Talk to Sen. Tom Daschle

The current guest on Talk to Power is Sen. Tom Daschle, the former senior senator from South Dakota and leader of the Senate Democrats from 1994 until 2005. He is fielding your comments, thoughts and questions now, and his responses to some of the best comments will be posted on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Thanks to Yahoo! News readers for your questions, and thanks in advance to Sen. Daschle for participating.

Not surprisingly, the Democrats' victory in Congress was a  dominant theme on the boards.  Questions were raised about the future direction of the party, its leadership, and its relationship to the Republicans.

Just as the war in

Iraq was a driving factor of the election, so to has it been a constant theme in the conversations with the guests of Talk to Power, and numerous questions were raised about how Democrats propose to handle the war.

Below are some highlights of the posts so far.

 

On the Democrats' direction and leadership

"I am a Republican-leaning Independent who voted mostly Democratic this time. While I agree with many Democratic positions, I reject many of the "big ones", such as abortion, the economy... But I abandoned my usual Republican leanings in response to the Bush administration's assault on our civil liberties and an inane war that has nothing to do with fighting terrorism. I guess it would be naive to think the Dems would not take advantage of this opportunity to advance their agendas, but I also wonder if they will see this as what I see it as; a call by the people of the US for some moderation. Are we now going to swing as far left as we have been right?"

"Senator Daschle, One simple question. What will the Democrats do to insure the welfare of the millions of working poor in America? It is increasingly clear that this group expands in numbers each year. In 2008 I feel this group will show up in numbers at the polls. The Democratic-controlled House and Senate will need to prove its interest in our welfare if they wish to win the presidency."

"Do you think having Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) as House Speaker will hurt the Democrats in 2008, if she starts all sorts of investigations and impeachment proceedings?"

"Dear Senator Daschle: How will the new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate shape our nation's environmental policies, including global warming and climate change? Thank you."  

On bipartisan governing

"On occasion, after those elections where there are major shifts in governance, the victorious party tends to take make the mistake of using their victory as an opportunity to run with their agenda, to the full exclusion of the minority party. How can the Democrats lead Congress, work to make Republicans a viable part of the discussion, forge real solutions to our problems, in what has been a particularly toxic climate?"

"Dear Senator Daschle, I am a working American. With a Republican President and a Democratic majority do you think the public is headed for a standstill where nothing gets accomplished? I believe this relationship can exhibit a positive check and balance but I sometimes think it prevents the Nation from taking any action. What do you think? "

On Rumsfeld's replacement 

"Why does

President Bush continue to appoint family friends to critical positions within his administration? Now that Rumsfeld is gone, isn't it time to look outside the 'Bush portfolio' of buddies when choosing our next Defense Secretary? Who would you choose as Rumsfeld's replacement?"  

On energy independence

"Dear Senator Daschle; Our energy policy is broken and no Congressional or Executive leader has had the strength to present a clear way ahead to the American people. Raising the min EPA mileage standards, removing the SUV loopholes, mandating hybrid technology as a stopgap, and massive government investment in constructing nuclear, wind, solar, biomass, and thermal conversion stations to displace oil and coal. This would relegate the Middle East to it's rightful place at the bottom of the totem pole. ... So, who is going to bite the bullet and tell the American people what is needed to secure our future?"  

"Do you believe that this Democrat-controlled Congress will be more apt to promote alternate energy for the public? Thank you for your attention."

On health care 

"Dear Senator Daschle, I came to a meeting you had with some other political figures such as the Mayor of Missoula on the growing crisis of healthcare. Since I am one such person who cannot afford healthcare as it stands now because it is too expensive. However, I have been going to Partnership Health Center here in Missoula even though I am on a sliding fee scale. This often is still too expensive for me ... I frankly am fed up with this so-called healthcare!!! What do you think?"  

"I would like your perspective on how the Democrats plan to address Medicare health services to rural communities while more and more physicians are refusing Medicare patients because of the low reimbursement, compliance issues and overhead necessary to implement EHR (electronic health records) HIPAA requirements and the current NPI requirements. Your comments please." 

On the war in Iraq

"The Democratic call this election was to bring our troops home. Once we announce to do that, all hell will break lose on our troops in the hopes it will speed up the plan. What is the plan to bring them home and what in the interim is the plan to keep them as safe as possible. I fully support the removal of our men and women, and wish them a SAFE return."

"Both parties say that if we leave Iraq there will be a humanitarian crisis. But it looks to me as if there already IS a humanitarian crisis there that we are powerless to stop and that our presence may be making worse. Why should we stay there?"

On the Middle East

"Do you think that we can bring real peace to the middle east if we continue to see democracy through our own interests or by real fairness where we stand with the real elected governments, because on the long run, the people will rule, and the new awkward generation of young leaders in the Middle East will have to go."

On the future of space exploration

"I am a college student studying mechanical engineering, and I would love to work for

NASA and help with the space exploration initiative. What is the Democrat stance on President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration?"

* * * * * 

We continue to welcome your thoughts and questions regarding politics and policy. As always, we are interested in hearing a little about you and what motivates you to write.

Thanks again to the readers and to Sen. Daschle.

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