"...If the Democrats win in November, that doesn't necessarily mean that the "liberals" win. Contrary to the simplistic view held by many Republicans, not all Democrats are liberals. However, a return to the liberal values that have made this country great would be a welcome change. For starters, it would be nice to be free of the congressional scandals caused by the Tom Delays, Duke Cunninghams and Mark Foleys of the world.

There are many more areas in which the Republican-controlled Congress has failed to deliver, including immigration reform (unless you call the un-American notion of building a wall a plan), a rational energy policy and balancing the federal budget. It would be almost impossible for Democrats NOT to do better.

If the liberals/Democrats win, we can finally give a boost to working Americans by raising the minimum wage, something GOP senators have blocked nine times since 1997 while voting to raise their own pay. We may finally see affordable health care for all Americans and a Social Security plan that doesn't involve playing the stock market.

At the state level in Iowa, Democratic control of the Legislature would mean that lawmakers would finally have the ability to live up to the progressive nature of this great state. Among the reforms would be a repeal of tax cuts that help only the wealthy, more funding for schools, and an increase in the state's cigarette tax. And yes, a liberal agenda would include upholding reproductive rights for women, and the addition of sexual orientation to the state's civil rights code.

In other words, if the liberals win, the United States of America would have an opportunity to once again be a country with guts, a backbone and a conscience. Just what our founding fathers intended."

Paul Guggenheimer is a free-lance writer and radio commentator from Sioux City. You can write to him in care of The Sioux City Journal or at lvrcomments@hotmail.com.