This election, much attention has been given the Republican Party and its leadership.
There seems to be a plethora of reasons why the GOP does not deserve to retain control of the Congress of the United States – a mismanaged war, dropping the ball on Hurricane Katrina, sticking its nose into the Terri Schiavo affair, the Mark Foley page scandal and yes, corruption, corruption, corruption.
I think, however, we all need to be reminded of the reasons why the Democratic Party should be given control of one or both Houses this fall.
First of all, what Congress needs right now is sweeping ethics reform. It is almost a guarantee that if the Republicans retain their majority this will not happen.
You cannot expect a group of people who have denied all wrongdoing in the Foley scandal and resorted to finger pointing in the wake of an abuse of power for the sexual exploitation of a minor to investigate themselves.
Even if House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., is dumped by the party, those waiting in the wings are just as corrupt, many of them having ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and disgraced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
Only the Democratic Party is in a position to institute ethics reform – not just a revamping of the page system, but restrictions on lobbying, which is out of control.
What else would a Democrat-controlled Congress do differently? With disapproval for the Iraq War reaching record highs, it’s time the American people got some answers about how the Bush Administration misled us to war.
The Republicans have been very reluctant to use the power of subpoena to investigate the White House. I wonder why?
We will not get to the bottom of this mess with the GOP still in power, nor will we get a vote of no confidence in or a demand of resignation in the Secretary of Defense.
These have been key elements of many democratic campaigns and have been advocated by many of the party leaders.
To go down the list further, we need only look at illegal wiretaps and the reinterpretation of the Geneva Convention to see why a rubber-stamp Congress is not healthy for our democracy. Moreover, Democrats would not comprise a “do-nothing Congress.” Americans will see a higher minimum wage, something we desperately need. The administration likes to boast about the robustness of our economy, but the average worker is no better off than he was when Bush came to power.
The Democrats will roll back the tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans who have benefited the most from Republican policies, and we would finally get some work done toward fixing this nation’s healthcare crisis.
The last reason to elect the Democrats is a practical one.
Our government is designed to have checks and balances. Over the past six years, this element has been noticeably absent.
Divided government was successful in the 1990s, and it can help make this country stronger again. The current one-party government has sought to divide the American people on social issues that do little in terms of moving our people forward.
There is a reason the president has not had to use his veto power – because our legislature does his bidding.
With Democrats in control, our government will be able to function the way it was intended to – with a great deal of compromise, openness and responsibility.