We Dems Do Have "The Big Plan"!

This diary is my answer to the question (or accusation) posed by Matt Bai that we Dems lack "The Big Idea", and quite nicely laid to rest by mcjoan tonight in her diary here entitled:
An Incomplete Argument
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I would like to expound where she left off.

..."But let's start with the central premise of Matt's book: the Democrats lack "the big idea," and as far as the blogosphere is concerned, are more concerned with strategies and tactics--with winning--than with developing a philosophy for governing. From my perspective that's an incomplete premise to begin with, and Matt's evidence to support it is too narrow".

Follow me under the fold...

This, as mcjoan most expertly and persuasively shows in her diary is neither complete nor completely accurate. I'm going to attempt to expound where mcjoan left off. We Dems have plenty of "big ideas", and I'm going to further suggest that we have "The Big Idea" staring us right in the face.

No "Big Idea" ?  Matt Bai suggests this in his book entitled, The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics

How about the main Dem theme being:
"Erasing the fingerprints of the Bush "slash and burn" years off America"?

After ending the Bush war of aggression and occupation of Iraq for a false mission (which is the most obvious fingerprint), how about these seven other "fingerprints" just for starters:

1)Restoring the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the well-spring from which ALL of our freedoms flow!

2)De-codifying torture. This is not the America I knew before Bush and his war criminal regime stole our government from the hands of the people. And torture is beneath us! We are much better than this. We let Bush grind our faces in a pile of dung, calling it justice!

3)Ending "extraordinary rendition" and secret prisons. Closing Guantanamo!

4)Ending warrantless wiretaps and domestic surveillance on the American people! Stop giving away any more of our constitutional rights, giving this POTUS a blank check drawn against our own freedom! And for what? Dubious temporary security, at best.

5)Restoring the Constitutional concept of the "separation of powers", "checks and balances", and ending the unlimited powers of the "Unitary Executive".

6)Limiting the power of "Signing Statements"[which are mentioned NOWHERE in our Constitution, yet] which have allowed this POTUS to commit over 1200 counts of de facto coup d'etat, overthrowing BOTH the Legislature and the Judiciary "co-equal branches" of OUR government.

And usurping the powers of an elective office--not a God-given appointment for life, and creating new powers found nowhere in our Constitution! This is tantamount to HIGH TREASON!

WE HAVE ONLY ONE CONSTITUTION AND ONE GOVERNMENT EMPOWERED BY THAT CONSTITUTION--NOT TWO!

7)Ending the notion that the POTUS is ABOVE THE LAW, or that he can break the laws with impunity, and escape the full weight of the consequences for breaking the law, by simply passing "ex post facto" laws (in the converse) that are tantamount to "pre-emptive self-pardons", which suggests a presumption of guilt-or else why would he seek to pardon himself, unless he first judged himself indeed "guilty"?

Or assuming the POTUS has "inherent immunity" for FELONIES, TREASONS, and other HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, which a King ruling by Divine Rights of Kings MAY have, but ANY POTUS most certainly DOES...NOT...HAVE!

That'll do for starters. But you get my point. It's ridiculous for us Dems to wallow around in self-pity, flailing around like "chickens with our heads cut off" looking for a main theme when it's as apparent as the faces holding our bloodied noses!

When the urgency of, and the common sense that God gave a piss ant dictates that it is paramount that we UN-DO the untold damage that George W. Bush has inflicted on our great nation, our civil rights, our Constitution, our Armed Forces, our national security, and our standing in the world!

Lack of leadership, stewardship, and accountability got us into this quandry, and effective, focused leadership is the only thing that's going to right the wrongs of the Bush "slash and burn" years.

So our "Big Plan", I propose should be the erasure of all the fingerprints of the Bush "slash and burn" years off our nation's fabric.

•  Tips for our Dems "Big Idea or Plan"...

  ...We can undo the damage of the Bush "slash and burn" years!

  by ImpeachKingBushII on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 09:18:45 PM PDT

  •  Looks like a great Dem Platform to me, but

    what do I know?  I'm just a lowly blogger.

    by Mad Kossack on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 09:37:00 PM PDT

    •  And we've got the repubs outnumbered...

      ...One Dem blogger is worth more than 10 repub bloggers!

      by ImpeachKingBushII on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 09:48:34 PM PDT

•  Yer Gonna Need Amendments for That POTUS Stuff

  The Repubs' major interests have so much in common now  that any time they have the WH and veto sustenance in the Senate, they've got a working Unitary Executive under the system we've always had.

  Unless somebody can come up with a way to add force to the separate powers such that the executive cannot remain in violation of the legislature's stated power, this is how our system works now.

  Systems learn, times change, rules even Constitutions need to keep up.

  by Gooserock on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 09:55:23 PM PDT

  •  The authority is already

    invested in Congress. But a day or so ago we had Pelosi on TV "We will hold them accountable. We will not impeach." Well, impeachment is the sole instrument of accountability. So either she thinks we're stupid, or....

    But then, looking up "subpoena"--those Congressional orders the Executive has been disregarding completely--I find the phrase is Latin for "under penalty."

    Yet, the Executive has suffered no penalty. Indeed, up is down.

    by Jim P on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 10:43:45 PM PDT

•  I like the concept.

  ...our "Big Plan", I propose should be the erasure of all the fingerprints of the Bush "slash and burn" years off our nation's fabric.

  Except I'd phrase it "restore" as in restore the Rule of Law, restore the Congress on behalf of the people, etc.

  Budhydharma awhile back was putting out the idea "all the blogosphere actors focus on one issue for one week" or something similar. Because it seems really dysfunctional that the Dems haven't hit on one central critique of this miserable failure.

  by Jim P on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 10:37:46 PM PDT

•  Dems won't address executive power

  At Yearly Kos, Jeffrey Feldman asked the candidates about runaway executive power, and added that it was the most-submitted question. The candidates danced, dipsy-doodled, and tiptoed around it. I suspect that a powerful presidency is fine and dandy with them, and that they believe they can wield those powers more responsibly than the current president.

  by Dump Terry McAuliffe on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 11:07:33 PM PDT