One thing you can say for the Democrats, they know how to use (and abuse) their power. They aren't the power for power's sake crowd. They actually have things they want to accomplish, unlike the Republicans.
Yes, they do have the courage of thier convictions, and represent the views of their constituencies. When they take over, they don't worry about alienating ANYONE - they just plough stright ahead to achieve their objectives of undermining tradional America, pandering to its enemies, and diluting its military forces and economy.
The Republican leadership could do much to emulate the Democrat strenght of conviction instead of acting like the craven pack of cowards and leftist appeasers they have become.