I get the basic argument that speechifying doesn't magically lead to the passage of legislation, but if communication and leadership are meaningless then there are a hell of a lot of campaign bucks being misspent and half the people in the political industrial complex should lose their jobs.
The basic lefty-liberal critique is that, for whatever reason, Dems are always playing in the Right's rhetorical playground, aiming their argument at David Brooks and Joe Scarborough. Sometimes you just do the right thing, and people might get on board with it.
As for the David and Joe issue specifically, I'm not a fan of either, but I think the latter is preferable to the former in the context of this particular game. Brooks is always playing for team conservative, even if he pretends otherwise, while I think Joe can genuinely be nudged by an argument occasionally. Not that I think it's worth the focus or effort, but...
