If the Democrats are going to really fight back, then there’s a very easy way to do it: make the Republicans vote in Congress on some very straightforward pieces of legislation that will tell the country exactly where they stand. For example, Paul Begala, a former adviser to President Clinton, says let’s have a vote on the budget proposals put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) that calls for balancing the budget in 50 years and privatizing Social Security and Medicare.

“Why don’t we put Mr. Ryan’s budget up to a vote?” he said. “Make them vote on it.”

Democrats, he argued, should stop calling Republicans the “party of no.”

“They have ideas, and lots of them. And their ideas ruin the country,” Begala said.

Excellent. I’m all for it. As Digby says, let them put their mouth where their money is. Any hesitation, blowback, hedging, or filibustering will only confirm that they’re full of it.

The same is true with healthcare. There’s going to be a bill submitted to Congress to remove the anti-trust exemption for insurance companies. It’s not a complicated measure, and the results would be obvious: if you vote against this bill, we’ll know who’s side you’re on. What could be more simple?