Wouldn't it be great to put some balance back into the national political debate and what the MSM reports by having a viable well-financed far-left dem presidential candidate announce s/he is running. Why? To counterbalance the crazy deficit-slashing, defense-loving, SS- and Medicare-hating right wing.
The platform would go something like this:
Revenue:
- Cut the $1.2T military budget by half and save $600B a year
- Tax the wealthy a lot more and gain $200B a year
- Cut corporate tax loopholes and gain $100B a year
- Cut corporate welfare and save (at least) $50B a year
- Increase the SS income cap to prevent the fund from becoming negative in 2037
- Increase medicare payroll taxes, more on the wealthier, to get enough to pay for medicare
This gains over $1T a year and protects SS and Medicare.
New spending
- Subsidize solar to make it more competitive with fossil
- Invest $100B a year in solar research
- Continue unemployment benefits until a new job is found
- Invest $200B a year in infrastructure improvements
Other
- Support gay marriage
- (removed: Faster repeal of DADT- see FG comment below.)
- Take banks to task for mortgage fraud
- Indict and heavily fine wall-street execs who broke the law in mortgage/securitization frauds
Add your own platform items in the comments ...
Now ... I'm not saying third party to hamstring Obama. This would be a dem candidate out there saying what the left and far-left want in primary season. They could call the crazy right what it is, poke holes in their canrads, show them for what they are: do Obama's dirty work, that he doesn't do often enough. It would make it easier for Obama to poke holes in right-wing "ideas".