H O W A R D S B E N D

How long can we keep this terminally ill patient on life-support? This patient that has suffered many self-inflicted wounds in the past few years and recently tried to commit suicide in the 2024 presidential election. How do we get the patient off life support?

The Democratic Party is the party that allowed for the continuation of the war in Afghanistan through eight years of the Obama administration while making no progress on the ground during this stretch. This is the party that allowed an estimated 10 million or more illegal immigrants into the country under the Biden administration. This is the party that failed to create a second nuclear treaty with Iran, worried that it might look soft compared to the hard right wing voters in the country. This the party that grew the deficit by almost $8 billion under Biden because they were scared to raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy. This is the party that allowed inflation to grow out of control while ordinary Americans suffered from higher prices at the grocery stores and in the shopping centers. This is the party that crucified Al Franken for some petty sexual offense, or castigated a Congressman because he publicly stated that he did not wish his teenage daughter to play sports with transgender athletes. This is the party of old and tired politicians who did not have the guts to stand-up to Biden and confront his rapidly failing mental condition.

And this is the party that continues to recycle old ideas and policies as its once-solid majority drifts away. The Democratic Party has lost touch with blue collar America as it pushes for more and more extreme social programs. It has failed to develop a fair border and immigration policy which scared many voters off and surprisingly pushed away the traditionally Democratic Hispanic vote. Its programs of school and police reform have even forced the black voters to scale back their support for Democratic candidates. “Clean air and keeping democracy strong” does not resonate with voters who are concerned about putting food on the table and living in safe neighborhoods. Only 1.5% of the cars in America are electric vehicles so a $7,500 tax credit on new purchases of EVs will not have a wide appeal for the voting public. Forgiving college debt obligations does not excite a US population where less than two-thirds go to college.

So what is the political policy that has a very wide appeal and that cuts across economic levels and appeals to white, black and other minority populations? What political idea can appeal to a young white college educated couple living in the suburbs who just had their first child; or to a single black mom living in Alabama working two jobs with three children that are cared for her by her mom because there are no other options; or to a blue collar couple where the dad works long hours at a factory with the wife staying home because they cannot afford any child care options.

The answer is simple: free universal daycare for all children from birth to kindergarten. Anyone in America will be entitled to free daycare. We have free education in the USA from kindergarten through 12th grade. The Democrats should now propose to extending this free education from childbirth through to kindergarten. This proposal addresses many social problems in our country at the moment. First, the cost of daycare is prohibitive for families just starting out. Many young couples have to juggle jobs in order to afford childcare. One reason that the US birthrate is low is that the cost of childcare prohibits young families from affording to have several children in daycare at the same time. Also, many single moms cannot go to work because they cannot afford childcare and are forced on to welfare and Medicaid to pay their costs. Also, the US is falling behind in education relative to other industrial nations. I believe that starting kids in school at an earlier age will improve education results many years down the line. And jobs!!!! This program will create tens of thousands of jobs, from teachers to administrators to staff and to unskilled teacher aids. Another $1,000 tax credit is not going to pay the daycare bills. This is a program that will Make America Great Again. Paying for this program will be discussed in another post.

Of course, Democrats need to support an Equal Rights Amendment, not just for women but for all Americans. Yes, the Dems need to keep fighting to make the environment clean and inhabitable for the next 100 years. The Dems absolutely need to develop a firm and enforceable border policy. They also need to end the fighting in the Middle East and develop a policy that includes an independent state for Palestinians. The US must give Ukraine the weapons they need to end the Russian aggression. And of course, the Dems need to offer a single payer program for healthcare that will cut costs and cover all US citizens.

In summary, the Dems now have a new and simple policy to lead them into the 2026 midterm elections – paid universal childcare for all kids from birth up through kindergarten.