DSCC: Dems must remind voters 'what Republicans did to our country'

Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said Wednesday the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) would "be strong in reminding voters what Republicans did to our country and what they will do again if given the chance."

In an e-mail to supporters following Martha Coakley's surprising loss to Republican Scott Brown, Menendez stressed he had "no interest in sugar-coating what happened" in the Massachusetts Senate race. But he promised Democrats would "aggressive in defining our opponents and framing the choice voters face" as the 2010 midterms drew near.

"In the days ahead, we will sort through the lessons of Massachusetts: the need to redouble our efforts on the economy, the need to show that our commitment to real change is as powerful as it was in 2008, and the reality that we cannot take a single thing for granted and cannot afford even a second of complacency," Menendez said in the e-mail.

"These election results mean that Republicans will be even more emboldened to obstruct progress and distort the truth in their quest to protect the status quo," he added.

Brown's election to the Senate on Tuesday surely stunned Democratic strategists, many of whom thought Coakley's double-digit lead earlier in the month would propel her to victory. 

Democrats had until Tuesday also performed exceptionally well in recent special elections -- winning five consecutive special contests on the House side -- making Brown's win a more bitter pill for Coakley supporters to swallow.

Some party members have since resorted to pointing fingers, seeking to pin blame on national Democrats, local campaign workers and the candidate herself for losing a seat the party had held for nearly 60 years.

But all now seem to agree that the 2010 contests will require Democrats to campaign aggressively and reclaim their "change" mantra -- a sentiment Menendez echoed on Wednesday.

"The truth is Democrats understand the anger voters feel - that's in large part why we did well in 2006 and 2008," Menendez said. "We are doing what we were sent to Washington to do: tackle tough challenges in order to get the country back on track. We've made progress, and come November, we will have made even more."

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