Orange County Voices : SUGGESTIONS FROM THE DEMOCRATS : Republicans Get a Chance to Prove That It’s Been the Democrats’ Fault : It’s time to deal with the issues, combining pragmatism with thoughtfulness.

When Bill Clinton’s election victory ended 12 years of Republican control of the White House in 1992, The Times ran columns from Orange County Republicans offering advice to the new President. Turnabout is fair play. Now that Republicans have won a majority in Congress for the first time in 40 years, some Orange County Democrats offer their advice.

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To all Republicans out there: Congratulations on your stunning Nov. 8 victory! Even though I am a Democrat, I truly harbor no ill feelings about the victory. In fact, I find it exciting. The opportunity that all my Republican friends have been dreaming about is now at hand. After all these years of a Democratic majority, the Republicans have a chance to prove that they can execute and not just conceptualize.

Obviously, the electorate feels the country is heading the wrong way and, like Peter Finch in the movie “Network,” they screamed out with their votes, “We’re as mad as hell and we’re not going to take this anymore.”

I sincerely believe you only have two years to prove yourselves. I hope you don’t mess it up.

Remember that the electorate--all of us--are Americans first, who love their country and want to see the United States rise to its fullest potential. Please don’t polarize us anymore . . . we need consensus-building, not name-calling. We are so, so tired of the name-calling. (OK, Newt?) Please get rid of your personal vendettas and start setting the wheels in motion. Start dealing with issues and combine your pragmatism with thoughtfulness.

That may mean that you have to actually work with the President of the United States. He really does have some good ideas--you should try listening to some of them. (Rehashing Whitewater probably won’t get anybody anywhere, but it will most definitely waste time and a great many resources.)

You know, your victory really is a win-win for everybody. You have the chance to prove that it really has been the Democrats’ fault. But if you waste the next two years, you almost ensure another Democratic majority for the next 40 years.

The victory is also a major win for Orange County.

For the last 10 years Orange County has been represented by an entirely Republican congressional delegation. The Democratic majority on Capitol Hill has found this delegation a little difficult to reckon with on several occasions.

In fact, a lobbyist for the County of Orange explained the difficulty of being a representative from Republican Orange County and getting the proper attention in a Democratic-controlled House. The lobbyist reported that once a congressional staffer all but slammed the door in his face. “After all,” they reasoned, “why should we go out of our way to help you when your congressional delegation goes out of its way to obstruct so much of what we are trying to do?” That should all change now, and Orange County should definitely reap many benefits from that change.

So, ladies and gentlemen, please stop bashing us, and stop calling our President and First Lady names. This will help us work with you and lead us to the belief that you really are sincere. Let’s work together in making the United States great.