All of the Democratic party must lead at this time as a united force. There ARE NO other issues right now. The cruicial issue of the Samuel Alito nomination is still on the table. The only way to stop this "unpopular plan" for the Supreme Court - filibuster, will not be accomplished unless Senators like New Jersey's Menendez are redirected from pandering to the Italian American vote for his upcoming election.

I am very proud of all the Democratic Senators, our elected representatives, who will speak our dissent for us.

Sincerely,
Victoria Pizzulo-Kushnir
New Jersey

I'd rather pay attention to the Republican members of Congress who will be giving Bush standing ovations. These are the folks running this fall on all those incompetent failures from the past five years. This past year in particular is a standout as to how bad things can get under their stewardship.

Would you want to buy any of the inferior goods these screwups are going to be hawking tomorrow night?

Anything they offer will be just the same old hand-me-down, half-baked ideas that failed so miserably in Iraqi and in their post-Katrina reconstruction efforts. Too little and too late.

I'd like to point out a couple of other numbers that should give the Democrats real pause when they finally decide to show their faces in public next year:

Would you vote for Hilary Clinton?
Yes definitely - 16%
No Way - Never - 51%

Who is more fit to lead the war on terror?
Republicans - 46%
Democrats - 41%

Do you think the country is safer today than before 9/11?
More Safe - 64%
Less Safe - 30%

This is the issue people care about - this is THE issue. This is why the dems lost last time, and it's why they'll likely lose this time. The Democratic Party has no backbone, no spine, no ability to stand for one unified message, no ability to stand for principle instead of politics. George Bush can lead us into horrible situation after horrible situation, and look us right in the eye and say "I'm right, you're wrong. That's the way it is". No matter how many times he is proven wrong, he keeps right on bringing the message "I'll keep you safe - without me, you'll get nuked". AND IT'S WORKING.

This message is SO much stronger than "40 million Americans don't have health care". I hate to break it to you guys, but health care does not win elections. It is vitally important, and people really do care about it. However, if one guy says "Vote for me or you'll be nuked" and the other guy says "40 million people need healthcare", the first guy will win every time.

The fact is, most of those 40 million people don't vote. The rest of us vote first for the issues that affect our lives the most - our sons are dying in Iraq, our jobs are being exported, and Osama bin Laden is still threatening to attack us. People care about the less fortunate, and it wins popularity AFTER the elections, but when it comes down to it, this is just a losing issue to more imminent, personal matters - John Kerry showed us that. Don't make the same mistake again. To continue to hear Kerry and Edwards harping on healthcare after America, totally hating Bush and the Republicans, showed they would rather vote for them than wishy-washy's who don't fight back and talk about healthcare as their main issue.

Here's the only way the dems will win:

1) Find a charismatic leader who speaks the truth and not politics, who is not afraid to call a spade a spade, who has a backbone and will stand up to criticism instead of trying to shift with the political wind. This is key #1 - we did not have this last time, and I don't see a potential candidate this time to fit this bill. Without it, there will be another Republican President.

2) Terrorism, Iraq, Border Security, Economy, Job Outsourcing. That's it. Period. These are the issues that can win elections. After you win, worry about healthcare - except Medicare. That you need to address.

3) The Deficit - we know we have one, nobody knows how that affects them. That includes trade deficits. Clear and concise definitions of "how does this affect me" are the only way people will respond to this.

4) Reveal the true evils of the Republicans and fight hard against their strengths - not their weaknesses. Open Borders, Nuclear Proliferation, Rise in terrorism, Downing Street Memos, the hunt for Osama, spying on quakers and political groups - why aren't these issues sticking? Nobody knows about them.