Some Advice For Democrats

Now that the mid-term election has passed, I have a few observations I'd like to share with regard to the Democrats come 2011. This week current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she is throwing her hat in the ring to stay on as minority leader in the House. Personally, I don't like Nancy Pelosi, I never have, as some of you know. She is curt, gives the impression her shit smells sweeter than most, and has an air about her I simply can't put my finger on. I take nothing away from her leadership abilities, especially when it came to passing Health Care reform. However, she and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), share the same problem, they are poor communicators. Nancy Pelosi walks the walk, but doesn't talk the talk. Now to be sure lining up your ducks to pass legislation is no easy task for the Democratic Party, but when you hold a 40 seat majority in the House, 60 seats in the Senate (for most of the last 2 years) and the White House, it would seem much easier to do. She turned this electoral gift into a problem, and became just another major Democratic leader to loose control of the conversation, and allow Republicans to weave their fictions at will. Now I won't lay all the blame at Speaker Pelosi's feet, but her demeanor and leadership style allowed Republicans to do what they did, not just on Health Care, but any Democratic initiative. Therefore, I think it would be a bad idea to keep her as Minority Leader. She has also been so vilified across the country, to keep her would undermine her effectiveness, not to mention paint a picture to the nation that the Democrats still don't get it.

In the Senate, Harry Reid won a very hard fought race to retain his seat and his new Senate Minority Leader title. Personally, I don't like Harry Reid either, as many of you know. He is soft spoken, wishy-washy, has the charisma of a dish rag, and fails to command the presence of a leader in the majority or minority position. However we are stuck with him since he was re-elected. As glad as I am that he beat Sharon Angle, a part of me wishes he lost. We need a new face in the Senate as well, but we are stuck with Reid for the moment, so lets hope that spine donor comes in soon.

Now we come to the President who has been introspective of late on what he should have done better, where do I start. In the last 2 years it has become apparent to me that Barack Obama is not a great communicator. He sat back confident in the process, without taking into effect how politics makes the process work. He sat back and let others morph his ideas into something the public eventually lost understanding of. He sat back and let others guide "HIS" policies while he let the process drift aimlessly without his leadership or vision of how "HIS" policy should be. I think the President accomplished some great things in his first 2 years, it's a shame nobody knows what they are. There is no doubt in my mind the President has had a disconnect from the people and his policies. Now the Republicans have the House. This in itself is not a bad thing, if anything they will be forced to engage. Yet the major question remains, when you had total control you failed to capitalize on a great many advantages, now that power is shared what will you do?

I think in a nutshell this is what has to happen. President Obama is our leader, LEAD! Take back control of the conversation whatever it may be. Be bold, get off the sidelines, take a more active role in seeing your agenda put forward. Be equally bold by not letting Republicans always have their way. Start calling them out on some of the fictional talking points they preach ad-nauseum, and use the facts. The Republicans hate facts, that's why they don't like to use them. For Republicans facts are inconvenient truths that get in the way of their message of fear. The only person who can change all this is Barack Obama. If he steps up to the plate and stands behind his achievements moving forward he has an excellent chance in 2012, but if he continues to sit back and let others take the lead, he most likely will be a one term President.