DemFromCT has posted to the front page the case for the Dems not having a national agenda for Congressional candidates. DemFromCT quotes Tom Shaller saying that a Dem agenda will provide something to distract from GOP failures.
I feel the Dems should have an agenda and the grassroots should push the party to articulate the agenda.
My logic rests on two points:
1. The powerful interest groups, like the Israel lobby, the medical-industrial complex, and others have extracted promises from the Dem leadership. The grassroots are chumps to support the party without extracting some commitments.
2. The Dems will really fuck-up governing if they merely try to govern without making mistakes and without pissing off interest groups.
We're past the point of avoiding bad consequences by avoiding mistakes. Bush and the GOP have pushed us off a cliff and we're rolling down the canyon wall now. It's a little late to fix things by avoiding the initial mistake.
There country is facing crises on numerous fronts: federal deficit, inflation, health care, international trade, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, etc.
The Democratic Party is not led by wise people. Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel are at best pandering fools.
It's time to get the people involved. The Dems should craft and agenda and present it to the voters. If the voters put the Dems in power then the party will have a mandate to implement the agenda.
If the Dems are too feckless to create an agenda--any agenda--they shouldn't be placed into power.