Democratic Plans, Policy Priorities for Nov 2006 Elections

Led by Chairman Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee held its Spring 2006 this past weekend to fine-tune party strategy for the November 2006 Congressional and state elections, and to begin preliminary planning for the 2008 Democratic Party Convention.

The three-day meeting was held in New Orleans to bring business and helping hands to the horribly beleaguered city. Most attendees, including Dean , donned hazmat clothes and work gloves to clear storm-ravaged neighborhoods.

"Our current Republican government will be judged by how they treated Americans of the Gulf Coast, and how it has treated, or mistreated, our American community," said Howard Dean in a Saturday speech. "The Republicans have cut and run when it comes to rebuilding the Gulf Coast, and we will not do that."

Chairman Dean announced Democrats' six-point plan of policy priorities for the November 2006 mid-term elections:

1. Raise the federal minimum wage.
2. Enact a complete Congressional ban on gifts and travel from lobbyists.
3. Tax fairness for the middle class.
4. Enact national security recommendations by the 9/11 commission, including inspection of all cargo entering US ports .
5. Rewrite the Medicare prescription drug plan, taking subsidies away from drug companies and cutting prices for seniors.
6. Substantial transition in Iraq to Iraqis taking greater responsibility for defeating the insurgency.

About immigration, Chairman Dean said that Democrats seek legislation that "secures our borders, protects American workers, and enables immigrants who work hard, obey our laws and pay taxes a path to earn the rights and privileges of citizenship."

While the meeting was optimistic about the November 2006 elections, most attendee time was spent hatching plans to bolster grassroots efforts, especially the 50-state, National Neighbor-to-Neighbor Organizing Day, slated for this Saturday, April 29. Click HERE to find an April 29 Democratic Party canvassing event in your local community.
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Rumors abounded over the weekend about which city will host the 2008 Democratic Convention. Earlier this year, eleven cities accepted a DNC invitation to bid for the convention: Anaheim, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Antonio.

A sizeable contingent from Denver, which included the present and a past mayor, threw a well-attended shindig to promote the Mile High city as the 2008 Democratic convention site. DemNotes, a Colorado Democratic blog, has photos of the party as well as of all the Denver-themed goodies given to DNC delegates over the weekend.

DailyKos blogger Colorado Luis commented, "The consensus is that Denver is one of the top three candidates, although it is unclear who the other two are -- Littwin (Rocky Mountain News comumnist) mentioned Anaheim and Las Vegas, although I think Minneapolis is definitely in the mix....If Ray Nagin is re-elected mayor of New Orleans, that city will not be awarded the 2008 convention."

Over the weekend, eleven states...Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina and West Virginia, plus Washington DC...made pitches to join New Hampshire and Iowa in holding early presidential primaries and caucuses in 2008. Each of the states emphasized the affordability of their media markets, and their states' various ethnic and economic diversities. No word (or even rumors) on possible alterations to traditional primary schedules.
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Related Articles
-- Profile of Howard Dean, Democratic Party Chairman
-- The Failing US Report Card on 9/11 Commission Recommendations
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