1:30 AM was the time that I finally went to sleep on Tuesday night after a full 7 hours of flipping between CNN and MSNBC for election results. Every once in a while I even flipped to FOX just to see the look on their faces as the Democrats took more and more house and senate seats. That alone made the day worthwhile.
After 6 long years of Bush and cronies being able to pass any and all bills through Congress, the nightmare is over. Someone is finally there to check him...maybe even READ the bills before they vote Yes on them. And now Bush wants to work with the Democrats because he has been shown that We the People do not care for him anymore. Do not look too much into this Democratic sweep....this is much more of a "We are tired of Bush, so we will elect the Democrats" than it is a "We just love Democrats and their ideals". I hope the newly elected Congress knows this and will work hard to prove to the American people that they have a plan and that they have ideas...otherwise, 2008 will be VERY ugly. But this all being said....
After 6 long years, maybe now we can work towards reducing global warming and our lust for crude oil. Its no secret Bush loves the oil and doesn't care about the environment, after all, he did say "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."- Sept. 23, 2002
After 6 long years, maybe now we can try to end this "war" in Iraq and bring home our incredibly brave men and women who were sent there under false pretense and were told that they were fighting terrorism. There were a limited amount of terrorists in Iraq before we got there..and us being there has made the world more dangerous. Every weekend I see the crosses out on the beach, and every week the area they are in gets bigger. Bring our troops home, make sure they get the healthcare, jobs, and financial help they were promised and they deserve. The war and all the fatalities are a big deal, George, and it is not just a comma. "I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is.." - Sept. 24, 2006
After 6 long years, maybe people that love each other, no matter their sex, can get married. Who cares if you are straight, gay, green, blue or red...if 2 people love each other enough to want to stay together for life, than so be it! This whole thing about the "sanctity of marriage" is such bull....50% of marriages end in divorce anyway. "Our policies should aim to strengthen families, not undermine them. And changing the definition of marriage would undermine the family structure" - June 5, 2006. Do tell, George, how does it undermine it? Thats all you people say, "undermine", "sanctity", "protection"...I would love to hear just ONE reason that it shouldnt be allowed. Well, now maybe we wont need your rhetoric anymore...maybe We the People can move on and provide rights to all people, no matter their sexual orientation. Yes, its a long shot..but we should at least give equal rights to everyone.
After 6 long years, maybe we can stop throwing money at the rich, and actually start helping the middle and lower class. (For the record, I hate those descriptions. Calling people the "Lower Class" is just so demeaning, but its how its always done and its wording that people understand) I am so tired of hearing about more and more tax cuts for rich people, while we dont have enough money for police, fire, schools and hospitals to operate efficiently. Even Bush was having second thoughts back in 2002 "Haven't we already given money to rich people? This second tax cut's gonna do it again".
After 6 long years, can we stop Leaving Every Child Behind? Please? Congress, please do something about this stupid program that is actually making our children dumber and leaving them YEARS behind students in the rest of the world. Since when is having teachers follow a step by step guide to teaching a good thing? Students are all different from each other, some learn quickly and some take more time. Learning is an individual experience, making kids all learn at the same pace is not a good idea. Taking away art and music? Bad idea. Teaching them only the information that will be on the test? Bad idea. Here is a quote from a teacher that I think says it all: "I am not allowed to teach anything that isn't going to be on the almighty standardized test. I work in a school that is 100% minority racially and 100% of the students qualify as economically disadvantaged. How am I supposed to even attempt to guide my students into becoming lifelong learners and readers and lovers of literature when all I can teach is the (expletive) test?" - Pandagon.net
After 6 long years, we dont have to listen to Bush talk about his "mandate" he has been talking about since he was elected. In 2004, after winning 51% of the vote, he decided he had a mandate for his Conservative ideals. 51% is NOT a mandate, George. Its barely a majority. Get over it. Congress, now that you have control, remove his mandate and do the things that the American public wants. They are tired of him and tired of his "mandate"
After 6 long years, can we PLEASE get the drug companies to lower the prices for the elderly and the other people that need the drugs they cannot afford? Its disgusting to think that seniors have to go to Canada to be able to afford medicine. These drug companies have been given gifts for the last 6 years from this administration and it needs to stop. Drugs and healthcare should not be a privilege, it should be a right.
After 6 long years, it is now the job of our newly elected Congress to: protect the endangered species, stop allowing companies to pollute uncontrolled, repeal the Patriot Act, raise the minimum wage, stop the federal govt. from giving funds to religious groups, invest money and research in alternative fuels, do something about Darfur, stop teaching abstinence in schools and teach about birth control, stop tax breaks for people that buy SUV's, and stop attacking countries that have done nothing to us.
After 6 long years, the list of what needs to change goes on and on. It never ends. A lot of damage has been done in the past 6 years, and it is going to take a while to undo it. Congress, PLEASE do your job you were elected to do. The people want change. They want progress. They want you to work more than 2 days a week for your $100,000+ salaries They have given you a chance, an opportunity, to make a difference and fix this mess that George and his Rethugs have gotten us into.
Dont waste it creating more commissions, more studies, more meetings. Work. Do something. Progress. Make it happen. And maybe, just maybe, you will be rewarded in 2008.
Cross posted at TheGoodHuman.