Just Three Things

Just Three Things
By Mike Lux
1/21/2005
As part of our ongoing effort to keep you fully informed of current political events and their consequences, The Daily Reality Check is featuring a column by political strategist Mike Lux that will appear on Fridays.
There are three things Democrats need to do in 2005. First, they have to fight Bush's Social Security benefit cuts and privatization bill, winning both in the Congressional fight and the message battle. Second, they are (almost 100 percent certainly) going to have to fight and win the message war on a right-wing Bush appointment to the Supreme Court. Third, they are going to have to figure out what the hell it means to be a Democrat, and how to say it briefly and compellingly – in short, they have to figure out their brand and start selling it.
Don't get me wrong: there will be a ton of other important things going on that folks will be working on - the battle over the federal budget, the energy bill, immigration reform, gubernatorial and state legislative races in New Jersey and Virginia, mayoral and other local races all over the country, as well as raising money and laying the groundwork for 2006 races up and down the ticket.
It all matters. But the things I stated at the beginning of this column are the big enchiladas, the 800 pound gorillas, and any other clichés you can think up. Those are the things that will matter the most to the future of the country and the Democratic Party. They are the things that will decide George Bush's legacy and the success or failure of his second term. They are the things which will be at the heart of whether Democrats start making up ground in 2006, and win the presidency in 2008....