Get Along? Get Real. (washingtonpost.com)
What is the strategic plan for the Dems in the next cycle? What have we learned from the last election?
Dionne's column present the Dems with some strong medicine about what not to do. Basically don't give in to the Reps on the true values of the party: No Social Security Reform and obstructing the judicuial process. This is a good start. We don't have anything to lose right now. There are no penalties playing tough here. Going along with the GOP on these and other policies is insane and could destroy the party.
In the longer term is this minority status what we have to live for? That's a real possibility, but not necessarily a bad future. There are more Republicans than Dems right now. They simply outnumber us and the tyranny of the majority is in place. The next thought is so what? They did everything wrong in the last election and won. Is it possible for them to repeat it? Can they meld the pocketbook and religious sides of the party with the anti-terror rhetoric? Or maybe the anti-terror rhetoric is exactly that. They know that the GOP would explode if their were no terrorist threat. So let's block the intelligence reforms and fight a war that distracts us from the real threat. They can look like they are doing something about it while at the same time, not really doing anything about it.
Next step is to destroy the opposition before we destroy ourselves. Pass through the "ownership society" reforms and make the Democratic Party irrelevent. Beat them on their "reformist" rhetoric and make everyone a "stockholder" who wants smaller government.
Then what is the Democratic Party to do? What is our long-term goal? There are plenty of very smart folks in DC that are trying to come up with something. Do we just impede the progress of the GOP? Move things along and look like the party of progress? Stick to our values? Find a 21st Century solution? Reinvent ourselves? Revert to the past?
How about wait? Bush's term will be over in the next four years. The Dems obstruct everything. It's almost impossible for seats to move too much more in Congress, just wait. Next go around, we harness what we have and move things to the middle. We should be able to get enough $$ with the Internet. We should also get smarter about values. But thing we have to remember is that every Presidential Democratic Candidate in the last 50 years has been an individual that was outside the party (versus someone like the Bushies that can't function w/o the party). We have to wait and pray that Jimmy Carter will come from out of the woods. We have to get the party back into the South and winning there. Less divisive racial/identity politics and more policies based around a common theme (community, opportunity, responsibility anyone?) If it doesn't fit in the context of the theme, we ditch it.
What is the strategic plan for the Dems in the next cycle? What have we learned from the last election?
Dionne's column present the Dems with some strong medicine about what not to do. Basically don't give in to the Reps on the true values of the party: No Social Security Reform and obstructing the judicuial process. This is a good start. We don't have anything to lose right now. There are no penalties playing tough here. Going along with the GOP on these and other policies is insane and could destroy the party.
In the longer term is this minority status what we have to live for? That's a real possibility, but not necessarily a bad future. There are more Republicans than Dems right now. They simply outnumber us and the tyranny of the majority is in place. The next thought is so what? They did everything wrong in the last election and won. Is it possible for them to repeat it? Can they meld the pocketbook and religious sides of the party with the anti-terror rhetoric? Or maybe the anti-terror rhetoric is exactly that. They know that the GOP would explode if their were no terrorist threat. So let's block the intelligence reforms and fight a war that distracts us from the real threat. They can look like they are doing something about it while at the same time, not really doing anything about it.
Next step is to destroy the opposition before we destroy ourselves. Pass through the "ownership society" reforms and make the Democratic Party irrelevent. Beat them on their "reformist" rhetoric and make everyone a "stockholder" who wants smaller government.
Then what is the Democratic Party to do? What is our long-term goal? There are plenty of very smart folks in DC that are trying to come up with something. Do we just impede the progress of the GOP? Move things along and look like the party of progress? Stick to our values? Find a 21st Century solution? Reinvent ourselves? Revert to the past?
How about wait? Bush's term will be over in the next four years. The Dems obstruct everything. It's almost impossible for seats to move too much more in Congress, just wait. Next go around, we harness what we have and move things to the middle. We should be able to get enough $$ with the Internet. We should also get smarter about values. But thing we have to remember is that every Presidential Democratic Candidate in the last 50 years has been an individual that was outside the party (versus someone like the Bushies that can't function w/o the party). We have to wait and pray that Jimmy Carter will come from out of the woods. We have to get the party back into the South and winning there. Less divisive racial/identity politics and more policies based around a common theme (community, opportunity, responsibility anyone?) If it doesn't fit in the context of the theme, we ditch it.
posted by Spud at 12:58 PM
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