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Therieb calls the 2008 election...

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This election cycle is over. My congratulations to my liberal former friends, you will not only control the White House but also both houses of Congress. I believe there is at least a 60% chance that the Democratic party will also enjoy a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. But before you open the champagne, I urge you all to draw up your list of demands for this new administration. The spoils of victory should include more than just a smug feeling that your candidate won. Your candidate should actually improve your lives and the lives of your fellow citizens. Here are a few suggestions for your list of demands:

1 No backpedaling on a national health care system. This process has already begun pre-election. The line goes something like: “Well, in light of the current economic crisis, we will have to scale back our expectations for Obama's health care proposal, and I'm sure the voters understand this...” Wait a minute, the current financial crisis was caused by a thoroughly bipartisan effort to destroy the financial regulatory system in this country, and the fix will be paid for by rank and file tax payers. The trillion dollars the government so easily throws around to help our banks could just have easily been spent expanding Medicare. So what on earth is there to understand?

2 Demand real financial regulatory reform. I know high finance is complicated and the New York Times tells you that it can't be understood by mere mortals. Well, the immortals are busy helping themselves to about a trillion dollars of your cash. I know it may be emotionally satisfying to watch Henry Waxman “grill” members of the financial community before the Ways and Means Committee, but people like Dick Fuld are quietly laughing in the witness chair and walking off with their bonuses anyway. There's no amount of this “revenge” that a six-martini lunch can't fix...

3 We really, seriously, need to disengage our military from Iraq. This was one of your big lefty issues, and you should not accept any waffling. Please make it clear that failure to end this military disaster will result in a collapse of support in the mid term elections and beyond.

4 Please understand that any energy bill with the word “renewable” in it is not enough. What you voted for was comprehensive policy reform, which includes renewables, but also public transit, conservation incentives, and, if necessary, rationing. There are lines of businessmen who are eagerly awaiting the renewable gold rush. At least half of them are criminals. Please, a little critical thinking before we give away the store.

I could go on, but you get the idea. You are going to be told that now that you've elected Obama your work is done. Sit back and enjoy the new dawn of liberal America. Just like 1992. Well, those days seem a long way off and weren't so great anyway. If you started a 401k in 1998, today you are contemplating suicide. If you were in college in 1993, sending your children to a comparable institution will cost about twice as much. Liberal voters! This is your hour! This is your time! Do what you must on election day, but make sure it's known that your votes, just like corporate donations, come with strings attached.