My Political Platform
AJ Robinson

When I was a kid, I remember reading two books by Dr. Seuss that were about a little boy voicing his ideas for running a zoo and a circus. I always thought they were so cool and wished I could do the same. With those in mind, I thought I might voice my ideas for a different kind of running, specifically, running for office. I offer these thoughts in response to some pundits and reporters who asked what the Democrats stand for. Their view is that it's not enough to oppose Trump; you have to stand for something.

The Democrats have no platform, but I do.

I agree. I further agree that it seems these days the Democrats are weak at clearly defining their message. Perhaps, these simple words will help. If I ran for office, I'd just run on the exact opposite of what the republican platform seems to be.

I'd want equal pay for women and letting them control their own bodies. I'd especially argue in favor of easy access to birth control, as that’s the best means of reducing abortions. I'd be for boosting spending on education and empowering teachers, not calling them union thugs and I'd strive to make state colleges more affordable so poor and middle class families didn't have to go into debt just to get a decent education.

I'd push to protect our drinking water from pollution and fracking, and protect the environment in general. I live in Florida, so I see the effects of climate change on a daily basis, and witness its damage to cities like Miami. I'd push for more renewables and a decrease on our use of fossil fuels. That also means I'd be in favor of job training for people in the coal and other old industries to help them transition to the new economy, and ending the billions in subsidies the oil and gas companies get.

Raising taxes on the rich and corporations usually leads to a boom.

Yes, I'd be in favor of raising taxes on the rich and corporations. Not a lot, mind you, but under Clinton we did it and not only did the economy boom, but the government managed to reduce the national debt and the rich still managed to get richer. They just had to work a little harder at it. Gee, what a concept is that? The lie of trickledown economics foisted on us for decades, failed; it's time to put the old buzzard down and bury it deep. Kansas just tried it, while California went the exact opposite and now the former is floundering while the latter is enjoying an economic boom. As a corollary to that, I’m also in favor of raising the Minimum Wage. If a company can afford to pay its CEO thousands of dollars an hour, it can handle ten dollars an hour for the lowest of the low of its workers. The family that owns Walmart are all billionaires; I think it’s reasonable to ask them to pay their employees a decent wage instead of expecting the rest of us to support them.

I'd fight to improve health care, either adjust the ACA, as it definitely needs fixing or just strive for national healthcare. Hey, if it can work for every other industrialized nation in the world, we can do it too!

I'd spend on infrastructure and cut defense. Yes, you read that right: cut! We have something like twelve carrier groups in our navy. As I understand it, the next biggest navy in the world, which is one of our allies, has none. I think we can afford to retire a couple. Not only do we have pressing domestic issues, and not only can we no longer afford to be the world's policeman, and not only do other nations need to step up to the plate and help, but the nature of war has changed. We simply don't need a huge military.

There you have it, my political platform. You can agree or disagree with it, in whole or in parts, and here's the incredible thing. I won't vilify or berate you for it. This is America, we can agree to disagree, and simply accept that we have different views. It's not that one of us is right and the other wrong, one good and the other bad, one a patriot and the other a traitor. No, we merely have different ideas on the future of our nation. Oh and here's the truly "radical" concept: no matter which path we choose, our nation will survive. Now, as to its form, eh, who can say?

That’s my workable platform for winning the next election.

Anyway, that's my outline for a run for political office. I think I'm safe in my current occupation. I doubt the democrats are going to recruit me anytime soon. Still, you never know. What’s that knock on the door? It’s midnight. Are the democrats calling me?