Tinkerntom previously wrote:

riverman, I think you are getting it. Finally! There is a new show in
town!


I found this article, and thought it would clarify some of what I have
been saying.

Democrats' Choice: Dig in or Work With GOP

Nov 20, 9:25 PM (ET)

By TOM RAUM

WASHINGTON (AP) - Outpolled, outmaneuvered and out of power, Democrats
are suffering an identity crisis.

They could dig in for the long haul as an opposition party similar to
many European semi-permanent parliamentary models, and espouse popular
positions without worrying about governance. Or they could try to
reach across party lines in hopes of achieving accommodation with the
Republicans for the public good.

There are pluses and minuses to each approach, and finding a happy
medium will be difficult.

"Once they get out of the fetal position, which is what they're in
right now, the Democrats in Congress are really going to have start
catching the pitches that are thrown by the president," said Ross
Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University.


"They can't be obstructionist," Baker said, but should capitalize on
the fact that President Bush's second-term proposals to overhaul the
tax code and add private accounts to Social Security "are fairly
radical things" that could be troublesome for Republican lawmakers
seeking re-election in 2006.

After the 1992 elections, Republicans were pretty much in the same
boat as Democrats are today. Democrat Bill Clinton had won the White
House and Democrats had extended their control of Congress.

Republicans took "about nine or 10 months to figure out what the job
was as the opposition party. And then it took them a couple more years
to figure out how to operate with that," said Doug Sosnik, a former
top political adviser to Clinton.

"There was a burden they faced, and we face, which is: It's not enough
to just say what you're against, but you have to say what you're for,"
Sosnik said.

The Republicans'"Contract with America," which spelled out a series of
goals for reduced government and social activism, gave the GOP such a
rallying platform. It helped them capture control of both houses of
Congress in 1994.

But House Speaker Newt Gingrich's decision to play veto roulette with
Clinton over spending bills in 1995 resulted in a temporary,
nationwide shutdown of the government that worked against Republicans,
costing them House seats in 1996 and fomenting a rebellion against
Gingrich that led to his departure.

"The real question here is whether the Democrats can learn to behave
like an opposition party," said Henry J. Aaron, a senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank based in
Washington. "That means taking popular stands and not paying quite as
much attention to the details, letting the majority party worry about
the practicality."

"Thus far, the Democrats to date have not had the organization or the
discipline to play that role," Aaron said.

Democrats have a hard time letting go.

Their long years of controlling Congress remain a fresh memory in the
minds of many incumbents, giving them an institutional split
personality reflected in Sen. Harry Reid's remarks after being elected
incoming Senate Minority leader.

"I would always rather dance than fight. But I know how to fight," the
Nevada Democrat said.

Part of the Democrats' plight is that resolving the debate over the
direction of the party may not happen until a nominee is selected for
2008, because he - or she - will steer the party's course through the
next presidential contest.

And with no dominant leader for the future, the party now remains in
the shadow of Clinton, rather than of its most recent nominee, Sen.
John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Clinton's continuing influence was underscored as recently as Thursday
at the dedication of his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark.,
where he drew lavish praise not only from predictable Democratic
luminaries, but from the first President Bush, whom he defeated, and
the current one, Clinton's successor.

The Democrats' predicament looks even bleaker considering that Bush
likely will get to fill two or more vacancies on the Supreme Court,
giving Republicans effective majorities in all three branches of
government.

Gleeful Republicans are seeking to pound Democrats into remaining the
minority party for years to come. The president's top strategist, Karl
Rove, is already involved in organizing grass-roots support for the
2006 midterm elections in hopes of solidifying GOP gains in Congress.

For now, Democrats must "find the right balance between being
challenging and being supportive," said Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J.,
chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. While
supporting Bush on the war on terrorism and other vital national
security issues, "we need to push back" on other areas, he said.

---

EDITOR'S NOTE - Tom Raum has covered Washington for The Associated
Press since 1973, including five presidencies.

No commentary necessary, TnT