John Roberts is the least of our problems

The fate of the Supreme Court was sealed (more or less) on November 4. Barring a nomination like Karl Rove, I don't think the Democrats can or should expend dramatic energy to block it.

The real problem here is that Democrats truly believe that they represent the views of a significant majority of people in this country, yet have completely failed to convert that representation into political power.

Obstructionist reactions to the Administration's decisions are not the way to remedy this. There will be, of course, certain emergency situations where Democrats need to dig in and fight like hell to prevent something truly nasty from happening. But by and large, the Administration has earned the ability to make these kinds of conservative decisions. Unless you think that the Republicans' control of Congress and the White House was gained by illegitimate means (and I'm completely open to arguments along those lines), there are consequences to them being in power that cannot be denied.

And most people, party aside, don't look kindly on politicians who spend a lot of time blocking things from happening, or arguing about procedure. The recent furor over the filibuster resulted in lower poll numbers for Democrats and Republicans alike, because at the end of the day, people want to see their representatives do what they were elected to do.

The Democratic Party needs to accept this. They currently have limited power and need to use it very carefully. Roberts should be questioned, scrutinized, and certainly voted against by those who don't agree that he should be on the Court. But the fact that those votes will likely do nothing to stop his approval should also be accepted, and no further political capital should be spent on trying to block him. No filibuster or excessive blocking shenanigans, please.

The goal of the Democratic Party, in my opinion, should be to simplify and solidify their message so that they can GROW. Growth is key. Simple math dictates that the party needs to expand. The results of the 2004 election illustrate the following:

Our voting system is not perfect and still needs massive reform. No one should have to wait for hours on line to vote. Democrats should do everything they can to support voting reform, but any gains made in this arena should be viewed as a bonus- let's face it, this is not going to be easy.

Most importantly, however, we saw that the Democratic "base" is not strong enough to take on Republicans. The first four years of the Bush Administration represented pretty much the worst case scenario for Democrats and liberals- their economic policy, environmental policy, domestic policy, and foreign policy were just shockingly one-sided.

Yet, with the stakes so high and the base more motivated than ever, Democrats were still unable to capture the Presidency or either of the two houses of Congress. That was a shock.

The base is not enough. Growth is key.

Nobody who voted for George W. Bush in 2004 is going to consider voting Democrat in 2006 or 2008 because of the Democrats' obstruction of Bush's Supreme Court nominees. No Bush voter is going to switch sides to a party that has offered little substance other than opposition- desperate opposition, no less.

The Democratic Party needs to focus intensely on the issues that they feel they have in common with the broader electorate, and become in the public's eye a party of strength and purpose.

On a related note, I hate Karl Rove. Oooooooh, that motherfucker makes my skin crawl. He should be investigated and fired if he's found guilty of a crime. But my hatred of Karl Rove- and any political trickery that might be revealed by investigating him- is not going to help recruit voters to the Democratic Party. Rove hunting is a worthwhile thing for the Special Counsel to do, but it's a distraction for a party that needs to focus on building ideas, not trying to tear people down.

John Roberts is basically in the same boat. We don't have to like him, and we can oppose him, but we're much more credible if we accept our losses and keep our eyes on the ball, which is building the Democratic Party into an organization that can produce as many voters as it claims to represent.