I was back in suburban Philadelphia, where I grew up, this past weekend, and thinking about the state of the Democrats and what makes oppositional politics work. As some of you might remember, the decisive vote for Clinton's 1993 deficit reduction and economic stimulus plan was cast by Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, a House Democrat who'd won my home district after something like 40 years of Republican control of the seat. When she cast it, the minority Republicans immediately started serenading her with "Goodbye Margie," all but promising to beat her brains in with this (tax-raising) vote in the midterm elections nearly a year and a half later.
It didn't register with me until this weekend, almost 12 years later, how much chutzpah this showed. Here were the Republicans, locked out of the White House and relegated to minorities in both houses of Congress, helpless (at that point) to stop the Democrats' agenda--and they were champing at the bit to take their message to the electorate, promising consequences to come despite their seeming inability to impose them at the time. And they delivered: Margolies-Mezvinsky was defeated by a total dimwit named John Fox the next year, in the Republican sweeps of 1994. (Fox was beaten by Joe Hoeffel four years later, and the Democrats retained the seat in 2004 with Allyson Schwartz replacing Hoeffel. The district is probably Exhibit A of how Republican extremism has had some adverse consequences for the party in places where they once dominated.)
I bring this up now because this is the sort of swagger I want our Congressional minority to show--and because we're going to have ample ammunition to deliver on threats of ballot-box payback in 2006. Vote to cut Social Security benefits? Goodbye, Congressman. More corporate welfare or inequitable tax code reform? Goodbye Congressman. Focus on fake "crises" like tort reform while not lifting a finger for the uninsured, the deteriorating military reserve or the underfunded schools? Goodbye Congressman.
The newly empowered DCCC chair Rahm Emmanuel needs to make a list of the best targets and their votes and rhetoric on these and other issues. (Any suggestions here?) All of us should be checking it and keeping the pressure on. And we should start singing to those Republicans we aim to send home in January 2007.