I'll start with this from Rick Perlstein, a year ago:
These programs make life in America fundamentally better... these gooses, Social Security, Medicare, lay golden eggs. They manufacture Democrats.
It is the duty of every generation of Democrats to produce newgeese to lay 70 years of golden eggs. It is the only way our party hasgrown—as Bill Kristol puts it, by reviving the reputation of theDemocrats as the generous protector of middle-class interests.
There's a sizable and increasing chance that 2009 will present the Democratic Party with a historic opportunity. The Senate calendar favors Democratic gains, and our House majority is large. Congressional investigations will degrade the Republican Party's brand identity further. If we can get a progressive Democrat into the White House, we'll be able to do things that make American life fundamentally better, and which voters remember for decades to come.
