Republicans Won and Democrats Lost...What Next?

So the Democrats lost the midterm elections for the most part...holding on to the Senate by a string.  Now, what Democrats need to do is learn from their mistakes and move forward.  I often find myself shaking my head from all of the mistakes that Democrats do, and hopefully some of these strategies I speak of will go in to the playbook for use. 

Instead of being reactionary, Democrats should be proactive, and take the fight to the Republicans by seriously disputing Republican claims and reinforcing why Democrats are the best of the two parties.  It's like selling a product - you need to brand yourself as the best, and then be able to explain why.  Democrats were not doing this.  So, this is one thing Dems need to do.  Dems were also letting GOP spew lies, propaganda, slander, and hatred and doing nothing about it.  I'm also aware that a life of politics is exhausting without fighting, but disputing these claims and throwing a few punches back is something Dems need to do constantly.  The Democratic Party needs to fight back and with vigor, just like we did in 2006.  Democrats must not be pushovers, but rather the pushers.

This leads me to my next thought - party unity.  Yep...Democrats have none.  You might have noticed that many of the Democratic campaigns across the country ran on different things.  The Republicans, on the other hand had a strategy and platform for the campaigns, with their secret weapon that Democrats are too afraid to use: fear.  Well, Republicans also lied through their teeth about Democrats, but saying lies enough meant it had to be true!  Republican politicians are ruthless in their nature and they really don't care if they lie or cheat to get to the finish line, as long as they do (2000 Bush v Gore anyone??).  The Democrats also did not support their President, which they should have all been doing, because his agenda was their agenda in 2008. 

What do Democrats need to do now?  They need to unify on core issues, wedge issues, and pick fights, even invoking fear in to people's minds.  For instance, using abortion as wedge issue to say that Republicans will do everything they can to make sure that the new health care plan will not provide services for mothers seeking or needing abortions.  The Dems need a leader who will gather the troops and come under an agreement of how they will strategically proceed in the next two years.  Congressional Democrats and the President really need to come together on this.  It is vital for their success.

All of this talk of unity might make some reporters interested, so maybe they'll publish a few articles about it...right? Maybe.  The Democrats can rest assured now that the press is covering their progress...right?  WRONG!  They can take nothing for granted!  The Dems should be feeding stories to reporters left and right, going back to their districts, and getting their message out there!  Because, what good is a unified party and a clear message if the message isn't heard?!  People need to hear the message and believe in it.  I have faith that the Democrats can do it, but they need to get their acts together.

Going in to the 2012 elections and even the 2011 elections, the Democrats should be doing all of this by defending their record with one hand and attacking with the other.  The President just started doing this, albeit in his exorbitantly cool manner, but it needs to continue.  A little passion from The President wouldn't hurt either...  Either way, I hope the Democratic Party takes this advice and runs with it, because this will help re-pave their road to success.