Lessons of the fall. (Politico).(Democratic Party)

Democrats had hoped that a traditional out-of-power party pickup in the House and Senate would translate into a national political message that Social Security is once again untouchable, prescription drugs are a silver bullet, and Americans have overcome their inordinate fear of taxes and gun control.

The lessons learned flowed in the other direction.

First, Social Security privatization proposals are not the proverbial third rail of American politics. When Governor George W. Bush embraced the idea of allowing younger Americans to put some of their Social Security taxes into personal savings accounts, Democrats hoped that he had committed political suicide. His win in November 2000 proved that the issue was open to discussion, but many believed that while it had proved safe for Bush to talk about, it would continue to be a dangerous issue for Republican Congressional candidates. Democrats spent millions attacking GOP candidates on this issue; some Republicans did back off. Others, like incoming senators Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Norm Coleman of Minnesota, found they could run effectively on Social Security reform rather than cringe before accusations that they wanted to gut the popular program. The Democrats will try to use the issue again in 2004 and, should they fail, real reform can commence.

Second, taxes remain the most powerful issue benefiting Republicans and hurting Democrats. Tax-hiking governors were defeated--every single new Republican in the House and Senate signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge not to raise taxes. In Massachusetts, a Libertarian Party-inspired initiative to abolish the state's income tax received 45 percent of the vote. In Northern Virginia, the entire political establishment from Democratic Governor Mark Warner to Republican Senator John Warner endorsed a referendum to raise the sales tax by one half cent to pay for new roads; it still lost by a 10 percent margin.

Third, the Democrats remain unable to refrain from talking about gun control. Like dogs drawn to their own vomit, Democrats, who had prided themselves on their ability to shut up about guns, found themselves attacking gun owners in the wake of the Washington-area sniper killings. While Bill Clinton had ...