What I am suprised by is that they agree with you on the underlying premise. Is there a shift happening the party? You are right about keep it simple, but its nice to see that people are agreeing on what to keep simple versus arguing about the what.

Chris,

I agree with you in terms of priorities and the need to steer clear of counterproductive wonkiness.  But I'm not so sure that in adding and emphasizing accountability candidates need to totally drop some short and clear version of the following:

"On Iraq, stress that "it is time to change course," because Bush has mismanaged the war, has no real plan going forward, and has made America less secure through skewed priorities that deflect our focus and resources from other key priorities in the fight against terror."

I also think that, instead of the 15 page document (or maybe in addition to it), something along the lines of a one-pager with bullet points might be useful.  Maybe half the page can itemize Bush-failure accountability points and the other half can list short and clear things the Dems would do differently.

There is good stuff in here but this seems more like the road map for a Pres race rather than a Congressional one.  I agree with Chris's assessment that new members of Congress can't implement major policy changes so proposing them makes little sense.  It is encouraging that they draw many of the same conclusions about what to run on as the MyDD/Courage poll.  

Most Congressional races, even in a nationalized year, are a combo of national themes such as Iraq, accountability, Bush is incompetent, etc with local issues.  I think about a heated primary race here in NYC (this is the election) to succeed Cong Major Owens which alternates between Iraq, accountability, the huge Atlantic Yards development project (this is a big issue in Brooklyn) and the candidacy of a white guy running in a gentrifying minority seat.  There are national themes but lots of local stuff too.  

Yo, Bush! We're going to stop YOUR shit

How about this less colorful version: "Bush has dug America into a hole.  The Democratic Party will take away his shovel."

American Petrocracy

Among the shifting rationales for the war in Iraq, the most plausible motive may be the least discussed: access to oil.

by Kevin Phillips

In sum, the energy-related price of the administration's dishonesty and massive miscalculation in Iraq ought to be a central discussion point in this election year and again in 2008.

see also:

Yes, It's About Oil, at Greg Palast's site

Short answer: It's the oil, stupid.

and

Oil and Iraq, by the Global Policy Forum

The four giant firms located in the US and the UK have been keen to get back into Iraq, from which they were excluded with the nationalization of 1972. During the final years of the Saddam era, they envied companies from France, Russia, China, and elsewhere, who had obtained major contracts. But UN sanctions (kept in place by the US and the UK) kept those contracts inoperable. Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, everything has changed and the companies have been scrambling to grab their share of the spoils. In the new setting, with Washington running the show, "friendly" companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming decades.

This is right. We need to stop aiming for the head and start aiming for the gut.

Like Paul Waldman said yesterday:

If there's one thing Republicans have understood and Democrats haven't, it is that politics is not about issues. Politics is about identity. The candidates and parties that win are not those aligning their positions most precisely with a majority of the electorate. The winners are those who form a positive image in the public mind of who they are (and a negative image of who their opponents are). Issues are a vehicle to create that identity, one that combines with symbolism and narrative to shape what the public thinks about when they think about Democrats and Republicans.

Think about what happens in campaign after campaign. The Democrat comes before the public and says, ``If you read my 10-point policy plan, I'm sure you'll vote for me. Let's go over it point by point." The Republican then comes before the public, points to the Democrat, and says, ``That guy is a weak, elitist liberal who hates you and everything you stand for. I'm one of you and he's not." And guess who wins.

Chris, I don't think Dem Corps was claiming that they were issuing talking points.  Really they were giving the concepts upon which candidates could base talking points.  (of course, this assumes campaigns have talented Comm Dirs who can do this well)

This just from a read of your post; I haven't read the memo - pardon me if it contradicts my point.

Remind voters Saddam had nothing to do with Alqueda or 911 and invading Iraq was a diversion to the real war on terror.  Replay many times Bush saying Saddam had nothing to do w/ 911.

VOICE OVER:

Whats going on in washington?
Why are our children dying in Iraq?
Why are we paying companies to hire illegal immigrants to fail at rebuilding the gulf coast?
Why haven't we caught Osama Bin Laden?
Why is the republican medicare drug program failing seniors?

Dem Candidate: We can't change the counry with a magic wand, but the first step to taking charge is to demand accountability from our leaders. The Republicans are using their control of congress to keep us all in the dark. Democrats want to shine some light on Washington--so vote for me, Candidate X, and let's turn the lights on in Washington because it's the only way to solve our problems.

Democrats should immediately declare that Iraq should nationalize it's oil, and that Iraq's people should evenly share the oil wealth.

What democrats need is strategic vision for peace.

Spot on, Chris.  I'm so tired of hearing that Democrats need to present a positive alternative set of plans.  'We will stop them from fucking up as badly' is a positive alternative.  It's not a happy promise but it's a real one.

The GOP swept the table as much by what they did not say as by what they said.

Everything you don't say makes what you do say louder.

Democratic Party slogan for 2006:
This is the land of the FREE, and the home of the BRAVE."

See Republicans are LOSERS! and Republicans are chicken!

"Wonky details"? "Tired of hearing that Democrats need to present a positive alternative set of plans"? Is this really where we are right now?

We Democrats have been in the minority too long and if we want to dig ourselves out of this whole and into a majority for the next 10-20 years we damn well better have a set of alternative plans. The absolute worst thing that could happen to the party right now is that Democrats take back the House (and god forbid, the Senate) and have absolutely ZERO plan other than investigating the Bush administration. "Accountability" will truly be shown when Democrats present ideas that make the American people realize how dangerous and wrongheaded the policies of the last 5 years have been. It is not enough to say, "we are not the other guys." We must present the face of a major political party prepared to lead the nation into a period of security, prosperity and freedom - not a permanent minority party which can only pick up seats on the incompetence and gross negligence of the opposition.

The House and to a lesser extent, the Senate, are DEFENSE. We need to go on the offensive and look towards the real goal, which is taking back the White House. If we elect a Democratic majority with no positive agenda for the 07/08 session, we will be hard presssed to make the sale that the nation needs a Democratic president.

Carville's points are all valid and to diminish them as too "wonky" is to degrade the intelligence of every American voter. How difficult would it be to write effective ads based on Democracy Corps. memo? I could see at least a half dozen 30 second pieces coming from the two points Chris touches on from the memo.

Here's an ad:

SOME CANDIDATE AGAINST FIREPLACE BACKDROP & AMERICAN FLAGS:

Hi, I'm (some idiot congressional candidate) and I approve this message. The Republican party has been getting the security of this nation wrong for far too long. More troops have died in Iraq than on 9/11. Osama is still alive and free. Iran is getting closer to the bomb every day; and Afghanistan is sliding back into Taliban control - and while all this is happening, we're paying $3 a gallon at the pump.

Its time for a change of course.

We need to begin to redeploy our men and women in Iraq so that we can fight terror in the rest of the world. We need to invest heavily in renewable energy and begin to end our dependence on foreign oil. And finally, we need to implement the reccomendations fo the 9/11 commission so that we can all be safer.

On Nov. 7th, vote to change the course. Vote Democratic.