Demagogue

I don't know if this Washington Post article from Sunday accurately captures the thinking of Democratic Congressional leaders, but, if so, it proves that Pelosi and company may be getting a little ahead of themselves. It also suggests that the party's leaders are in danger of overplaying their hand:

Democratic leaders, increasingly confident they will seize control of the House in November, are laying plans for a legislative blitz during their first week in power that would raise the minimum wage, roll back parts of the Republican prescription drug law, implement homeland security measures and reinstate lapsed budget deficit controls.

None of those agenda items sounds bad, but something's wrong here. Before a party begins planning its "legislative blitz," shouldn't it map out a political blitz that will make that legislative agenda possible?

I guess I'm voicing the "don't count your chickens before they've hatched" concern.

There may a lot going on at the DNC headquarters that I'm not privy to, but I have a fair number of colleagues and contacts who are in the party loop. And the impression they pass on is that the party is still struggling to pull the various pieces together that will help elect Democratic candidates in November.

The Post article continues:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said in an interview last week that a Democratic House would launch a series of investigations of the Bush administration, beginning with the White House's first-term energy task force and probably including the use of intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.

Pelosi denied Republican allegations that a Democratic House would move quickly to impeach President Bush. But, she said of the planned investigations, "You never know where it leads to."

I was appalled at how the Bushies manipulated the intelligence, and I have written numerous posts about the deceptive spin of this administration vis-a-vis the "war on terror." But Pelosi and her fellow leaders need to be very careful.

If the Dems assume control of one or both houses in Congress, they should think twice about launching a series of investigations of Bush administration activities. As the Clinton years taught us, the public has little patience for long, time-consuming investigations that have the appearance of partisanship.

If Dems take control of one or both houses (and I'd be shocked if the latter occurred), they should tackle a couple of issues that most Americans care about. Prescription drugs and/or related health care concerns might be one of them. The other, I think, should be planting the seeds for achieving energy independence. I have blogged about this a few times in recent weeks.

In other words, the Dems should focus on trying to solve a few problems, instead of investigating old problems. Holding a few hearings or declassifying some documents related to the Bushies and Iraq-related intelligence findings is okay. But prolonged investigations on this, Cheney's energy task force and other matters will only try the public's patience and turn off voters who want action on some key issues.