an inauspicious start

The party on the left is beginning to sense that all might not be well on the road to the next election. As the shows, these problems, though not of their creation, (for the most part, and in the mind of the public), are now theirs to solve.

And they need to get started soon.

Attitude is important, but equally is the public perception of that parties attitude as they begin to dismantle to the product of the last Congress' agenda, and to assenble their own. Though the party has a majority in the House and Senate, it does not have the votes to close debate on any particular bill, thus bringing it to a vote, a recipe for deadlock. They need to be shrewd, and put some pressure on the party on the right. That will not get done with a Speaker and/or Majority Leader who is prone to chest thumping and rubbing things in. Believe it or not, the election is old news, a fact-of-life, and the voters that got the party to the place where it is are expecting not just the first, but quite a few dances in the coming months.

This is the time for a sober and restrained presentation of the party platform. It goes without saying that it is also the time to show some good faith towards the party on the right, (who incidentally, are lining up with their heavy hitters in both chambers), and the production of some quick results. By putting away the usual Democratic bluster and indignation, they can go a long way towards not disguising the coming wave of Republican obstructionism behind the politics-as-usual veneer that serves to hide both fact and nuance so well. Transparency & moderation, as well as, (and I am hesitant to use the word), bipartisanship should be the keys to the agenda for the next two years. The party on the right is preparing to do exactly nothing, and in doing so, keep the new leadership from accomplishing anything. They should be offered respect, some political concessions, upfront, to get a little of their skin in the game. Right now, in the Senate, Mr. Bipartisan, Trent Lott is preparing to tack a little pork onto every order for post-its and paperclips, assuring that the Dem's maintain the reputation of tax-and-spend. In the House, Roy Blunt is prepared to tag every vote for a Democratic initiative as an endorsement of the "San Fransisco" agenda. That's a nice way of saying 'fag'.

That isn't fair and it isn't right, but it is politics. the only response is to talk to the electorate directly, studiously avoid partisan criticism and name calling, and present a moderate plan to the people. If they can do that, they have little to fear from the shouting-as-usual pol's across the aisle. If they can't do that, they, and we, are screwed.

The Dem's won the election because they said little while the opposition said altogether too much, (it matters little that they didn't have a lot to say). If they can manage to stay above the fray that is surely coming, the party of pachyderms may well dig themselves in deeper. If the new Speaker of the House and her idiot cousin in the Senate don't put away the vindictive attitudes and recognize that the public does not hold them in higher regard than the other team, then they are in for a short and rocky term in the majority.

Now is the time to contact your representatives and express your views, invite them to your house for some coffee, (some might actually show up, or at least call), and let them know that you are paying attention.

Stay focused.