How dumb are the Democrats?

So I heard at least one (I hope this isn't their only plan) strategy the Democrats plan to use over the next few years' elections. Are you ready for this?

"We can't do any worse [than the Republicans]"

That's it. That's the whole plan. You want to know how we got into the crummy state of affairs we're in now? Want to know how the Democrats became such a castrated and powerless party? This concept of winning voters should give you an idea.
For years, the Dems had most of the power. They may not have had the White House, but they had Congress. Then they got both Congress & the White House. You'd think that then they would've acted like they wanted to maintain that. But no. Instead they sat back, acted like it was deserved and like many Americans, acted with a sense of entitlement.
So, two years later, the Republicans, apparently scared silly at having lost pretty much any power, somehow managed to wiggle away the House and Senate from the Dems. They saw a lack of power base unappealing and got together, as a party, and somehow fought back with a real strategy (or "strategery" if you will). The came up with the goofy "Contract With America" which somehow convinced average joes that the Republicans actually wanted to work FOR the American people.
Then, after another 6 years of relative easy where the economy was good (although it was an illusion, otherwise, we wouldn't be following trials for Enron officals and individuals wouldn't be in so much personal debt), occasionally we'd go bomb some people that seemed kinda evil or something, and the worst we could come up with was a sex scandal (although Clinton DID lie under oath, let's not pretend that there wasn't anything wrong here).
Meanwhile, the GOP was strengthening their power base and refining their power plan so that by 2000, they managed to complete the Trifecta and add the White House (which presumably could allow them to get the "quadfecta" by getting the Supreme Court). The Dems response? They just whine about their candidate being beaten and saying that it was somehow unfair ,never mind the fact that BEFORE election day, the pundits we're predicting that Gore could win the electoral college and Bush win the popular vote, a situation the Dems seemed to have no problem with. As for Florida.... give it up. We'd still be recounting. It wasn't gonna happen. Bush won, Gore lost, it's history, deal with it.
But they didn't deal with it. They just whined. Rather than regroup, figure out how they got into this position of being the not-popular party in this country, they just decided to act like petulant children and complain. Which did wonders for their image.
Add to this the lack of leadership and vision and the party began to lose it's unity, splintering into little factions that can't even get along with other Dems.
So, in 2004, we were all "surprised" when, after 4 years of GOP rule where we saw the conservatives act like the exact opposite of what they philosophically claim to be, the Democrats lost even MORE power.
So that brings us to the present. And the Democrats strategy. Which is a joke. They still don't get it it. They lost power because they've had no real plan, no strategy, no leadership. For years, their standard operating procedure was to a) bitch and moan about what jerks the Republicans are and b) argue against virtually anything and everything the right presented. But what they didn't do was ever offer any sort of counter-option. They sat around acting pathetic and looking like clueless people, devoid of any ability to offer the American people other solutions to the Republican plans they criticized.
And that disillusioned just enough non-Republicans to not really want to vote for the liberals. Meanwhile, the right cemented their base by adding nutcase Christians to the mix to go along with the financial backing of large, corrupt corporations. The left's strategy was, what, "Hey look at us! We offer you absolutely nothing!"?
So, the Democrats and their complete ineptness and lack of action is part of the reason we're where we are today. And rather than regroup and go on the offensive, they still seem to think they can wrest control back by being wishy-washy and passive. I guess they are just content to wait until the American people boots the GOP out. But what they may find is those same voters may not turn to the left to replace the members of the right they kick out. Why should they? The Dems have given us absolutely NOTHING to grasp onto. They provide no solutions to problems facing us other than "The Republican way is WRONG!"
Look at Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's response to the State of the Union address this week. (I won't really comment on why the liberals picked this guy to head up the counter-attack instead of somebody who looks, acts, and sounds strong. Who decided that putting up a weak, boring, generic white guy up there was the way to go? They should have used somebody that showed some sort of minority interest who was easily recognizable, like Obama or Hillary). The only thing Kaine could come up with is "There is a better way". That's fine. And he even touched on some of those points. But until the party as a whole stops leaving flaming dog poo on the Republicans door step and actually shows the people exactly how they have come up with "a better way", they will never get power back. Stop playing the victim and become real leaders. Or shut the hell up and get out of the way.
If the public was smart (which they aren't) they'd realize that our present two-party system in no way represents the majority of the country and massive change is needed. Unfortunately, the public are also a group that as a whole doesn't want to actually step up and do what is necessary. At least, that's what it looks like since they keep voting the same inept power-hungry morons into office. Why are Ted Kennedy and Joe Barton still in Washington? Because it's easier to keep sending the same jerks rather than actually attempt to promote real change. Change is scary and requires a certain amount of courage to make it happen. But we, like the Democrats, are lazy and would rather complain about how we're being treated and hope that it'll somehow change without us having to lift a finger.
The next presidential election (as well as this years congressional elections) should be interesting. Things probably won't change for the better, but it'll be interesting to see if the liberals can maybe start seeing daylight instead of their own rectal cavities.