Leaping Ahead: What will we do once we are in power?

I'm getting ahead of things, but this may be worth reviewing, and it may have relevance in how we view our fight to regain power today.

I'll keep this short and throw this out there as a thinking exercise.

First, a concept: Considering the damage Bush has done to America, and the world, shouldn't the next President and future Congresses consider that their mission has changed? What happens when disaster occurs? You have to clean it up. It's different than maintaining the system. After Katrina, the work to do in New Orleans changed dramatically from what it was before.

Likewise, Bush has crippled, destroyed, and harmed so much that really the next President will be engaging in "disaster relief". Just a few things he/she will have to "fix":

1. Science in the government.
   
2. Social programs.
   
3. Education.
   
4. Foreign policy.
   
5. Labor relations.
6. Budget.
   
7. Environment.
   
8. Government ethics. Open government.
   
9. Agencies: Intelligence, FDA, etc.
10. Energy.
    
11. Health care.
    
12. Military. Veterans.
    
13. Elections. Campaigns.
    

You all know how Bush has created havoc in all these areas. The next President won't just have to "work in" these areas, he/she will have to save them from total disaster!

My point is this: Maybe that's how the next Democratic candidate needs to frame his campaign: "Elect me so I can provide disaster relief after the devastation of the Bush years."

Secondly, on a slightly separate note. Once we regain power (and we will), we need to ask ourselves how we can prevent future disasters. Obviously converting more people to Democrats would help. But it's more than that. It's educating all Americans so they understand the value of liberal progressive thought. We want to move the Democratic party and the Republican party to the left. We want to get to the point where Republicans and Democrats both believe gays have the right to marry, and that a woman's right to privacy is accepted. The Republicans are way out of whack on social issues. They also are treading close to being very dangerous imperialists who lack an understanding of how to defend America. While they engage in wars thousands of miles away, they leave America unprotected. We need the Republican party to move our way.

So we should think about how we move all of America to the left. Not by lies or deceptions, or fake "think tanks" and dirty political tricks, or by duping the faithful, but by honest, sincere communication and education. How do we do that?

Again, just food for thought.