Most of  senator Obama's supporters opine that the main reason for electing him would be that he can bring "honest republicans" and independents to put together a governing majority. I have my doubts about the size of the 'honest republican " crowd. Can some one name half a dozen republicans who were  contemporaneously critical of the supreme court's involvement in 2000 election? Scalia's recent media blitz kind of jogged my memory. I hope senator Obamas's supporters can convince me otherwise. If my thesis is correct than why not go for an LBJ type of leader who knows how policy gets implemented in Washington and be prepared and hard nosed about it to get it done

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I looked around and haven't found anybody on MyDD writing about some exciting things happening in Massachusetts. Yesterday, Governor Deval Patrick unveiled his new website devalpatrick.com is a whole new way to use the netroots/grassroots not only to campaign, but to govern.

I would, of course, be remiss if I did not mention the lovely liveblogging at .08Acres or the conversation at Blue Mass Group. Also, here are some photos of the governor meeting with local bloggers.

So what does it mean to be a netroots governor? Follow me after the flip.

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I was reading Bowers' post about the Quinniapac poll. Chris looks at the presidential polls for '08 and focuses on issues of popularity and, implicitly, the Noise Machine targetting our leaders.

Well, his points are well taken. But my thoughts fly off on a tangent.

The game has changed in America. We are no longer the opposition party. Bashing Bush has sustained us for years. Fighting the GOP Noise Machine has been the game. These convictions, these habits of mind have driven us, but they are no longer the point. Our job is no longer to break the majority in control of Congress. We did that.

Now, we have a different task: deliver the goods as a governing legislature. That's the new game.

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There are issues out there like net neutrality and illegal wiretapping where we know the answer -- preserve net neutrality and enforce FISA compliance. But there are some big issues out there with complicated problems and potential solutions, where the current policy is so old and outdated that a massive overhaul, a complete rethinking of the governing approach could be both politically viable and incredibly helpful.

This diary isn't necessarily the place sort out these issues, but there is potential for sweeping reform -- some wonkier proposals that have been forwarded by others/experts, and some more general possibilities for reform -- just as a way to show how much legislative reform could be approached in the next few years, and hopefully others (more knowledgeable than myself) will carry on the conversation on their own.

The Tax Code
Campaign finance and lobbying reform
Welfare reform reform, health care, social programs
Immigration
No Child Left Behind
NAFTA, CAFTA, Fair Trade, outsourcing
The structure of our national security institutions
Social Security

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Hopefully, the latest generic ballot polls, which both show Democrats with huge, double-digit leads, will cause some of the people who were pushing the panic button over the Gallup and Hotline polls to relax a little. People really shouldn't have been panicking anyway, since during this entire election cycle, Gallup and Hotline have been consistently more favorable to Republicans than any other polling outfits. Then again, I recently wrote that we should expect Republicans to close the gap, and I also cautioned people against putting too much stock in national generic ballot tests anyway.

Even with all of that aside, more and more people are starting to forecast Democrats to take over at least one branch of Congress. Yesterday, Thomas Mann forecasted Democrats to win 25-35 seats in the House, and also gave Dems a 50% chance to take control of the Senate. Even Stuart Rothenberg now forecasts Dems to win the House, albeit narrowly. When my House forecast comes out on Monday, I will forecast Democrats to pick up 15-25 seats in the House, enough for a slim majority.

Even though I am probably tempting fate by asking this, with chances that Democrats will actually win control of at least one branch of congress now very real, what should we do once we are actually governing? This is something I have spent virtually no time thinking about, but it is at least worth considering. My first reaction would be to pass a series of bills that Bush could not possibly veto, such as a real minimum wage hike and earmark reform. Then, I think we should move into passing popular legislation that Bush will probably veto, such as rolling back the tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, fixing the hideous Medicare bills, and global warming initiatives. From that point on, it is time to investigate, investigate, investigate, especially when it comes to all things Iraq. Don't impeach or censure right away, but keep saying that all options are on the table (thus drawing more attention to the investigations without it seeming like revenge for Clinton). Also, we need to make John McCain vote against a lot of things that are popular and progressive too.

Still, I think my governing outline is pretty thin. I know that MyDD is mainly a "hack" site for those interested in building improved progressive political infrastructure and campaigns, but in this post I am calling for the wonks to comment as well. If Democrats do take control of one or more branches of Congress, what should be our legislative plan for 2007? It may seem like we are tempting fate when we are asking this question, but if we in the netroots don't have a plan in the can before the elections even occur, we will have a difficult time agitating our newly powerful caucus into appropriate action.

So, let 'er rip. What should Democrats do if we take control of one or more branches of Congress this year?