The pseudonym "Philo Vaihinger" has been abandoned. All posts have been and are written by me, Joseph Auclair.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

The whole magilla is too much at one time

Repeal of the filibuster, packing of the court, and the massive and massively expensive, ideologically vulnerable AOC/Bernie agenda of tuition free secondary education at public universities, Medicare for All, a 70% marginal rate for income above $10 million, a wealth tax of 2%  on wealth above $50 million and 3% on wealth above $1 billion, and the Green New Deal are all together way too big a mouthful for Americans to swallow in one election cycle.

And even in case of a huge Democratic victory putting Sanders in the White House and big majorities for our side in both houses it would be too big a mouthful for the kind of Democrats in that congress to cope with in the first two years of a presidential term, or even the whole four.

To get anything done at all we need to get rid of the filibuster right away.

And given the court is apt to overturn Roe and throw out the ACA before the election we need to pack the court not only to protect what we have left but to get back what we will already have lost.

[Though they might strategically wait until the beginning of the next full term of a Republican president. They might even wait until the beginning of the next Republican president's first term, just to be safe. Don't trust them. Pack the court no matter what.]

The court destroying Roe and Ocare, either or both, will make court packing a much easier sell, despite unprecedented Republican protest and rage, during the campaign as an utter necessity for restoring health coverage to millions upon millions and restoring Roe, along with whatever else relying on the right to privacy the GOP radicals choose to gut before the election.

In fact, court packing for these purposes will be a central issue, though of course a restored Democratic majority on that body will do a world of good in other ways.

So back off a bit on the other innovations.

Take Medicare for all and zero tuition costs off the table, restore Roe, restore and better fund and expand the ACA, offer better tuition and debt relief calibrated to income (addressing Mayor Pete's objection), improve Medicare for those who rely on it and make it an option for people a bit younger, shift the tax burden as the plutes so richly deserve (pun), and definitely start in on the Green New Deal.

As for immigration, tear down that f-ing wall and get as close to amnesty as possible.

That, too, will be a lot easier with no filibuster.

A much more salable package.

Unless, of course, the GOP destruction of Roe and Ocare together make the country angry enough and sick of their bullshit enough to actually strongly support Medicare for All.

And I suppose that could happen.

But none of it will get done if the party of the plutes and their stupid white dupes wins again.

Winning is useless - winning is losing -  if the winners are too timid and conventional to even dump the filibuster, let alone pack the court, as I fear right now is only too apt to be the case.

But winning is impossible if we appear to validate the wildest of Republican scare stories.

Update.

It would be good if the Democratic nominee had a slate of reliable and committed judges ready to be sent the senate on the first day.

Get things moving right away.

Move fast and strike hard while the iron is hot.

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