If the Democrats can't make major gains within the next few weeks, they need to seriously review their viability as a political party. There are at least five major points that should be made on a frequent basis when speaking to the press. I make simple points on the following after the fold:
- Bolton Nomination
- Justice Sunday
- Republican filibusters and blocking judicial nominees
- Federal Judiciary is Majority Republican
- Delay and the Ethics drama
Bolton Nomination
As Senator Chris Dodd has continually pushed the inappropriateness of Mr. Bolton trying to get intelligence analysts fired, the Republicans have countered with various soundbites. Their party line is that Mr. Bolton is just a tough guy and that is exactly what is needed at the UN. To emphasize the point they have been evoking the Oil for Food scandal, inferring that a US Ambassador of Mr. Bolton's quality would ensure that UN scandals would go away. Every time a republican says this there should be a Democrat there to ask, "So, are you saying that John Negroponte did a bad job as UN Ambassador?" After all, he was there for two and a half years of the scandal.
Justice Sunday
The contention that Democrats are filibustering "People of Faith" should be turned back on the more radical denominations that supported this radical rally. Every time a Republican says that Dems are against "People of Faith," there should be a Democrat there asking if the Republicans are inferring that the 205 approved judicial nominees are not "People of Faith." I don't know the names of the 205 approved judges, but I'm willing to bet that they represent a pretty decent cross section of America. I think the Dems should pick out a few that represent some of the major religious affliations and ask if Dr. Dobson and Senator Frist believe those particular judges are not "People of Faith." This will show how absurd their argument really is...
Republican Filibusters and Blocking Judicial Nominees
Every time a Republican states that judicial nominees should be given an up or down vote they should be specifically asked if they believe that Sen. Hatch was a poor leader for the Senate Judiciary Committee, since he effectively blocked 60 of President Clinton's judicial nominees. They should also ask if the Republicans should have filibustered President Johnson's nominee of Abe Fortas for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. They will either have to parse issues or denounce their own tactics.
Federal Judiciary is Majority Republican
Every time a Republican complains about the judiciary they should be asked why they believe that a majority Republican judiciary does not support the Congressional Republicans' interpretation of the laws.
Delay and the Ethics Drama
Whenever questions about Congressman DeLay ethics are discussed the Democrats should ask why the Republicans think the ethics rules of the House of Representatives needed to be relaxed. This can also be asked as whether or not the Republican thinks the "House Clean-up" initiated by Newt Gingrich was not needed and the new ethics rules were unnecessary.
I'm certainly no political expert or operative, but I really think the Dems have some big opportunities to make headway in the next few weeks. I hope they take full advantage of having the Republicans in a vulnerable position.