Reply #25: Ooh, would I ever like to get Pelosi and Reid as a captive audience

[Lydia Leftcoast]

Here's what I would tell them:

1. Grow spines. Send any stubbornly spineless members of Congress/the Senate to assertiveness training.
2. Draw lines in the sand on certain issues, especially Social Security and other aspects of the social safety net. Anyone who votes with the Repiggies on these issues should be out of the party. Period. If you can't stand up for these basic principles, you should just fess up and become a Republican.
3. Draw up proactive plans for meeting the true needs of this country: health care for all, affordable housing, repairing the nation's infrastructure, saving jobs, reducing dependence on oil. Present the bills in Congress. Have all the Reps and Senators talk them up when they're back home. They will probably get voted down, but this is no reason not to try. You have to become the party that doesn't follow current trends but starts current trends.
4. Treasure your grass roots instead of blowing them off. In suburban areas, the Dems should form alternative social networks to balance the effects of the fundamentalist churches. Start with inviting registered Dems and independents to a picnic or a movie night. Organize neighborhood groups to work on local issues such as school funding or land use.
5. Never shut up about voter fraud. If there's a single person in the U.S. who doesn't know about the problems with the 2000 and 2004 elections, make sure it's not your fault.