Dems in Retreat at Their Retreat

The Dem House members are gathering for their annual retreat at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, VA. Their agenda is not quite as bold as last year's:

WILLIAMSBURG, Jan. 31 -- A year ago, newly empowered House Democrats gathered here at the Kingsmill Resort for their annual retreat brimming with confidence. Before them was an ambitious legislative agenda and a determination to end or curtail the U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

This time around, the hotel and golf courses are the same, but the song is markedly different. Gone is the talk of forcing President Bush to end the war, as is the impetus to pass a comprehensive immigration package and to stick to strict budget rules. Instead, Democrats are thinking smaller, much smaller.

They hope to leave today with the beginnings of a scaled-down plan to pass a handful of bills in the House -- even if they cannot get through the Senate -- and build a case for November that Democrats have been productive enough to warrant at least another two years in the majority.

"The agenda is, to some degree, a completion of the agenda that we started last year, as is usually the case in the second year of the Congress," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.).

In other words, they accomplished very little last year and now they need to try and do something before this Congress runs out of time.

Just as an aside, the Kingsmill Resort is a beautiful place, right on the James River and next door to Busch Gardens. My family stayed there for three days in 2005 during our Washington D.C./Williamsburg trip. We had a riverfront condo that was pretty nice. I took this shot of the boy while we were out playing the three par golf course that's complimentary for Resort guests.

I'd almost become a Democrat if they'd let me go back there every year.