Reply #16: Good points [View All]

It would have helped a lot if our representatives had gotten together prior to this and had better worked out the major points of where they stood.

Not issuing position statements can be part of a good strategy but, as has been alluded, our representatives knew the republicans would do something that would cause the dem's to have to go on record.

I'm sure some work was done by our representatives but imo we missed an opportunity to own the republicans.

The republicans are all over the map on this. If we could have staked out the broad center and put the focus on the culpability of exploitive employers we'd be standing really tall right now.

Let's face it, our party/representatives gets cash from these exploiters/interests and that's keeping our party from voicing a more principled stand.

Additionally, we need to point out that republicans have had unprecedented control of gov't and they tout themselves as the national security party. They've let this issue build up to the point it is at now. We have the right to criticize and even nit-pick any flaws in their proposals.

I'm not saying we can't work with those republicans who will work in good faith on this. I'm saying we deserve to use this issue as a talking point in our favor.

People see Saddam as having been involved in 911. Bush benefits.

People see this issue (somewhat unfairly) as being due to the abject failure of our current (all republican) gov't. Let's go with that.

Any compromise is going to tick off a lot of people at least a little. Every time one of our rep's talks about their plans they need to emphasize that the pain people see in all these bills is due to years and years of republican inaction.

Totally fair to do that? No. Justified? Hell yes.