There have been numerous diaries and comments addressing the apparent lack of Democrat/Progressive principles. Tactics are great but it is clear to many that we need a bedrock upon which to build the party. I have read a number of great blogs on the subject (including today) but I think that we need to go the distance and develop ideas that transcend the current political landscape. Ideas so strong that they could be, or should be, part of the constitution, not merely acts of congress.
The Second Bill of Rights:
Article I. Citizens are entitled to a living minimum wage and to financial assistance in the case of old age or the inability to work, as defined by law. Everyone receiving financial assistance also has the responsibility to work to the best of his or her physical and mental abilities.
Article 2. Citizens have the right of control over their body.
Article 3. Everyone has the right to health care, as defined by law.
Article 4. Everyone has the right to a clean and healthy environment, including water that is safe to drink and air that is safe to breathe, as defined by law.
Article 5. All citizens eighteen years or older shall have the right to vote in a secret ballot for their representatives. Each vote shall be given equal weight and each voter shall be able to vote directly for any representative who represents them. Voting shall be made easily accessible to all. Workers have the right to leave work to vote in state-wide or national elections without a reduction in pay.
Article 6. Citizens have the right to bear arms. (Eliminate the ambiguity of the 2nd Amendment.)
[This last one is controversial for me personally. I do not own a weapon, but I can't help but imagine that the fate of peoples in history would have been different if they had been armed. The Jews in Warsaw, the blacks in S. Africa, the Tutsis in Rwanda, the Bosnians, the Sudanese in Darfur, etc, etc. etc. In the end, everyone must guarantee their own freedom. The government can't be trusted to keep our freedoms safe, because it is government that takes them away. And has.]