2010 looked like it was going to leave a very bitter taste at the end of the year. But somehow, despite a disastrous midterm election for Democrats, the lame-duck session brought us some much needed momentum, as well as the hope that things can, in fact, get better. And despite only having one chamber of Congress to work with, there is potential out there for a productive 2011--and here are some of the things we can hope for as we enter the new year.
Senate rules reform. This is perhaps the biggest item on the agenda. Over the past few years, and especially in 2010, the Senate has been the place where ideas go to die. We saw this especially with the DREAM Act, which had majority support in the Senate but could not muster the supermajority necessary to overcome a filibuster. It's hard to know exactly what sort of rules reform the 53 Democratic Senators who have signed onto the idea will agree to, and the Senate will almost certainly not become a majoritarian institution like the House. But one thing should be a part of any equation on this matter: if a group of old white men is going to block the business of the United States of America, they should at least have to tax themselves physically in the process.
Single-payer healthcare. A dream, you say? On the federal level, absolutely. But not at the state level. Despite the avalanche of Republican victories nationwide, California Democrats swept all statewide constitutional offices, mostly in landslides, and expanded our hold on the State Legislature. The Democrats in the legislature have passed single-payer healthcare legislation previously, but outgoing Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it. A successful single-payer healthcare system in California could start the ball rolling on truly progressive health care reform across the nation.
Marriage equality. It's in the hands of the 9th circuit court of appeals now, but it's entirely possible that within a few short months, marriage equality could once again be the law of the land in California, and perhaps across all the states governed by the 9th circuit--and that's a pretty hefty portion of the country. The defendant-intervenors in the appeal of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case did a poor job of presenting their case--not only on the merits of the appeal, but as to whether they even had standing to appeal it in the first place. If the appeals court rules that the intervenors have no standing, they would face a very interesting choice: decline to appeal to the Supreme Court and concede marriage equality to California and eventually the 9th Circuit after the inevitable suits are filed in the remaining states, or appeal the ruling on standing to the Supreme Court in the hopes of obtaining the legal basis with which to argue the merits of the case. And if the merits of the case go against the intervenors, they face the same choice: drop it and concede the 9th Circuit, or appeal to the Supreme Court, and risk going up with their completely overmatched attorneys against a team headed by master solicitors Ted Olson and David Boies. The same Olson and Boies who were on opposing sides of Bush v. Gore and have presented a case heretofore tailor-made to pull in Justice Kennedy as the swing vote in a potential case that could, if it were to happen, bestow marriage equality across the entire country. The upshot? The days of marriage discrimination seem numbered, and 2011 could be a major breakthrough.
Judicial confirmations: Closely related to the first wish: filibuster reform. If Senator Merkley gets his way, we could see a much more progressive judiciary in 2011 as the backlog of President Obama's nominations finally gets cleared away by a Senate that is still in Democratic hands, thanks to the extremism of the tea party.
More extremism of the tea party, and Republicans in general. To use the immortal words of George W. Bush: bring it on, because if there's one thing we know about Republicans, it's that they can't control themselves. So let's get on with all the clones of Arizona's SB1070. Move forward with all of your "personhood" amendments that seek to define zygotes as human beings. As a Democrat, there are few things I could be happier about than seeing Republicans everywhere send even more women and even more Latinos into the Democratic tent for a few more generations.
And one final request: How about a birther-based impeachment article for President Obama? Please?