Reid and Pelosi on C-Span at 10AM est

[welshTerrier2]

Reid and Pelosi will be discussing the Democratic Party's agenda at 10AM (est) at the National Press Club.

[welshTerrier2]

1. comments by Pelosi

Pelosi said we need to change military focus from combat to training Iraqi troops ... also need much better effort on reconstruction ...

Other comments:
Pelosi also said we need to create 10 million new jobs
"healthcare is a right not a privilege"
Democrats support "pay as you go" budgeting, not deficit spending

Social Security has problems but there should be no rush to fix it ... there is no crisis ... it will be solvent for nearly 50 years ... bush sees undermining social security as the cornerstone of his ownership society ...

we believe:
1. changes must not add to the deficit - must pay back money borrowed from the trust fund .. listed "staggering price tag" of having personally owned accounts - increased debt drives up mortgages, student loans, etc.
it must be accounted for in the budget "without gimmicks" ... it is now outside bush's proposed budget ... it is a tax on the future

2. no slashes in benefits - average benefit today is only $950 per month ... under bush's plan, benefit cuts could reach 40% ... "we won't let a guaranteed benefit become a gamble"

3. any program must be fair ... the greatest risk of "privatization" will be to the young ...

Social Security is the closest thing our government has to a sacred trust ...

[welshTerrier2]

2. comments by Reid

"America stands united in waging the war on terror"
"no longer sending our troops into battle without the weapons and equipment they need"
"we need to add to our troop levels in Iraq and around the world"
"we need to increase the number of troops we have in our military by 40,000"
"help soldiers with a new GI bill of rights"
"these men and women deserve better"

we are standing on the sidelines as new international agreements and alliance take place
link of Saddam and terrorists were flimsy at best according to the CIA
millions of Iraqis voted but they will never be free until they can walk the streets freely without fear
bush needs to defeat the growing insurgency
we need an exit strategy so that we know what victory is and how to get there
there are so many bigger threats to our national security than Iraq
this administration has been standing by
Iran has been enriching uranium
N. Korea has as many as 9 weapons but bush let China handle the negotiations
we must lead the world to build a durable peace instead of letting others lead the way
JFK: "we must never negotiate out of fear but we must never fear to negotiate"
1000 days later, bin Laden remains on the loose
we need to add 2000 more special forces troops to track him down
bush must return his attention to bin Laden
more firefighters and police officers ... bush has been cutting back on them
more inspections on cargo coming into country
hunger and hopelessness are breeding grounds for terrorism
bush's tsunami relief took too long
slow motion tsunamis of poverty and disease and mass killings all over the world
economic opportunity, education and medicine to foreign countries helps keep us safe
America needs to start making friends in this world ... if you want to have friends, you have to be a friend

[moggie12]

3. Thanks for the info -- got two questions

Did Reid discuss that 10-point legislative agenda posted on the Senate Dems website the other day?

In general, I thought both Pelosi and Reid sounded good themes -- did you like what you heard?

[welshTerrier2]

5. Did I like what I heard?

for the most part, i did ... there was a very clear combativeness from both Pelosi and Reid that has been way overdue ...

the policies they talked about were, for the most part, very positive ...

i felt Reid sounded a bit too hawkish on the use of the American military ... not prepared to elaborate on this yet ... i will say that i'm very concerned that he may try to steer the Democratic party to be more pro-defense than it has been ... i see this as purely political and believe it is very bad policy ...

i also was deeply troubled by his call for adding 40,000 more troops to our military ... we are short-handed because of our insane global military escapades ... he's advocating giving more drinks to the alcoholics ... and what was especially disturbing was that i think this was the same number the PNAC'ers (or was it the DLC?) were calling for ... that's not a bunch I want to see Reid taking advice from ...

check out my other thread about Reid having not read Kennedy's comments about withdrawing from Iraq ... how scary is that ??

[gratuitous]

4. Hmmm, I don't necessarily agree with it all

But I'm very glad to see Reid and Pelosi out in front of Stupidhead's "State of the Whatever" speech, sounding off about a few issues, and stealing some of the framing.