You can only do that if you own the Nightly News and the front pages of four or five major "papers of record" e.g. The New York Times. You need a certain critical mass to your echo chamber -- you need an echo chamber -- to make those kinds of things happen.
I know. We have a much more difficult job in that respect, but republicans mever tried. The combination of GWB hatred (which he helped create with Iraq) and the media echo chamber kept republicans on defensive(and many were currupt by then) . OH yes, Pelosi, didnt really try to accomplish anything 07-08 until she got the white house too 09, another difference. Where as we solved big problems with congress with clinton as president 94-00, and Democrats take credit for it all in those ‘great Clinton years’.
Democrats are better at the cynical got-ya-anything goes politics. Republicans in 90s tried to fix stuff, but under GWB years republicans 01-08 one big gamble, ... well another post, too many things wrong, it convinces me we had to lose. Lets hope our smaller party has some conservative unity , it will be an uphill battle thanks to ... but we were going no place but the tiolet the past two years anyway.