Democrats Can’t Run On Their Record Or Away From It
Much of what one reads in opinion columns or on blogposts is little more than cheerleading. And these days the Democrats seem for the most part to be whistling heroically in the dark.
One exception is Bill Galston, an honest liberal who served as Bill Clinton’s domestic policy advisor. In a post on The New Republic’s website, he pulls no punches with regard to the dilemma faced by his party.
After running through the most recent polling data, he concludes, “The art of democratic leadership is to mobilize public majorities around measures that promote the general welfare. Judged against that standard, the past two years have been a failure—even if one believes that” every measure cited by Gallup “was necessary and wise. . . The bottom line: the [Democratic] majority can neither run on its record nor run away from it. Its only hope is to convince the American people that giving power to an opposition party in its angriest and least moderate mood would only make things worse.”
This would be, in my judgment, an impossible sell. Mark my words. Between now and November, everything that the Democrats do in their attempt to demonize the Tea-Party Movement and the Republicans will backfire. Moreover, as the primary results in Alaska and Delaware suggest, the polls, as currently calibrated, will understate the size of the wave scheduled to arrive on 2 November. I predict that the Republicans will take every single race where the polling data suggests that the race is at all close.
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Jun '10
Re: Democrats Can’t Run On Their Record Or Away From It
Strictly from the President's point of view, he's used up his political capital, true, but he's used it accomplishing things HE wanted done. Congressional Democrats are taking all the heat now, and he'll get a new Republican House that he can blame for all continuing problems. Since he sees himself as an island, he's maybe not the loser here. He probably expects to follow the Clinton two-term model, but without the compromises. Lots of collateral damage, but from his point of view, so what?
Sep '10
Re: Democrats Can’t Run On Their Record Or Away From It
In Clinton’s campaign against G.H.W. Bush, Democratic spokespeople consistently brought up the economy no matter what question/subject was being discussed (e.g. draft dodging, skirt chasing, etc.). It worked, albeit with the actual news of the then improving real economy being under-reported by the MSM.
In this current election, our side needs to hammer the message on “government spending,” no matter what is claimed about how the money was spent.
I saw a hamburger commercial this morning that reminded me of Mondale’s great putdown of Hart – “Where’s the Beef.” In this one, office workers are drawing credit cards to see who is going to buy lunch. A new guy says “credit card roulette, ew risky.” But when the value burger joint is named, he enthusiastically throws in his card. After joyfully buying everybody’s lunch (with borrowed money, presumably), one satisfied worker comments to another “He knows he lost, right?”
Our Republican candidates need to commit to reducing federal government spending and not be content with being the new guys signing the bill. They should point to their opponents and say, “you played credit card roulette and lost, but with our money!”
May '10
Re: Democrats Can’t Run On Their Record Or Away From It
Galston expresses a view of the “the art of democratic leadership", as you quote, that I rather like, but it puts him in conflict with much of his party and the administration. They would, I believe, express their particular art as "implement measures that we are confident will promote the general welfare (as we define it) irregardless of the desires of the public majority"
In simpler terms, Galston recognizes that the role of elected leaders in a democracy is to lead the people, not to rule the people. No wonder then that the current administration has failed. This wasn't their objective.
Nice analysis from Galston, however. I'd feel a bit of schadenfreude except that this is my President and my country too, so in the end we are all suffering together.
Re: Democrats Can’t Run On Their Record Or Away From It
G.A. Dean: Galston expresses a view of the “the art of democratic leadership", as you quote, that I rather like, but it puts him in conflict with much of his party and the administration. They would, I believe, express their particular art as "implement measures that we are confident will promote the general welfare (as we define it) irregardless of the desires of the public majority"
In simpler terms, Galston recognizes that the role of elected leaders in a democracy is to lead the people, not to rule the people. No wonder then that the current administration has failed. This wasn't their objective.
Nice analysis from Galston, however. I'd feel a bit of schadenfreude except that this is my President and my country too, so in the end we are all suffering together. · Sep 21 at 3:32pm
It is, I think, no accident that Bill Galston was excluded from this administration.
May '10
Re: Democrats Can’t Run On Their Record Or Away From It
Agreed. Each time the Democrats shout, "we're trying to save you - these conservatives are angry," huge swaths of the electorate will respond, "who isn't?"