Dean tries to put lipstick on a pig.

Is it possible that the Kerry campaign was flawed? Does anybody have a clue what Kerry "stood for" besides indecision and weak delivery?

If they don't start soon, Cheney will be the next President of the United States. He'll ask Joe Lieberman to be his V.P. and campaign on all of the bi-partisan Bush legislation that the DLC helped Bush pass.

Name one, single, solitary, positive accomplishment of the entire Democratic party this session.

I care about what he is doing to organize the grass roots.

And I care if the Dems are learning some discipline as a party.

Dean might be working on these things.

Or, he might not.

I'd like some insider knowledge on what he IS DOING!

It is to this end that I propose The American Compact.

The American Compact is a set of ten "action items" a Democratic Congress can take, and therefore can serve as the backbone for nationalizing the 2006 Congressional races. Several of them have state and local aspects, so state and local candidates can run "on the Compact" as well.

The final version of the compact, of course, will have to be put together by elected Democrats and our friends at the DNC, and some wordsmithing probably remains, but I propose:

• Free public education pre-K through post-12, reflecting that a high school diploma alone is no longer the "ticket" to the middle class
• National standards for fair federal elections including a common ballot design and common 24 hour election day (10pm EST the first Monday in November to 10pm EST the first Tuesday in November, worldwide)
• Nonpartisan congressional redistricting (and at the state level, nonpartisan legislative redistricting)
• Fair and Simple progressive no-deductions income and payroll tax
• Fair Social Security funding (lift the income limit, add progressivity) to guarantee solvency and meet our moral obligation
• Health care for every child as a step to health care for every American
• Expanding, retraining and reequipping the National Guard as our "first line of defense" for Homeland Security. Return "the militia" to its role of protecting its community.
• "Troops not Toys" - Spend tax dollars on the military prioritized to support the soldiers, sailors and airmen, not enrich the defense contractors
• Pass legislation to enforce equal protection under the laws for all Americans as guaranteed by the Constitution
• Progress toward energy independence by applying American technology for common-sense conservation and the use of government grants and incentives to encourage purchase and installation of home and community based sources of solar, wind and other inexhaustible, renewable energy.

We need to be more than against the "other guys". We need to provide a clear set of actions we will take if elected, actions that Americans can look at and easily say, "Yes, I support that." That is my goal with The America Compact.