One of the top stories being pushed by Republican News Media (like Fox) has been that Democrats won’t know what to do now that we’re running the show. As one prominent GOP pundit said last Sunday, “Democrats don’t have any ideas.”
Well I wanted to make sure everyone here knows why I cared so much this year and spent so much time fighting for a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate (and here’s a hint… it’s not because I thought Democrats would do nothing while in control).
Here are some excerpts of a statement released by Nancy Pelosi on the morning of the election. Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) lays out what she sees Democrats doing in the first 100 hours of a Democratic Congress… (Pelosi btw, in case you hadn’t heard, is poised to become the first female Speaker of the House in the history of our country, and the highest ranked woman in American Government ever)
Here’s how it starts:
In 100 hours, the top five oil companies will take in $4.3 billion in profits.
In 100 hours, $1.1 billion will be spent on the war in Iraq.
In 100 hours, the public debt will grow by $4.9 billion.
In 100 hours, the top 10 pharmaceutical companies will gain $2.6 billion in profits.
In 100 hours, the top CEOs will earn an average of $2 million each.
In 100 hours, a minimum wage worker working 8 hours a day will earn $171.67.
And if all goes as expected, in less than 100 hours my sixth grandchild will be born.
I want my grandchild to be born into an America where government is for and by the people. I want my grandchild to be born into an America that rewards and values hard work.
And then there’s this:
If you honor Democratic candidates with your vote today, in the first hundred hours of a Democratic Congress: We will restore civility, integrity, and fiscal responsibility to the House of Representatives. We will start by cleaning up Congress, breaking the link between lobbyists and legislation and commit to pay-as-you-go, no new deficit spending.
We will make our nation safer and we will begin by implementing the recommendations of the independent, bipartisan 9/11 Commission.
And this:
We will make our economy fairer, and we will begin by raising the minimum wage.
We will broaden college opportunity, and we will begin by cutting interest rates for student loans in half.
We will energize America by achieving energy independence, and we will begin by rolling back the multi-billion dollar subsidies for Big Oil.
I can’t tell you all how proud I am of the hard work the UNO College Democrats put into this election cycle to get us to where I am now. I can’t tell you how proud I am, and happy, for all the other Young Democrats around this country who rose up and fought just as hard across the country. And I can barely even begin to tell you how excited I am to see the House of Representatives lead by new Speaker Pelosi.
In January a new Congress will be sworn in, and within 100 hours our country will finally be moving forward again.
Thank God.
ps. Check back soon, as I’ll be offering my own personal suggestions to answer the question of where we go now, as Democrats, as College Democrats, as Young Democrats, and as Nebraska Democrats. Expect that post to come in the next 24 hours.