Dems Chances In '06

I saw an article in today's Washington Post, and the headline really says it all: "Democrats Struggle To Seize Opportunity." This has been the story of the Democratic Party for some time now and I don't see it changing much for the upcoming midterms. I've devoted much time here at The Last Polka to the troubles of the GOP (Iraq, Katrina, Ethics etc.) and I truly believe that the Democrats can make significant gains in 2006. Polls are showing, at the very least, a great opportunity for the Democrats to tip the balance in Congress. However, with Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid running the show, my expectations are lower than they probably should be. Without a unified message and effective organization (not to mention $$$$$$) the Dems will be disappointed. If they get their act together, they can make significant gains - picking up seats in either House of Congress would certainly be significant, even if the Dems fall short of a 1994-style shift.

Here's what I mean:

[...]On Feb. 27, [Sen. Harry] Reid and [Rep. Nancy] Pelosi appeared before the Democratic Governors Association. At one point in the conversation, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, noting that the two leaders had talked about a variety of themes and ideas, asked for help. Could they reduce the message to just two or three core ideas that governors could echo in the states?

According to multiple accounts from those in the room, Reid said they had narrowed the list to six and proceeded to talk about them. Pelosi then offered her six -- not all the same as Reid's. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said later: "One of the other governors said 'What do you think?' and I said 'You know what I think? I don't think we have a message.' "

Here's more:

[The Democratic] slogan -- "Together, America Can Do Better" -- was revived from the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John F. Kerry. It was the last line of Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's response to President Bush's State of the Union address, and Reid, Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have used it in speeches. But there is an effort afoot to drop the word "together." It tests well in focus groups and audiences, Democratic sources said, but it makes the syntax incorrect.

Governors privately scoff at the slogan. They also say the message coming from congressional leaders has been too relentlessly negative. "They want to coordinate. They want to collaborate. That's all good," said one Democratic governor who declined to be identified in order to talk candidly about a closed-door meeting. "The question is: Coordinate or collaborate on what? People need to know not just what we're against but what we're for. That's the kind of message the governors are interested in developing at the national level."

This account is just a small example of why the Democrats have failed time and time again since 2000 - they actually think that the slogan is their biggest problem. They're spending too much time on things that, in the long run, don't matter. If you run solid candidates and actually have something to say, the slogan won't matter. This sort of thing should have been worked out long ago, certainly not during the midterm primary season.

Bottom line: The Democrats can't sit back and wait for the public to respond to Republican failures. They need to campaign for change, aggressively. They need to stop talking and actually say something. They will not take back Congress by crossing their fingers and hoping for the Republicans to screw up enough for the public to vote for Democrats. You need to give the people a reason to come out and vote for you - being the 'anti-Bush' or 'anti-GOP' candidate is not enough (remember '04?).

UPDATE (3/7/06 - 8:43PM): The Carpetbagger Report is blogging on the same Post article. They offer a slighly more optomistic view of the circumstances.