(I think "Life Imitates the Onion" may be a Taranto-trademarked phrase, so my apologies to him. Until I get a C&D letter from him, I'll leave it up and call it an homage.)
Oh, gosh. This is too funny. I can't stop giggling, and this is from the Post story:
The Democratic leaders in Congress -- Pelosi and Sen. Harry M. Reid (Nev.) -- are the party's chief strategists and architects of the agenda, which they view as a way to market party ideas on energy, health care, education and other issues. They have held countless meetings to construct the right list, consulting with governors, mayors and just about every Democratic adviser in town."By the time the election rolls around, people are going to know where Democrats stand," Reid said.
But many in the party have their doubts. On Feb. 27, Reid and Pelosi appeared before the Democratic Governors Association. At one point in the conversation, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, noting that the two leaders had talked about a variety of themes and ideas, asked for help. Could they reduce the message to just two or three core ideas that governors could echo in the states?
According to multiple accounts from those in the room, Reid said they had narrowed the list to six and proceeded to talk about them. Pelosi then offered her six -- not all the same as Reid's. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said later: "One of the other governors said 'What do you think?' and I said 'You know what I think? I don't think we have a message.' "
Seriously, read the whole thing. Then go out and volunteer for '06 races, so we don't have to face the terrible humiliation of losing a race to these guys.
All right, enough with the schadenfreude. From the other side, E.J. Dionne says the Dems don't need a coherent plan to beat the Republicans in '06. And, MyDD wonders about the need for a Democratic "Contract With America."
Also commenting, The Moderate Voice.