Pass the gavel, because we are not a party of kingmakers.
In regards to our party's leadership posts, the House and Senate majority/minority leader post. Harry Reid as SML and Nancy Pelosi as House Minority Leader.
Both Reid and Pelosi have held their leadership posts since '06, if my facts are correct.
(Pelosi has switched from majority to minority but still maintains the party leadership role)
Point is, its time for new leadership.
The Democratic Party is not, nor should it ever be a party of kingmakers. A philosophy of progressive politics should be sharing of leadership roles, meaning that new leaders should be picked every few years.
Example: 1 Senate term for the US Senate. 6 years max in the leadership role, whether minority or majority leader. Then it would be time for Senate Dems to elect a new leader of their choosing.(I'd love to see the gavel passed to Warren for a term to lead the Senate, unless she plans to run in '16)
House: 2 Terms or 4 year max in the leadership role. Then, House Dems elect a new leader of their choosing.
This would prevent the phenomena of leadership going stale. House and Senate Dem leadership has gone stale.
Passing the gavel also ends the days of kingmaking. That philosophy should've never entered Democratic Party politics in the first place, but it has.
Corporations can home in on 'KINGS'. They make easy targets for corporate perversion of democracy.
Reid has become an easy target for the Repub filibuster abuses that have all but rendered democracy moot.
Would any other Dem tolerate this level of filibuster abuse? I'll take my chances with any other Dem at the helm of the US Senate.
That's why Dems need to adopt the 'pass the gavel' philosophy, AS A PARTY.
We are not kingmakers.
Not sharing leadership = kingmaking.
(edit: this OP does not call for Reid or Pelosi to leave the House/Senate, just to step down from their leadership post and pass the gavel to the next Dem leader)