clear what Dem values are, it's not so very sexy. I think all I'm suggesting is rebranding as "ending torture" with possible impeachment as one of many tactics.

Mass Transit - Many of the comments here keep talking about how nice it would be to get around the suburbs as well as major urban centers. They also talk about gas prices and other things. I think we're dancing around the issue here. That issue is how we as a society want to deal with our population growth.

I think we should explicitly call this point "Smart Growth and Mass Transit", becasue the main reason our mass transit sucks so much is that we've built all these low-density suburbs with no sidewalks and no means of getting around except cars. We totally need to rethink how we plan our own futures. And this has to be a citizen-driven process, not a developer-driven one, otherwise we'll get crap.

This also plays into a point that is missing, which is a National Energy Strategy based on lowering our dependence on oil, and increasing our use of renewables and green building techniques. Someone mentioned the Apollo Project, which is a good place to start.

Finally, though many would consider me the archest of arch-socialists, I don't like free anything no matter how vital it is. The people who participate in the program feel more ownership and more connection with it if they have to pay for it. They are also more likely to defend it against political attacks and demand accountability. I think a graduated scale based on income/wealth as a kind of "co-pay" on the part of the student is a better way to structure it. I'm all for heavy subsidies from the govt, but I think "free" is less than optimal.

Thanks for this.

Free Univ Education is a terrible idea.  Universities are not for everyone.  Some people do not have the discipline nor the ability to gain a college education.  Period.  We should not subsidize these people.  In fact, in my opinion, we should be expelling more college students that are not performing up to standards (like a C average, minimum).  Generally you get what you pay for, and if you pay nothing for school, you get nothing from it.  A bunch of college kids in school on the public tab will not help our ability to compete in the marketplace, etc.

Increasing scholarships for economically challenged students is fine, and overdue.

If we strengthened education at the High School level and before, and improved technical/vocational education (how reliable/competent is your plumber/handyman/electrician/roofer?) then we could put a lot more people into the workforce earning a good middle class living in skilled trades and services.  You do not need to go to college for this.

Schools should open at 8 a.m. and
stay open until 6 p.m., to allow them
to double as childcare for working
parents. The longer day would allow
reinstatement of physical education
and recess, which have almost
vanished from the schedules of
our obese kids. Yes, I know,
teachers working hours. We'd
need more teaching assistants
to help cover the longer hours, and
specialized teachers, too, for music
and art and second language
classes. The longer day would
also allow for more study time.
( Forget homework, that interferes
with watching TV. )

And class sizes should be limited
to fewer than 20 until the kids are in
junior high.

All American kids -- and almost all
parents -- would benefit from this kind
of broad educational reform.

But free university education, not so.

In Brazil all students are guaranteed
free university education -- IF they
finish high school. Ha ha ha ha ha.
Last time I looked, the rich sent
their kids to private schools until
they reached university age.
Almost all poor kids dropped out
or were forced out many years before
finishing their studies, after growing
bored and frustrated in public schools
where class sizes were 40 or 50 or
more, and teachers were untrained
and very poorly paid.

Oh, do I think such a thing could
happen here? Isn't it happening
here already? Isn't America becoming
like a Third World Country with
an absurdly rich elite gaming the system ?

More broadly, the proposed list is
sadly lacking on proposals dealing
with issues of race and poverty.
Like the Republicans, Democrats
don't give a shit any more. And children.
Well,  the blogosphere average age
must be about, oh, I reckon the typical
blogger and reader is a recent graduate,
not yet with kids in school, and so
I guess with my Great Society concerns
I'm showing my curmudgeonly age.

But this list making is a worthwhile start,
helping us get off the defensive -- from
trying to protect the New Deal and the
Fair Deal and the Great Society -- and
helping us look ahead with new programs
for a better America.

Keep up the good work.

Maybe a good idea.  

A Constitutional Right to Privacy

Cant define privacy.  Soverignity Amendment ?    

A Higher Minimum Wage

Of course.  However, why just here ?  Global minimum is a great idea.  Thru WTO and tax laws

Universal Health Care

Of Course

Universal Free University Education

Stupid.  Make high schools far better with those funds.  University for mind expansion only should not be a sole public good or even mostly a public good.      

National Mass Transit

Dumb Dumb Dumb.  Our transit system is the envy of the world, we need more and better roads and to be of of gas engines unless highly taxed buyers want them for performance reasons.  Mass transit cant adapt fast enough for growth patterns.  self driven or remote driven trucks and cars that burn less fuel will be the future.   MORE ROADS NOW, FEWER TRAFFIC LIGHTS. DRIVER'S RIGHTS  

Full Corporate Governance Reform to End Corporate Corruption

This shows the lack of seriousness to this list; end corporate corruption?  When the sun swallows the earth maybe....    

National Free Internet Access and Copyright Reform

Why not free computers and electricity for too ? those.  Why not pair the trivial with the profound ?  The only major Intellectual Property reform we need NOW is patent review stuff and killing off 'business process' patents and other novel ways of jacking people around.  Free movies and music ?  No darn way.

This platform would suck.

How about a real 4th amemedment on the roads ?

Getting a handle on local governments is a key issue- they are running wild messing up development patterns, over taxing, and empire building in general.  How about forcing more regional cooperation in the various MSA's around the nation ?

How about mandatory military pre-training for one year of high school ?  

How about massive building and housing rehab around the country ?

How about real UN reform ?

How about a new wind / safe nuke (Yes there is clearly such a thing with graphite ball reactors) electric energy/transportation cycle ?

How about some moral leadership on the "art" that this country is consuming ?  Law and Order SVU is simply snuff porn and nothing else.   This is the one thing that reaches deep into red GOP land- concern about and some modest social control of that stuff is a winner.  Censorship is one thing, a society having some decent taste is another.  

See the differences ?