Democrats prove there’s still some life in the party

In the wake of the Democrats’ poor showing in the 2002 elections, just about everybody had ideas as to why Democratic candidates failed and suggestions as to what the party could do to prevent such a debacle from happening again.

The one point that was emphasized by nearly everyone was that Democrats could no longer hope to oppose President Bush’s agenda, and challenge his re-election efforts in 2004, without forcefully and publicly challenging the White House, even on issues where Bush was popular, such as foreign policy. For the first two years of Bush’s presidency, particularly after the attacks of 9/11, Democrats seemed hesitant to confront Bush on nearly any issue and their timidity cost them dearly. The result was politically disastrous — the party faithful were uninspired, donors quit contributing, Bush’s approval ratings continued to soar, GOP candidates felt emboldened with half-hearted opposition, and Republicans retook control of every branch of the federal government.

Robert Reich, Clinton’s labor secretary and editor of The American Prospect, went so far as to write a column mocking the party and comparing it to the dead parrot in the infamous Monty Python sketch. As Reich said, “The Democratic Party is stone dead. Dead as a doornail.”

This past week, however, Democratic leaders demonstrated they’re not quite dead yet. Sen. Tom Daschle, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and others apparently decided they were going to challenge Bush and the GOP with the intensity and frequency needed to lay the groundwork for success in ’04. In short, it was “No More Mr. Nice Guy” week for the Democrats.

Take a look at last week’s schedule:

Friday, March 7 — Pelosi spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations, offering a detailed critique of Bush’s foreign policy mistakes.

Thursday, March 6 — Daschle and Pelosi tag-team Bush on Iraq, criticizing the administration’s carelessness towards building international support for its foregin policy. The same day, Dems in the Senate stuck to their guns and defeated a cloture vote on Bush judicial nominee Miguel Estrada. Also on Thursday, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who voted for Bush’s war resolution last year, announced that he felt like he’d been duped and no longer supported Bush’s plans for an attack. “I’m not going to be fooled twice,” Harkin said (via Atrios).

Wednesday, March 5 — Daschle hosted a press conference with defense secretary William J. Perry, former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and former national security adviser Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger to slam the Bush administration for its neglect of the North Korea crisis. The same day, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) took to the Senate floor to echo a similar sentiment. “I am increasingly alarmed that this administration’s military and diplomatic fixation on waging war with Iraq is serving to overshadow and possibly eclipse the mounting crisis in North Korea,” Byrd said.

Tuesday, March 4 — Democratic leaders go on the attack over Bush’s latest Medicare/prescription drugs proposal. Most notably, Pelosi lambasted the Bush plan in a speech to the American Legion.

Carpetbagger doesn’t know if some or any of these efforts were coordinated, but it appears that Democrats aren’t willing to be pushed around any longer. The party may not be entirely united on every front, and there remain significant fissures between the party’s liberal (Kennedy), moderate (Graham), conservative (Lieberman), and practically Republican (Miller) camps. Nevertheless, by showing some backbone and confronting Bush where he deserves to be challenged, Democrats are beginning to show that they’re learning to be an opposition party. It’s about time.