What Each Party Should Do Right Now

With the battle over health care reform essentially over, the question becomes: what next? Here is what I believe each party should do in the immediate future.

I give Republicans credit for their swift and clear condemnation of the threats that were directed at Democrats in the aftermath of the passage of health care reform. It is a great start on what their most pressing priority ought to be. That priority should be to communicate in a loud and clear manner to everyone, particularly the Tea Party movement, that there will be absolutely no tolerance of racism, hatred, threats and violence. While certainly a very small minority within the Tea Party movement, these angry, hate mongerers are bringing dishonor to this grassroots movement. The Republican Party wants to bring more people into their party, but they need to make it clear that people who behave this way are not welcome in the party. Truth be told, if the Republican Party can find a way to effectively integrate the Tea Party organizations into their campaign, it could be a boon to their election prospects in the Fall 2010 elections. However, if they make this effort and fail to eliminate that aspect of the conservative movement, it will be used as an effective tool against them by Democrats. If they are truly committed to winning elections this fall, they need these groups to join with them. But they have to decide in what manner they are willing to win those elections. Do they want to win on principles and ideas or are they willing to win at any cost, even making unholy alliances with those who exhibit the worst America has to offer?

Democrats, on the other hand, need to take steps to show that they are not just about expanding government and controlling everyone's lives. They could obtain significant political capital if they spent the near term conducting and implementing a genuine and determined effort to eliminate outdated and ineffective federal programs. Let this be the time where they disprove the notion that once a federal government program is established it is eternal. Force every department of the federal government to identify 10% of their current budget to be eliminated. It could be eliminating a single program that is no longer relevant or effective, or it could be doing businesslike reductions in staff, purchasing, and program delivery across the breadth of the agency. Require these evaluations be done, no exceptions, within 90 days. Then pass these measures into law so they take effect with the next budget. This would amount to around $350 billion (350,000,000,000!)While this would not eliminate the budget deficit, let alone the national debt, it would be a meaningful step in the right direction. It would also show the electorate that Democrats hear their concerns, recognize this IS a major problem in need of attention, and that they really are not just big government tax and spend types.