The Only Way the Democrats Can Decisively Defeat Trump and MAGA
Part I: Solutions for the Asylum, Addiction, and Gun Violence Crises. On Gun Control, the Abortion Debate, and a National Police Academy.
First, of great urgency, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and all Democrats running in the November elections must immediately address our extremely counterproductive asylum policy, which actually encourages asylum seekers to come to our border, as well as illegal entries. They must come up with the only effective solution: require all asylum seekers to apply for asylum at U.S. consulates in their country of residence, not at our border, just like for tourist visas.
Additionally, there must be a provision that all illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. will forfeit their right to asylum or legalization unless they immediately return to their country of origin and apply at U.S. consulates for either asylum, if they qualify, or for temporary, renewable work visas. (Illegal immigrants who fear government persecution in their country of origin can apply for asylum at U.S. consulates in other countries.) Illegal immigrants who have no criminal record in the U.S. will be put on a fast-track temporary work visa list at the U.S. consulate in their country of residence.
Harris and Walz should also propose that Congress decide on the number of immigrants to admit each year. An annual limit on immigration was the traditional, rational and successful policy for decades and strictly enforced, guaranteeing social and political stability. That policy was abandoned in recent years by incompetent federal leadership lacking common sense while dominated by humanitarian concerns in the face of waves of poor, desperate migrants from underdeveloped and crime ridden countries arriving at our border. The rational, effective response would have been to administratively change the venue for asylum applications exclusively to U.S. consulates in the country of residence of the applicants, not at our borders; while also organizing a major Peace Corps effort focused on education and infrastructure in the migrants’ underdeveloped nations. Apart from sustainably ending the migrant crisis and being an admirable humanitarian endeavor greatly increasing good will towards our nation, a well-devised major Peace Corps effort would also benefit our own economy by creating new markets, while offering prestigious, highly rewarding jobs to many Americans.
Harris and Walz must also make clear to Americans and foreigners alike that our asylum law (just like the international asylum law of the United Nations) applies only to individuals persecuted by their own government in their country of residence, not to individuals fleeing a violent society or seeking a higher standard of living, i.e., not to “economic migrants”, who are 99.9% if not 100% of asylum seekers at our southern border.
Of crucial importance, Harris and Walz must absolutely state that the goal is zero annual illegal immigrants, not 5,000 a week or 5,000 a month, an absurd Biden Administration goal. This administrative asylum reform can happen immediately by a Biden executive order upon a public request by Harris and Walz, and could win the election for the Democrats all by itself. In any case, Harris and Walz should commit to finally finishing “The Wall”: the remaining gaps make “The Wall” an embarrassing, sad joke.
Since illegal immigration is a national problem caused by the federal government’s incompetence, Harris and Walz should declare that the federal government must promptly reimburse all expenses borne by states and cities to care for illegal immigrants and that states and cities must issue temporary photo ID cards to those illegal immigrants (with the nationality indicated), and enter them in a national illegal immigrant database.
Harris and Walz should also state that it makes sense for all American citizens to have high tech federal ID cards confirming citizenship, to avoid suspicions of voter fraud, the base for the January 6 2021 insurrection. All European nations have citizen ID cards, a demonstration of common sense. Why should we not be just as practical? We’ve had more than three years to eliminate the problem, why has nothing been done? Harris and Walz must acknowledge that inexcusable shortcoming and commit to having federal ID cards issued to all citizens within two years and entered into a federal data base, before the next election cycle. All ballots, whether mail-in or in person, must include the voter’s federal ID number in order to make it easy to rapidly tabulate the vote, and to verify there is no double or unauthorized voting.
Harris and Walz must also promise to greatly increase state and federal penalties for anyone interfering with the proper count and certification of votes, or signaling voter fraud without evidence which holds up in court. If we truly value our democracy, the penalties for illegal election obstruction should be severe. Is an attempt to kill our democracy not more serious than an attempt to murder an individual? Similarly, how can the maximum penalty for treason be only 20 years imprisonment? Harris and Walz should propose a much stiffer penalty.
Second, Harris and Walz must understand and persuasively explain to all voters, Democrats and Republicans, that our addiction and gun violence crises are both connected to mentally disturbed and poorly educated citizens. So are our child abuse, rape, domestic abuse, and police abuse problems. The obvious prevention solution would be to have all our high schools include in their curriculum a four-year psychology course accompanied by group therapy and good parenting workshops, with individual attention for students having academic or psychological problems. Inexplicably, we have not been serious about prevention.
Have drug laws and gun laws worked? Of course not, mainly due to black markets for drugs and guns, and also to lax custody by legal owners of firearms. Harris and Walz should declare that we must stop being in denial and stupidly blaming the Chinese for the fentanyl crisis. Are the Chinese force-feeding Americans with fentanyl? Of course not! Mentally disturbed Americans are asking for fentanyl!
We have laws against child abuse, domestic abuse, rape, excessive force by the police, robbery, fraud, and against all forms of violence, including murder. Do they work? Obviously not. What would work is greatly reducing the number of mentally disturbed citizens. Who can rationally deny that? Who can rationally deny that even dishonest people are mentally disturbed? Are individuals who are happy, psychologically well adjusted, and properly loved by their parents dishonest and unempathetic? Never, with very few exceptions.
Third, Harris and Walz should declare that our abortion debate must be secondary to a focus on preventing unwanted pregnancies. Since most unwanted pregnancies happen to undereducated youths, often with psychological problems, the focus should be on greatly improving our public schools and preventing dropouts. Our public schools should be run as the best private schools, i.e., with strict class discipline, lots of homework/study hall, school uniforms, and, of crucial importance, they must have an enlightened high school curriculum which includes a four-year psychology course, along with individual assistance for students having academic or psychological problems. There must also be a course on contraception, emphasizing that responsible individuals are always careful to avoid unwanted pregnancies. One should not underestimate such a course’s effectiveness.
Fourth, Harris and Walz should make clear the connection between a grossly inadequate public school education (especially a grossly inadequate high school curriculum) and poverty, homelessness, racism, as well as gender, sexuality, and religious discrimination. Practically all poor and homeless citizens are not well educated precisely because of the mediocre public schools they went to which failed to properly educate them and to keep them from falling behind, even from dropping out. Some are mentally disturbed in addition to being severely undereducated, which underlines the need for real, effective prevention. It must be repeated that the only effective prevention is a 4-year high school psychology course combined with group therapy and good parenting workshops, and individual attention for students with academic or psychological difficulties.
As for citizens who are racist or discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, and sexuality, they are mainly undereducated (even if they are wealthy), not having had 4-year high school courses on human rights (as listed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights) along with the world history of human rights violations; on psychology; ethics; empathy; and logic/critical thinking. Harris and Walz must therefore emphasize the need for a major upgrade of all our public schools in the way they are run and the curriculum they teach.
Harris and Walz should assert that while wealth is not to be criticized, being essential for economic growth, it is not proof of being well-educated, it is only proof of earning or inheriting lots of money. In fact, even wealthy citizens with advanced university degrees are not truly well educated when they are only narrowly educated, not having benefited from a solid, broad educational base which is essential for being truly well educated.
Fifth, Harris and Walz should propose the creation of a national police academy with very high standards, which strictly trains and certifies all the nation’s police officers. We cannot accept any more police abuses and use of excessive force anywhere in our nation. We need police excellence in every state and every city. States and local governments will most probably be very receptive to a national police academy which relieves them of the cost of training their police officers, and citizens will be reassured by uniformly high quality policing nationwide.
Part II proposes a pro-growth economic policy demonstrating that the Democrats are not socialists and communists. (Those who accuse Democrats of being communists are either dishonest and libelous or ignorant, not knowing the definition of communism! Harris and Walz must set the record straight without delay.) Part III proposes specific public high school curriculum reform, and high knowledge qualification requirements for all political candidates. Part IVproposes various crucially important legal reforms. Part V lists solutions for childcare, affordable housing, homelessness, welfare, and other considerations.
© Edward Sonnino 2024
August 17, 2024
