Democrats' 2006 Campaign Strategy: Grow Balls

I like this article. And I also like Rahm Emanuel because he's a short guy who's also very very cool. And he's got the balls for politics.

Rahm Emanuel is a short, skinny former ballet dancer from Chicago. When he puts his index finger in a lawmaker's face, he's usually pointing up. But the tough-guy-with-a-twinkle discipline may be what Democrats need to take back the House of Representatives in November.

Leave it to the Democrats to have their main strategist be of the "artsy" type. Now, can ANYBODY imagine Karl Rove in a leotard? Actually, don't even try.

Senate races are more easily affected by the national mood, which favors the Democrats' strategy of nationalizing the midterm elections. The Republican strategy is to localize the contests. Republicans are banking on having bought off enough votes with the type of local pork-barrel projects that Democrats once used.

I am hoping that "nationalizing" also will lead to a coherent set of values and beliefs from the Democratic Party that can be communicated to the American people. The jokes about direction-less Democrats are getting old...

But election experts are reassessing their earlier predictions, as districts in upstate New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania once thought out of reach for Democrats move into play. Controlling at least one chamber of Congress will give the Democrats the subpoena power necessary to offer some basic accountability. If Rahm Emanuel can pick the lock, he'll help open the door to a long-overdue housecleaning.

And THAT is how democracy shoudl work. Challenging incumbents who are becoming too comfy in their positions, running (qualified) candidates in as many districts as possible, and never giving up.