The President's Unfinished Agenda... what do you most want to see happen?

[Blue3]

What does everything think President Obama still needs to push for?




1. The Economy
 ===> a. Infrastructure (investing in: a national infrastructure bank, transportation, schools, housing, electric, water... such as the proposals included in the American Jobs Act... a one-time $100-200b package)
 ===> b. Minimum Wage Hike to at least $10.10/hour and index it to inflation (and possibly other labor laws, like mandatory paid leave time for vacations/sickness/parenthood and more for childcare services)
 ===> c. Tax Reform (eliminate unfair deductions/credits that only benefit the wealthy... eliminate tax breaks and subsidies for Big Oil, for unhealthy foods, and for U.S. companies that ship jobs overseas... cap the mortgage interest deduction and limit it to one residency... perhaps creating a 1% financial transaction tax rate and a minimum effective 30% tax rate for millionaires... maybe even have pre-filled-out tax forms)
 ===> d. Entitlement Reform (decrease the cost of Medicare by actually decreasing the cost of healthcare, by allowing imported drugs, allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices, prevent drug companies from blocking generic drugs, medical malpractice reform... as well as eliminating the payroll tax cap so the wealthy pay more into Social Security

2. Comprehensive Immigration Reform

3. End the War in Afghanistan

4. Close Guantanamo's prison, with fair trials or releases for all those imprisoned there

5. Pass ENDA, perhaps extended to cover housing/medicine/adoption too

6. Work with states to pass Universal Pre-School, and more STEM opportunities for high school students so they're better trained for the workforce

7. At least a vote in the House & Senate on Expanded Background and Mental Health Checks for Gun Purchases



I'd like to see more than this... especially with Syria, Iran, Cuba, Israel-Palestine, Mexico, drug legalization & lowering the drinking age, campaign financing transparency, nonpartisan congressional redistricting, further erode the filibuster, automatic voter registration/updating, mandate early voting and vote-by-mail, the Paycheck Fairness Act, AmeriCorps expansion, more transparency and disclosure on national security matters like secret surveillance courts, and expansions/tweaks with healthcare reform... but I understand that's not all possible with this administration and especially this Congress, and the ones above should be given priority and what the President should really push for in 2014 and beyond.

[Rooney]

I think President Obama should golf and hang with celebrities for the next three years. He should have a good old time and not try to do anything.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Obama should certainly try, but realistically unless the GOP loses control of the House, the only thing on that list Obama might get is some sort of immigration reform and even that won't have a chance of happening before the midterms.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Immigration reform seems to be the policy with the highest combined positive effect/likelihood to happen, so let's go for it.

[Blue3]

I agree that Obama should be focused like a laser on Immigration, and after that passes, remain focused like a laser on the Economy.


But he can accomplish some of these without Congress... like ending the war in Afghanistan, and working with the states on education initiatives.

And the Republicans don't need to lose their majority to at least let gun background checks come up for a vote.

I also think Republicans may want to show they're not completely anti-gay by allowing a vote on ENDA in the House, with maybe some Republicans voting for it, perhaps enough to pass it.

Republicans may even lean toward letting Obama have the authority to close Guantanamo's prison too.

[badgate]

All of it!


I hope (like some have predicted w/ the hiring of Podesta) that the President will make steps toward some of these goals through executive action.

[publicunofficial]

I'm still waiting on universal healthcare.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

He would be better off skipping immigration reform and moving onto education or something of the like.

[henster]

Tax reform would be very helpful for the economy and I think immigration reform is pretty much dead, he would be smarter to just push for the DREAM Act.

[greenforest32]

Obama should certainly try, but realistically unless the GOP loses control of the House, the only thing on that list Obama might get is some sort of immigration reform and even that won't have a chance of happening before the midterms.

How about the filibuster being further weakened?

It's possible that one of the existing Justices steps down or has health problems and then Republicans filibuster Obama's replacement pick leading Democrats to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. Or Republicans win the Senate in 2014 and then axe the filibuster entirely in 2015 to prevent Democrats from using it during a session where they have control (something I doubt Democrats would even do).

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Obama should certainly try, but realistically unless the GOP loses control of the House, the only thing on that list Obama might get is some sort of immigration reform and even that won't have a chance of happening before the midterms.

How about the filibuster being further weakened?

It's possible that one of the existing Justices steps down or has health problems and then Republicans filibuster Obama's replacement pick leading Democrats to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. Or Republicans win the Senate in 2014 and then axe the filibuster entirely in 2015 to prevent Democrats from using it during a session where they have control (something I doubt Democrats would even do).

Trust me, the Democrats are human. They are going to be looking for blood (and rightfully so) and they are going to give a President Christie hell with the filibuster. The Senate Republicans will do away with it as soon as one of our own is in the Oval Office.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Obama should certainly try, but realistically unless the GOP loses control of the House, the only thing on that list Obama might get is some sort of immigration reform and even that won't have a chance of happening before the midterms.

How about the filibuster being further weakened?

It's possible that one of the existing Justices steps down or has health problems and then Republicans filibuster Obama's replacement pick leading Democrats to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. Or Republicans win the Senate in 2014 and then axe the filibuster entirely in 2015 to prevent Democrats from using it during a session where they have control (something I doubt Democrats would even do).

So long as we have divided government, further filibuster reform is pointless.  Unless there truly is something wrong with a nominee, Supreme Court picks aren't going to get filibustered.  It would backfire if a party did that for purely political reasons.  And so long as we have divided government, any legislation that could possibly pass has to be bipartisan enough to avoid a Senate filibuster anyway.

[greenforest32]

Maybe it's just the precedent and momentum of the 2013 changes but I think there's a chance the filibuster is further weakened during 2014-2016. That would make the 2016 elections more high-strung.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Maybe it's just the precedent and momentum of the 2013 changes but I think there's a chance the filibuster is further weakened during 2014-2016. That would make the 2016 elections more high-strung.

At this point, it'll be weakened when the side in charge needs it to be.

If Kennedy or Scalia resigns or dies, the SC Filibuster will go away in five seconds. I expect the GOP to talk about that a lot in the runup to the 2014 elections.

[Aliens]

He should end the War in Afghanistan as soon as possible.

[Blue3]

Kill the TPP. If he signs it, he is dead to me.

But he campaigned on it...

Unless there truly is something wrong with a nominee, Supreme Court picks aren't going to get filibustered.  It would backfire if a party did that for purely political reasons.  And so long as we have divided government, any legislation that could possibly pass has to be bipartisan enough to avoid a Senate filibuster anyway.

The government shutdown and near debt-default show that they don't care about backlash for filibustering a SC nominee for purely political reasons. In fact, there would probably be less for that than there was for the shutdown. We're in a new era of politics.

And hopefully the Democrats take back the House in 2014 or 2016.

[henster]

Ending the filibuster will only make things worse and make Republicans even more vindictive they'll more than likely stonewall  everything in the Senate and the House won't take up anything that's passed through the Senate. Obama should definitely pivot back the economy, address the NSA controversies, and embrace marijuana legalization. A DREAM Act bill is more realistic than immigration reform at this point.

[ElectionsGuy]

The only thing I actually want him to do is end the war in Afghanistan (#3)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Unless there truly is something wrong with a nominee, Supreme Court picks aren't going to get filibustered.  It would backfire if a party did that for purely political reasons.  And so long as we have divided government, any legislation that could possibly pass has to be bipartisan enough to avoid a Senate filibuster anyway.

The government shutdown and near debt-default show that they don't care about backlash for filibustering a SC nominee for purely political reasons. In fact, there would probably be less for that than there was for the shutdown. We're in a new era of politics.

And hopefully the Democrats take back the House in 2014 or 2016.

Oh there certainly will be those who harrumph and talk about a filibuster, but getting the 41 votes to sustain a purely partisan Supreme Court filibuster just is not possible with the current Senate. Conceivably after the midterms if the GOP does better than I think it wlll in the general election and the Tea Party does better than I think it will in the primaries., but I really doubt it. However, it is more likely than the Democrats retaking the House in either 2014 or 2016.

[TNF]

Resigning would be a good start.

[IceSpear]

Resigning would be a good start.

You want President Biden that bad?

[Orser67]

Nice list.

Here's what I'm hoping for, although not everything would be supported by Obama.

Do it:
Implement Obamacare and Dodd-Frank
Implement proposed EPA emission rules
End the war in Afghanistan
Pass the TPP (although I don't agree with every US negotiating position)
Appoint more judges
Avoid default/shut-down without major spending cuts
Continue the Asian pivot
Don't allow any major terrorist attacks

Try for it:
Immigration reform
Tax reform
Pass TTIP
Minimum wage hike
Implement the agreement with Iran
Reform the NSA and drone strikes
Appoint a replacement for Ginsburg/Breyer
Ratify the NPT and otherwise fight nuclear proliferation
Strike down voter ID laws
Invest in alternative energy and energy efficiency
Get further stimulus spending

Hope for it:
Agriculture subsidy reform
Major investments in infrastructure
Carbon tax/cap and trade
Pass ENDA
Universal pre-school
Replace the No Child Left Behind Act (although I don't know with what...)
Universal background checks for gun purchases
Close Guantanamo
Appoint a replacement for Scalia/Kennedy
Get rid of the debt ceiling
Get an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty
Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
Overturn Citizens United
Raise the top income tax bracket
Legalize marijuana nationwide
Legalize gay marriage nationwide
Increase discretionary domestic spending
Lower military spending
Find some way to control college costs

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I'd like him to just stop pushing the TPP.

[Blue3]

Any other thoughts?

Let's see what he mentions in his SOTU address on Tuesday.

[Frodo]

Harry Reid has made it clear that he will not allow President Obama to obtain trade promotion authority (TPA).

If Republicans finally recapture the Senate this year (while maintaining control of the House), does anyone here think President Obama may actually have an easier time getting not only TPA, but also the two huge trade deals that he is pushing for -the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership?