I think I just figured out the mistake the Dems have been making.
They think they were elected to pro-actively enact progressive legislation. But the American people didn't vote Democrat in 2006 to increase the minimum wage, expand S-CHIP and many other fine things (all of which the people approve of btw). The American people voted Democrat in 2006 for one reason: to stop Bush.
The Democratic leadership lost sight of that (if they ever appreciated it in the first place). They weren't elected to be pro-active. They were elected to obstruct.
So start obstructing already!