One of the problems of the Democrats being completely out of power in Washington is that they have no way to investigate anything, no leverage to pry open doors that the crooks in the white house want to keep closed.
The Democrats have to work with their Republican committee chairs to have any meetings or investigative panels called. And needless to say they're not feeling too cooperative, are they?
However, this gives us an opportunity as well... a drum we can beat, a mantra we can chant, a single message, simply-conveyed and easily-understood-by-everyone, that we should repeat at every opportunity in every venue: Cover Up.
Suppose all the Democrats on the Judiciary panel unanimously demand an investigation into the security breach of bringing a prostitute into the white house on a daily basis. Simultaneously all the Democrats on the Ethics panel demand an investigation into the 'stocking' of the press pool (with, ahem, 'rainbow trout'). Every single committee that can find an angle on this should demand an investigation -- Finance Committee on whether taxpayer monies went to pay for this scheme, for instance.
These investigations, of course, will be shot down. And that's where the repetition of the mantra should begin. Every Republican Senator and Representative who votes against the investigation is now an accomplice in the scheme, and it is these people should are the real targets for this campaign -- not, directly, the White House. Advertisements in their home districts should ask why they are helping protect someone who may have spent OUR TAX DOLLARS on WHORES. Defeated Democrats from the last election cycle should write editorials pointing out that they would have voted for the investigation, had they been elected (where applicable, this is where the campaign pablum about the Republican candidate's "values" should get thrown back in their faces). Start letter writing campaigns about how this issue will look for the incumbent in the next election cycle.
And in every speech, editorial, TV appearance and advertisement, the same simple themes:
This is a cover up.
What are they trying to hide?
There's a lot more to this story.
It's true that we can't start investigations with the Republicans in control. But we would just need to embarrass a handful of them into looking after their own re-election needs instead of their lame-duck president.
There's been a lot of talk about Democrats needing a message, and this is an easy one to get across. Everyone understands what a cover-up is and why it's bad. It ties in with Dean's theme of personal responsibility. It starts driving a wedge between the White House and the Republicans in Congress.