November 05, 2004
Oppose, Opppse, Oppose
Yglesias gets it right. Obviously some exceptional cases will arise where a coalition of moderate GOPers will work with Democrats on some legislation or agree to oppose this or that appointment or lame initiative. But the Dems should not be supporting things like unfunded education bills. They certainly should not be meeting Bush halfway on tax bills. They should simply offer an alternative and stick to their guns. Tar Bush as hopelessly partisan and hope the people change their minds in 2006.
Picking a decisive and telegenic leader will be key. Apparently Harry Reid is the likely leader--I haven't yet seen him on TV.
Update: Elizabeth Mitchell makes the case for Kerry as minority leader. I'm inclined to agree, because Kerry is perfect for this job. Even when I was a Dean supporter, I thought Kerry would make a good minority leader. He's telegenic, well known, sounds moderate while appealing to the base, and he's got gravitas.
They really have no alternative. If the Dems don't propose alternate and saner legislation every chance they get, they deserve to be out of power for a long time. It's not like the will have any real power for a few years, so they may as well build a political record they can bludgeon the GOP with. Considering the Bush admininistration's staggering hubris to date, I have no doubt they'll provide plenty of ammunition for their own execution now that there is no opposition. Now the Dems just have to learn how to load their guns.
Not trying to pour salt on your wounds but Reid will not be your man. He is an effective, behind the scenes kind of guy but not good on TV.
Well, as ludwig pointed out, Kerry would probably make a better minority leader. I don't know anything about Reid though.
I find it funny, though, to hear "Not trying to pour salt on your wounds" from someone who's recently written "I have enjoyed gloating and will continue to enjoy gloating over our victory for some time." :)
Yeah, the spin on Reid right now is that's he's "soft-spoken", which sounds Daschle-esque. Fairly or not, Daschle cost the Dems a lot of "political capital" since he was percieved as a dork.
In his favor, Reid is at least moderately pro-life, which might be a plus considering that the Dems will want reshape their image on certain cultural issues.
mall, Don't get me wrong. I plan to engage in a good amount of salt pouring. It was just that in this instance I wanted it to be clear that I was offering a non-partisan observation on Reid as opposed to trying to make a jab.