Democrats: The Opportunity for Smashing Success...or Utter Failure

So it finally happened, the country turned blue. Well, blue enough to give Democrats control of both houses of Congress, assuming the Senate race result holds up in Virginia. The feeling of excitement is palpable, as is the desire for revenge on a party and regime that has held absolute power for far too long. But partisan wounds still bleed openly in this bitterly divided country. The Democrats need to fight the urge to gloat and taunt the Republicans and instead seize this opportunity to implement some sensible and effective governance.

The parallels with the midterm election of 1994 are striking: the marginalized minority party rides a cresting wave of popular discontent to take control of the legislative branch, opposite a president from the other party. Lest we forget, after that election welfare reform was enacted by the Democratic president and Republican Congress. (Why do you think the Republicans were able to hold onto Congress for twelve years? Some of those years were actually productive!) Similar action needs to happen now- namely, the Democrats need to at least propose and, at best, enact positive legislation that will help solve the problems and divisions in this country. While President Bush will most likely wield his veto power a little more aggressively than the previous six years, in which his one use of the veto can hardly be called aggressive, the Democrats need to at least make a concerted effort to change things for the better. Legislation cannot be suffocated in a labyrinth of Congressional committees, where Democratic infighting strangles bills, or even worse, turns them into pork-laden monstrosities, which was one of the reasons the Republicans have been booted in the first place.

Iraq is, of course, the principal concern, and unfortunately the Democrats have yet to outline any sensible policy that is truly different than Bush's desultory dithering and stubborn adherence to the status quo. Pelosi and company may not be able to develop any new successful course of action in the next few months or even the next year, but the fact is that the Democrats who were in Congress in 2003 and 2004 did not put up nearly enough of a fight when they had the chance to vote against using force in Iraq, even when the original plan was specious at best. Now they need to atone for that failure by at least developing some workable ideas and having the guts to try something different. They must actually listen to any recommendations from the "blue-ribbon" commission currently pondering this mess. (By the way, how does a colored ribbon denote quality in a commission? But I digress.) Hopefully, they will be able to propose some decent hypotheses of their own.

Domestically, they should capitalize on support for some benign reforms, such as encouraging stem-cell research and raising the minimum wage, but they also need to fashion sane policies about the more divisive issues, like immigration reform and gay marriage. How about reconsidering Bush's guest-worker program? This is a perfect opportunity to work with the opposing party and administration and show the American people that the Democrats actually want to improve conditions in our country by solving the most pressing social issues of our day. Rather than just taunt, belittle and stymie any ideas from the president, they must show they can rise above petty political differences to enact positive changes. Clinton and the Republican Congress did it after '94, and Clinton was re-elected in '96. The lesson should not be lost here: the only way to regain control of the White House in 2008 is to move forward and keep election promises now.

Basically the Democrats need to be gracious winners and effective legislators. Many Americans and the rest of the world already realize what a debacle the Bush administration is, and history will judge it even more harshly than the electorate did last Tuesday. So let's leave the taunting and disdain to historians of the next generation and focus instead on taking this gift from the American people and putting it to good use. In our Blackberry-digital cable-blogosphere-dominated society, judgments are handed down quicker than ever by a partisan-weary public. Let's not see a repeat performance of this midterm election in 2008, which would mean Republican revenge and hegemony once again. Haven't we all had enough of that?