I read with great enthusiam about the aggressive attack by Reid and Pelosi and other Democrats in Washington on Republican attempts to lay their failures at our doorstep.
It is an old trick. Remember the Republican opposition to the Department of Homeland Security? No? That is because they coopted that idea, and then won the Midterm Elections in 2002 based in part on the charge that the Democrats now opposed the formation of a Homeland Security Department.
I am optimistic that it will not happen again.
Why? Well, because the country is different in 2006 than it was in 2002. In 2002, President Bush was still popular. In 2002, emotions resulting from the tragedy of 9/11 still ran high. In 2002, the full specter of Republican failures in governing were not yet revealed. In 2002, we were not yet misled into a war in Iraq. In 2002, we had not yet lost an entire American city to a hurricane and government incompetence.
And in 2002, the Democratic Party was but a mere shell of what it is today.
Back then, we were led by Tom Daschle, Dick Gephardt, and Terry McAuliffe. To be Republican Lite was the goal. We ran campaigns in fear. And we lost because of it.
Today, despite what some here say, the Party has changed. Despite what some say, it has reconnected to its base. It has fostered a partnership with the grassroots, the netroots, and its activist base. Sure, there is still tension, and sure, more progress in crashing that gate needs to be made before we are fully successful.
But today, unlike in 2002, we are more unified than ever before. Today, we have a unified message on many different issues. Real Security, Social Security, Health Security, Fiscal Security....this is the Democrat's message. So I am optimistic about are chances in the coming elections.
But I often see many here, including Markos himself, downplay our possibilities of success in 2006. And I suppose they are smart to do that. It lowers expectations, and that is always tactically wise in politics. But I think Markos and others are doing it for another reason....
If we fail to not only win Congress back, but also fail to make any significant gains in our numbers, what happens to the Democratic Party?
If we wake on November 8, 2006, and read the headline REPUBLICANS BOLSTER THEIR MAJORITY, KEEP CONTROL OF CONGRESS, I fully expect the Democratic Party to implode.
And here at Daily Kos, it will be a bloodbath.
And that is the elephant in the room as we head into the fall. All events that have transpired thus far presents the Democrats with their best electoral prospects since 1932. And if we do not win, we will never win, and that is when the fun begins here, and throughout the party.