By a margin of 52% to 33%, Americans prefer Democratic control of Congress. Which means, in other words, they want Democrats in office enacting the agenda associated with their political party. But Democrats know full well that they can't deliver on their priorities so long as Republicans hold more than 40 seats in the Senate. So why not say that? Why not argue something like 'we were elected in 2006 to provide health care, to take care of our veterans, and to end the war in Iraq. Rather than working constructively with us on that, Senate Republicans filibustered like it was their job.' Why not show some variant of this graph on the teevee:
Then, simply make a promise: If voters elect Democrats with enough votes to pass their agenda, Democrats will pass it. They will do exactly what they say they'll do. You can read the plans on DemCongress.gov or whatever. And if voters decide the agenda doesn't work, or they don't like the policies, they can vote them right out of office. But it's time to get a Congress that works, and that means either demanding the Republicans stop obstructing or electing enough Democrats that they have the votes to pass their agenda. Political economy has to become part of the base political discussion. We talked a lot in the presidential primary about theories of change, but the simplest theory of change is 60 votes in the Senate.
