David Plouffe’s Cure For Democrats

President Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe is going back to Team Obama.  He had asked for some time after the campaign to take care of his family, but he’s been asked to come back sooner than expected.  He offers his take on what Democrats need to do in Sunday’s WaPo. Plouffe says Democrats got “a resoundng wake-up call” in Massachusetts, and now need to do what they were sent to Washington to do:

— Pass a meaningful health insurance reform package without delay…if we do not pass it, the GOP will continue attacking the plan as if we did anyway, and voters will have no ability to measure its upside. If we do pass it, dozens of protections and benefits take effect this year…Only if the plan becomes law will the American people see that all the scary things Sarah Palin and others have predicted — such as the so-called death panels — were baseless. We own the bill and the health-care votes. We need to get some of the upside. (P.S.: Health care is a jobs creator.)

— We need to show that we not just are focused on jobs but also create them…There are some terrific ideas that we can implement, from tax credits for small businesses to more incentives for green jobs…We need to make our case on the economy and jobs — and yes, we can remind voters where Republican policies led us…

— Make sure voters understand what the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act did for the economy. Rarely does a congressional vote or issue lend itself to this kind of powerful localization. If GOP challengers want to run ads criticizing the recovery act as wasteful, Democratic candidates should lift up the police officers, teachers and construction workers in their state or district, those who are protecting our communities, teaching our children and repairing our roads thanks to the Democrats’ leadership. Highlight the small-business owners who have kept their doors open through projects funded by the act.

— Don’t accept any lectures on spending. The GOP took us from a $236 billion surplus when President Bush took office to a $1.3 trillion deficit, with unpaid-for tax cuts for the wealthy, two wars and the Medicare prescription drug program.

The electorate needs to know what Democrats have accomplished, and be reminded of the terrible shape we were left in by the previous administration, especially when it was coupled with a Republican Congress.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.