How to be successful and stay in power or how to lose in 2 years

I have seen too many people advocate a path that will result in the Democrats getting booted from both houses of congress in just 2 years. Well I think we need to be pragmatic people. That means we learn from history. The Republicans didn't entrench themselves in power by starting off with the extreme and less popular items on their agenda. They started off by giving the people what they wanted. That allowed them to establish a reputation that allowed them to slowing add their more exteme and less popular agenda items. Well the Democrats need to be just as smart, if not smarter. The Dems need to overcome decades of successful mudslinging and demonizing that made liberal (and to a lesser degree Democrat) a dirt word. That means that they should concentrate on positive things that are popular with a majority of Americans. They put limits in to limit the success of lobbiests (don't worry that will hurt the Republicans more than it hurt us). That will hammer it home to Americans that the culture of corruption is a Republican thing. We need to give minimum wage earners a long over due raise. We need to make some responsible energy policies that are based on conservation and alternative energy. We need to deal with the healthcare crisis as best we can. We need to stem the flood of jobs being outsourced.
If we do this we can go a long way towards clearing the good name of Democrats and liberals. I am not saying we shouldn't investigate the Republicans, Bush and their cronies. We should be low keyed about it. We should be careful and pick the crimes and investigations that will most hurt the Republicans. Going after a lame duck president is a waste of time to some degree. Going after major Republican financers like Haliburton will. Going after Congressional Republicans still in power, with other lobbying scandals would be a good thing. Depending on how those investigations go, then you go after some of the Bush crimes.
First things first. We need to clear our name and establish a good reputation with the American public. Only AFTER that can we indulge in the many agenda items that many people here have.

(whether it is really hers or not I do not know) and just about item by item, it follows your points.

I hope they ARE pragmatic! More will get done to help those who need it most if they are and somehow maybe we can get the soldiers out of harms way too.

Honest government on behalf of the people -- calling bull* on behalf of the people, intelligent approaches to pressing problems that will be discussed with America rather than launched as a fait accompli -- will allow leaders to come forth.

"Because I said so" won't fly any more, but neither will anything except addressing the crises we face.

And that means accepting that we're in a different world.

The government can't protect you against terrorists any more than they can protect you against burglars; the idea that in order to control terrorism they have to control you is broken.

Outsourcing is a foreshadowing of a different economy that needs to be established and functioning quickly, before the old one crashes.

The people want government to address America's problems in smart, effective ways we can be proud and hopeful about.

There are many things in the world I am unhappy about. The important thing is to acknowledge they exist and smartly work to change them. Having the greatest ideals in the world are meaningless if you are unable to take any action on them.

Thank you.
:o)

the death of over 600,000 Iraqis, who made the national debt so bad it will take generations to pay off, who is attempting to destroy the US economy - should get off with a nice little retirement of $400,000 a year? Why not give him a medal too? Jail time for every one who tried to destroy the country. It will take decades to fix what he did. A good start is to put them all in jail. The rest of the world will respect us more for it.

Look at it this way. I should be able to go anywhere, even bad neighborhoods and leave my car unlocked with the keys in the ignition. After all it's my car so no one else should be touching it, I shouldn't have to go through the inconvience of locking it and taking the keys. Well if I did that it wouldn't take long for my car to disappear. So what do I do, leave my car unlocked with the keys in it, because that is my car and I shouldn't have to do otherwise? Same thing with George Bush. I agree with all the stuff he did and then some. However we will accomplish very little if we are out of power in two years and the conditions are ripe for yet another George Bush to assume power and ruin of this Country. Remember George Bush didn't accomplish all these terrible things by himself. He had a great deal of help from the Republican Congress. First and foremost we need to ensure we don't lose control and allow this sort of thing to happen again. Once that is accomplished, THEN we go after the Bush regime.