A couple of weeks ago, on Meet the Press, DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel gave a sneak preview of the Dems’ new-found desire to lay out a policy agenda for the nation.
“Let me address, though, the future of this country. I’ll give you five quick ideas. One, we make college education as universal for the 21st century that a high school education was in the 20th…. Second, we get a summit on the budget to deal with the $3 trillion of debt that’s been added up in five years and structural deficits of $400 billion a year. Third, an energy policy that says in 10 years, we cut our dependence on foreign oil in half and make this a hybrid economy. Four, we create an institute on science and technology that builds for America like, the National Institutes has done for health care, we maintain our edge. And five, we have a universal health-care system over the next 10 years where if you work, you have health care. That says fiscal discipline and investing in the American people by re-putting people first. The policies that the Republicans have offered have gotten us in the ditch we have today.”
On the whole, this sounded pretty good to me. The really entertaining part, of course, came about eight seconds later when Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House GOP campaign committee, said, “I have not heard any agenda coming out of the Democrats in Congress.” The poor guy looked pretty silly.
Regardless, the exchange offered a taste of things to come. Dems, it seems, have ideas about a 21st-century Contract with America-like agenda of their own.
Seeing an opening to reach voters while Republicans are beset by turmoil, House Democrats are privately planning to accelerate the timing of the release of their platform and the major policies they will promote on the campaign trail next year.
Key Democratic sources say Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House leaders are putting the finishing touches on what arguably will be Democrats most detailed “positive” election-year agenda since the party lost power more than a decade ago. Pelosi has been coordinating with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), key Democratic strategists, advisers and outside interest groups on the policy platform as well as the party’s broader 2006 message.
I’m generally supportive of this kind of effort, but I think Dems should realize that this is not without risks.
I sometimes wonder if the idea of a party offering a positive policy agenda is overrated. The natural response is to note that the GOP took over Congress in 1994 after the Contract with America was unveiled, but this is a misread of history — Newt’s CwA was unveiled in TV Guide a couple of months before the election. Fewer than one-in-five voters had heard of the document at the time, a smaller percentage could name its tenets, and an even smaller percentage still actually liked it.
Dems were in control, voters weren’t happy, so they voted for the other guys. It didn’t take a magical document with popular proposals to make the Republicans’ gain possible.
Having said that, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a positive policy agenda; I’m just not sold on the idea that one is integral to a party’s success. Regardless, Dem leaders are intent on shaping one and they’re making considerable progress.
An early draft of the agenda outlines the specific initiatives House Democrats will pledge to enact if given control of the House. Leaders have been working on the document for months, and have already started encouraging Members to unify around it and stick to its themes.
Among the proposals are: “real security” for America through stronger investments in U.S. armed forces and benchmarks for determining when to bring troops home from Iraq; affordable health insurance for all Americans; energy independence in 10 years; an economic package that includes an increase in the minimum wage and budget restrictions to end deficit spending; and universal college education through scholarships and grants as well as funding for the No Child Left Behind act.
Democrats will also promise to return ethical standards to Washington through bipartisan ethics oversight and tighter lobbying restrictions, increase assistance to Katrina disaster victims through Medicaid and housing vouchers, save Social Security from privatization and tighten pension laws.
There’s nothing in there with which I disagree. It’s a diverse caucus, and it’s tough to keep all the Dems together, but this sounds like the kind of framework that nearly all Dem candidates can get behind.
But keep an eye on the GOP response. For months, all Republicans have been able to say is that Dems lack an agenda. It’s become a knee-jerk answer to tough questions. “Republicans have screwed up on the economy, Iraq, the budget, the deficit, the tax code, the Terri Schiavo debacle, and Hurricane Katrina … but Dems don’t have any new ideas!”
Republicans want to get back on track and the GOP is at its best when it’s on the attack. Governing clearly isn’t their strength, but a Dem policy agenda gives Republicans something new to do — disparage progressive ideas. Dems need to be careful not to deliver a mechanism that will give Republicans a new impetus for message discipline.
An aide to the Dem leadership said the party might roll out the agenda this fall rather than early next year as leaders originally had planned. It might boost Dems’ standing and deliver big gains next year — or it could be waving a flag in front of an angry bull.
Stay tuned.