So, Joe Lieberman is feeling newly liberated now that he has announced his retirement. He doesn’t need to raise any money. He doesn’t have to worry about angering the base of the Democratic Party. And so he has an idea. Why don’t all the senators who are retiring get together to make their own bucket list. A bucket list is a list of all things you’d like to do before you die (i.e., kick the bucket). The idea is that if you get a terminal diagnosis, you should make up a bucket list and try to complete as many items as you can in the limited time that you have.
In senatorial terms, this is metaphorical. It’s not your life that is ending, but your career as a U.S. Senator. I thought that it actually wasn’t a terrible idea for a bipartisan bloc of retiring senators to get together and work on some dream list of legislation that ordinarily can’t get passed because it is too contentious. But the only thing these retiring senators want to do is attack entitlements and balance the budget.
Now, I’d be willing to listen to any proposals to fix our structural debt and bring our deficits into line, but I was thinking that maybe these senators might actually have something more personal or idiosyncratic in mind. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to any creative vision, even after decades of serving in Washington. That’s probably why they’re retiring in the first place. They’re used up. They’re compromised. They’re like the caged bird who doesn’t fly the coop even when you leave the door open. They are now liberated from the time-consuming and humiliating requirements of fundraising, but they still have no idea how to do something meaningful and good for the country.
So, in their honor, let’s make our own legislation bucket list. To get us started, how about comprehensive prison reform, decriminalization of marijuana, and real elections reform?
You can be as vague or detailed as you want. If you were a senator for eight months, what would you try to accomplish?
Give Lieberman some credit – he also said he wanted to work on energy reform, and given how much he’s focused on that issue during his career, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Same for Bingaman: he too has been an energy stalwart over the years, and frankly, always seemed like a workmanlike, pretty-good-on-the-issues Senator (obviously Lieberman is different on that score – way too centrist for his state and a huge, pompous asshole to boot).
That said, I would energy reform is by far my number one, then probably immigration.
Energy reform needs to be done, obviously. And Bingaman might produce something six degrees left of total pointlessness. I’m not impressed.
I give Lieberman no quarter. Why do people always rush to his defense based on his work on certain issues/policies? The problem with Lieberman has never really been about policies, its about politics. You say he’s good on energy, but then he probably costs us valuable time in the 111th congress by threatening to filibuster the president’s health insurance reform, and then blew up the politics of that reform by refusing to allow a public option or medicare buy in. Policy-wise, Lieberman doesn’t really annoy more than any other conservadems. But he’s a political ally of the right (he supported a republican for president in 2008). Anything good he does on policy is undercut by how he hurts us politically, thus significantly limited the ability of progressives to advance these policies he supports.
Your bucket list is my own, BooMan, but I’d say legalize marijuana. Decriminalization doesn’t go far enough to change the culture, in my opinion.
But man, comprehensive prison reform, that is my number 2 most important issue (2nd to global warming). It’s sad that no liberal commenter other than perhaps Jeralyn seems concerned with it.
I’d say gay marriage and single payer, but I think those are inevitable; the former for obvious reasons, and the latter has to be enacted or else we’ll face unsustainable government spending in interest payments on the debt. Unless Paul Ryan or someone just starts issuing vouchers…
Oh, and how could I forgot: Equal Rights Amendment.
forget*
Good point. After all, it was the homophobia spread by Phyllis Schlafly and her rightwing women that derailed the ERA in the 1970s. After equal rights for gays are secured, that no longer is an issue.
I’d pass regulations to make every part of our voting/vote-counting process transparent. I’d bring back the manual tallying of votes by hand at the precinct, which could then be checked against the machine count at the central tabulating facility.
I’d forbid all computer-ONLY voting. There are braille ballots and other tools for the physically challenged.
I’d make election day a holiday. And I’d be okay with having to drive a little further to vote, if I knew my vote was really going to be accurately counted.
I’d pass a constitutional amendment forbidding corporations to be treated as people. I’d make sure any corporation doing business in the US pays taxes, no matter where they set up their Cayman “headquarters” office.
I’d pass a bill proving mandatory media coverage and publicly-funded elections for all candidates who qualify to be on the ballot.
I’d reinstate something very similar to the Fairness Doctrine. I’d pass a law that so-called news channels could lose their license if they could be proven to be giving us false information.
I’d bring back Habeas corpus, and make sure all Guantanamo detainees got trials, maybe not even in America, but at the Hague.
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Top of the list since forever
Good lists. I’d add a Tobin Tax and a UN empowered to make real change – including quick response humanitarian assistance military forces capable of enforcing – e.g. a no fly zone in Libya. On Global warming, a mandatory carbon tax on all carbon production/consumption. On wind energy, a mandatory requirement that average baseload electricity consumption be matched by average wind energy production, with carbon/nuclear energy only used as peaker plants to balance short term supply/demand fluctuations. On Israel, a mandatory right of return for all Palestinians and a pluralist, non sectarian democratic state where all have the full rights of citizenship.
AS you can see, I’m gonna have to live a long time to see that list implemented.
I don’t give a shyt about the deficit. I really don’t. I think it’s a bogeyman, and nobody is talking seriously about it. I know that I stand strong in not wanting any of the middle class to pay for the follies of the rich and the corporations, that’s for damn sure. so, until someone tells me that they’re cutting defense seriously and raising taxes on the rich and corporations – S-T-F-U about even mentioning the ‘deficit’.
as for the bucket lis
So much to do. So little time.
There are more. But that should be enough to allow the current crop of lazy geezers retiring from Congress to fulfill their “lifetime commitment to public service”.
Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. Pass a comprehensive Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
Tax the hell out of the super-rich. Bring back the middle class and make people comfortable enough to think straight again and not feel so damned threatened all the time. Then maybe something else could actually get done.
Term limits for reps and senators
pass DOMA
no more hiding war money-must be in the yearly budget
get rd of lobbyiests (sp)
strike down Citizens United decision
Medicaid for all or at least lower it to 55 for the long term unemployed
open job centers for those that want and can work can actually get a job or volunteer to work to get unemplyment benefits
no more 3-4-5 deployments for military members
housing for unemployed vets; overhaul the VA
get rd of the useless TSAs at airports along with scanners
if I were Queen for a Day, I would
decriminalize ALL currently-illegal recreational drugs, not just marijuana
implement single payer health care
reform congressional redistricting to do away with gerrymandering. All congressional districts must be convex n-gons with n<= 10
increase tax rates on the wealthy
slash defense spending
leave Afghanistan and Iraq
have the army corps of engineers build me a giant mountain throne in South Dakota.
… and free cheetos for everyone!
How many ‘interns’ are you allowed these days?
In addition to much of the above..
I’ll just stop there, because I guess it’s obvious that I wouldn’t retire..