The congressional election of 2006 was an enormous landslide of historic proportions. The party that had a monopoly of power suffered a resounding defeat, losing control of both houses of Congress. We know the people of the United States voted for Democrats and against Republicans. That still leaves the question though of what the people voted for. What did they expect their votes to produce?

The answer to that question is not difficult to find. The Republican administration and Congress were intimately associated with the Iraq war, with a host of political scandals, and with economic policies that benefited the rich and the big corporations and caused the poor, the working class and the middle class to live in conditions of depression while the stock market and corporate profits soared.

The people voted for those things to change. They want the politicians and party they voted for to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home. They want the criminals who ripped off millions of dollars and rigged political processes sent to jail. They want decent paying jobs. They want good, affordable health care, and quality education. They want an environment that is safe and healthy to live in and that will be preserved for their children and their children's children.

These voters will insist they be listened to. They know Democrats are an imperfect instrument for social change. Democratic politicians are not all liberals, radicals, or even progressives. If the new leadership of the Congress listens to the self-appointed assemblage of pundits, political reactionaries, cynical journalists and talking heads who prattle about "reaching out to the president," "bipartisanship," "moderation" and all that nonsense after six years that the locusts have eaten, then they will be abandoned by the voters.

The Democrats with their new majority in January should start to hold investigations of the crimes of the Bush Administration, especially violations of the Constitution. Impeachment should be pursued against any and all federal officials who have broken the law or violated the Constitution of the United States.

Hearings should also be held on the question of global warming, with an eye toward legislation that would curb the depredations of the corporations. They must demand prosecution of the many crooks that have already been exposed, and they should also, for a start, introduce legislation to double the minimum wage. They also should insist on a plan to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq as rapidly and safely as possible.

The people want to see a majority party that stands for something, not a pack of fools who want to make nice with the criminals that initiated an illegal and genocidal war, pursued class warfare against the people, and were involved with some of the most notorious scandals of our political history.

There is a continuing role for the people in all this. They must follow up their clear message in the election by mobilizing and making demands through e-mails, letters, vigils and especially mass demonstrations. Otherwise the fruits of their historic election victory will be lost, and the people will turn to others for solutions.

Rob Moir

Fair Haven