Veto This!

Up on Capitol Hill, the Democrats are in a bind. They're in the majority but they can't get much done. They don't have the votes to overcome Republican Senate filibusters or override White House vetoes. What can the Dems do? It seems they'll just mope around for a few more days and then head off to summer recess.

But before President Bush heads down to Crawford to clear brush and avoid Cindy Sheehan for another season, why not put him on the spot? The Democrats should use the week before summer break to push legislation that would require mandatory paid vacation for every American worker.

The U.S. stands pretty much alone in not requiring paid vacation. It's not just "workers' paradise" countries like Sweden that mandates it (5 weeks per person guaranteed). They also have it lean, mean capitalist nations like the UK (4 weeks) and Japan (2 weeks) and even in bona fide third world countries like Brazil (6 weeks). But in the US, fully 25% percent of workers receive no paid vacation at all. For a party trying to take back the White House, this quarter of the American workforce might be a group worth courting.

So why not put the Republicans on the spot? Will Republican congressmen really argue that their constituents don't deserve the same summer vacation they're about to take? Will they claim that the American economy would be put in danger if we ascended to Japanese levels of leisure? Would President Bush have the chutzpah to veto the bill -- and then head down to the Western White House? That would turn his every Texas brush-clearing expedition from a photo-op into an embarrassment. And it would be the perfect issue with which to skewer a man who, before 9/11, when "Bin Laden [was] Determined to Strike in [the] U.S.," as his own national security briefing told him, was spending 42 percent of his presidency on vacation. Not to mention, it would be a perfect illustration of the differences between the two parties. That is, if there are any.

It's possible the Democrats are so addicted to corporate campaign contributions that they'd never endorse paid vacation for all. After all, paid vacation is as clear a win for workers and loss for bosses as one can imagine; it's a zero-sum game. But now is the perfect moment for Democrats to take the risk of proposing real reforms. The GOP is on the ropes. Even if the Democrats lose some corporate campaign money, the Republicans are so unpopular they can't possibly win against a reinvigorated, populist Democratic party.

Sadly, this scenario is unlikely. File it under: hell freezes over, pigs fly, and donkeys grow spines. I'm sure the Democrats will just keep quiet and leave town without a peep. But hey, a guy can dream -- especially sleeping in on a lazy Wednesday of summer vacation...