One of the first task of the Democratic Congress next year

will be, no, not impeachment, but gutting the current Medicare drug plane.

I do not have to sign for it, but besides it being confusing, it certainly is a handout to the pharmaceutical companies with the no bid contracts. I still do not understand the "donut hole" thingy that leave some seniors with shouldering more costs.

Then there is the tricky stuff where the benefit management companies can change their formularies at will, while subscribers can switch only once a year. If they don't like the change, they are stuck with the plan.

I don't know about gutting, but reforming or repairing? I do think we need to help seniors with their prescription drugs, but the current plan seems more designed to help Big Pharma with their bottom lines.

Bryant
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They should investigate the entire administration, and let the chips fall where they may. If that means undoing some laws, impeaching the president, or sending some or all of these idiots to jail!

while keeping the mimimal tax cuts working people got. Without revenue, anything else they do will be just so much unfunded baloney.

The second thing should be to hike the minimum wage--a LOT--thus raising revenue again.

Then they can go to work on overturning the most egregious GOP mischief, like the poison pill bill, the bankruptcy horror show, and the (un)Patriot(ic) Act.

And then maybe they'll go to work on new issues, like single payer health care.

Until they get this country's fiscal house in order, nothing they do will have a positive effect. They have got to correct GOP fiscal insanity.

There are crimes that need investigated. Pharma could be one of the crimes.

Election reform - auditable, immediate feedback, hackproof elections.

If we don't do that we'll never get another chance at all. Frankly we'll only get this one chance in 2006 if ENOUGH INDIVIDUAL RACES (overall support means nothing especially with recent gerrymandering- winning 215 seats 68-32 and losing 220 48-52 shows overwhelming public support in toto, but still leaves the Reps in charge) are far enough in Dem hands to make any subtle shenanigans in a few key close races impossible. That will only happen if this "perfect storm" of lousy news in Iraq, skyrocketing gas prices, GOP scandals and Bushco incompetence continues. Sure we can count on the last one, but we need em all and we need em all through November to swing enough races. Getting more voters means squat. Tipping Rep seats is everything. Only if we can do that enough times by clear enough margins to overcome the Diebold edge do we ever get a chance at coming close to governing again in this generation.

So the number one priority cannot be anything else. For it to be anything else would be political suicide. If we're lucky we get one shot to save democracy. I don't give a damn about tax policy or Iraq or impeachment compared to how important it is to actually remain a genuine democratic Republic.

See how generous I am?

Thanks for the courtesy :-)

And it seems that if the Democrats in congress don't stand up en masse to vigorously attack Bush policy and bring home to these fuckers, then that might not happen. And let us not forget who controls the machines!

concerns.

For many the war in Iraq is far.. unless they know someone who is or was there.

I think that the daily news of "a serviceman killed in Iraq" by now just passes over too many viewers and listeners.

Same with tax cut for the wealthy, and I agree that this is top priority.

But gas prices - even though there is not much a government can do about - and that confusing Medicare bill, can bring us the majority of senior votes.

It is still the "economy, stupid" but now it has to be very close and personal.