Reid's 'Sledgehammer' issues: Driving the filibuster wedge all the way in,

[AirAmFan]

to split the GOP:

Stem cell research, drug reimportation, and minimum wage are three 'sledgehammer' issues Senate Democrats soon will use in turn, to split the GOP irretrievably.

The 14 Senators whose Memo of Understanding saved the filibuster drove a giant wedge into the Republican Party. Merely conservative or extreme Republicans recoiled in horror from Bill Frist's fundie wacko agenda of granting all power to the White House. A new strategy memo on Minority Leader Harry Reid's Senate website lays out an agenda for driving this wedge all the way in and breaking the unholy alliance Thomas Frank uncovered in his book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" Reid defines short-term and longer-term focus issues very succinctly toward the end of the memo:

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From http://reid.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=238272

"The lines that divide Congress should be between right and wrong, not right and left. Our enemies should not be those in the other party, but the common threats that face the American community. Our goal should not be winning the news cycle, but breaking the vicious cycle of political battle and winning a future where all Americans can live out their dreams. The defeat of the nuclear option shows what is possible when people of good faith … Republicans and Democrats … join hands and put principles ahead of partisanship.

This doesn't have to be an isolated incident … a momentary ceasefire before Washington's trench warfare starts up again. Rather it can be a new beginning. Because on issue after issue, there is a common sense center in America that knows what it believes and can't understand why this Republican Congress won't get the job done. Just as there was a bipartisan majority that could not stomach the nuclear option, there is a bipartisan consensus for action on many fronts. And all we need for progress is for President Bush and the Republican leadership to let America's agenda get its day. The American people are demanding it. And Democrats are going to be standing in the common sense center to make sure that we get there.
--In this Congress, there is a bipartisan consensus for raising the minimum wage … but the White House and the Republican leadership stand in the way.
--There is a bipartisan consensus for allowing the prescription drugs to be safely reimported … but the White House and the Republican leadership stand in the way.
--And there is a bipartisan consensus for stem cell research that has the potential to help cure diseases such as diabetes and help save American lives. From Nancy Reagan to Orrin Hatch, Republicans have broken ranks to join the common sense center on this important issue....

This week's events mark our chance to forge a common sense center that embraces an American agenda for reform. As Democratic Leader, I will be working aggressively to advance the work the American people sent us to do. And I hope that Republicans of good faith will join with us to get this job done:
--To strengthen our national security.
--To make America energy independent.
--To restore economic prosperity and opportunity.
--To help our families and business afford their health care.
--To boost Americans' retirement security and protect their Social Security.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll have more to say on all these fronts. But I pledge today, that in everything we do, the lesson of this week … that we can build on the common sense center … will remain front and center."

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

1. A strategy I totally support.

Nice work, Senator Reid.:thumbsup:

Seize upon the divisions and restore common sense to our country.

[AirAmFan]

2. The short-term agenda has the same ring of victory to it as Carville's

and Begala's famous 1992 'War Room' poster for Clinton:

"(1) It's the economy, stupid! (2005: Minimum wage)
(2) New ideas versus more of the same (2005: Medical research, not superstition)
(3) And don't forget healthcare! (2005: Drug reimportation)"

[AirAmFan]

3. .