According to Rahm Emanuel, this is what Democrats will run on in 2006:
Expand support for higher education. "Make college as universal in the 21st century as high school was in the 20th"; three out of four jobs in the new, high-tech economy require two years or more of higher education.
Create a National Institute of Science and Engineering, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Funding for the nih has quadrupled since the 1980s, from $7 billion to $28 billion. "That's why we lead in pharmaceuticals and medical technology." Funding for science has been stagnant—about $5 billion—during that period. "I'd quadruple it and concentrate on nanotechnology, broadband and energy."
Promote energy independence. Reduce foreign oil by 50% in 10 years. Create a hybrid economy. Use government contracts and tax incentives to boost solar and wind power.
"You got a job, you got health care." Give the uninsured vouchers—"I'm not afraid of vouchers"—for use in the insurance system that covers federal employees. Basic coverage, nothing fancy.
Organize a bipartisan summit on the budget. Balance it.
Everything on the table—loopholes, pork, Bush tax cuts. "And then you gotta have a reform piece," Emanuel hydrofoiled. "Actually, that should come first. Clean up the relationship between lobbyists and legislators, same way we did donors and candidates. This place is a cesspool—gotta address the gifts, free trips, the revolving-door lobbying jobs for staff members."
UPDATE: In conjunction with this (probably coincidental, but who knows how the Internets work?), Matt Stoller at myDD posted the
following(hat tip to Katrina for the heads up):
A Platform for 2006: Dream Big, Democrats
by Matt Stoller
Impeach the Secretary of Defense and all other responsible parties for incompetence and criminal negligence in the prosecution of the war in Iraq
A Constitutional Right to Privacy
A Higher Minimum Wage
Universal Health Care
Universal Free University Education
National Mass Transit
Full Corporate Governance Reform to End Corporate Corruption
National Free Internet Access and Copyright Reform
We're getting a platform together, gang.
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