One More Effort at Engaging In Dialogue

Usually when I get soundly rebuffed -- like I was by my two East Coast comrades with my Motto, Motto Man conversational piece -- I nurse my wounds for a few weeks before daring to stick my neck out there again. Not in the blogosphere. So I present this Salon.com piece by one-time Teach-Ford-America favorite Russ Feingold on what the Democrats need to do to, you know, be a player in Washington again. (Like all Salon articles, you can read it for free with just two clicks.)

"It took a long time for Democrats to step up and challenge the administration's baseless assertions that the Patriot Act could not be changed without threatening the security of the American people. When we finally did so, when we decided to make the case that we can fight terrorism and protect our American principles at the same time, it looked like Democrats were finally ready to stand on principle and offer strong leadership. Instead, too many Democrats have folded...

...A number of Democrats have agreed to support a reauthorization of the Patriot Act that is basically the same as the deal we rejected in December, and doesn't solve any of the significant problems with the law that Democrats claimed they were concerned about."

The Patriot Act isn't my issue here. (And neither is Harry's opinion on Feingold himself.) It's the role Dems should play in relation to the party in power. That political struggle as old as time: Do they fight for issues they believe to be important and risk being seen as obstinate jerks or do they work well with the Republicans and be seen as soft? Where is that line and how do the Democrats walk it?