Opinion: The Democrats' Golden Opportunity

(Jan. 20) – Democrats distraught in the aftermath of Martha Coakley's tumultuous defeat in Massachusetts may one day look back and find a silver lining.

Scott Brown's upset victory – propelled by suburban and independent voters – should serve as a wake-up call to Democrats in Washington: If we want to preserve a Democratic governing majority in November, we'll have to earn the trust of the forgotten middle class every step of the way.

Some Democrats may be tempted to blame Coakley's loss simply on a disastrous campaign – that but for a series of missteps, the outcome would have been different. Others blame the heap of economic problems left over from the Bush years and hope that as the jobs market improves, the party's electoral struggles will evaporate.

But our party would do better to learn from this defeat, not simply write it off to circumstance. The voters of Massachusetts sent a message loud and clear: They want government to make hard choices and live within its means, as families have been forced to do. They want both sides to put the people's voice ahead of party and make real progress on their biggest worries, from job growth to health costs to long-term debt. They very much want President Obama to succeed, and they want reassurance that Washington will focus on making their lives better, not making government bigger.

Obama has governed well. Tuesday was just a sobering reminder that he inherited too many problems too vast for America to trust government to solve all at once.

The president promised to change Washington and has reached repeatedly across the aisle to enlist Republican help in tackling the nation's toughest challenges. But, like Democrats before him, Obama found a conservative minority more interested in stopping him than solving problems.

The challenge for Democrats moving forward will be to prove to voters that, as President Obama has said again and again, our imperative is results, not ideology. No matter how persistent Republicans are in thwarting the White House's efforts to bridge the gap between progressives and conservatives, Democrats need to show that we are committed to enacting the best ideas, no matter where they come from on the ideological spectrum.

Democrats have a golden opportunity to earn the people's trust by dedicating our efforts in 2010 to reforming government to do better and cost less. Over the long haul, that's a central goal not only of health reform, but of the Obama administration's entire economic agenda. In the campaign, the president promised to turn the page on 20th-century bureaucracies and usher in a new era of streamlined, results-driven government. The bipartisan commission on deficit reduction that the White House and congressional leaders have agreed to is a very good start.

The good news for Democrats, which Tuesday did nothing to change, is that we remain as determined as ever to tackle the nation's challenges – which, in the end, is what most voters in Massachusetts and elsewhere want. A party that believes government should help find solutions for ordinary people has to do everything in its power to make sure government knows its limits and spends every dollar well. If we take that lesson to heart, Tuesday's tough result will make Democrats much tougher to beat the next time around.

__________________
Bruce Reed is CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council. Marc Dunkelman is the DLC's vice president.