Soul-Searching Democrats
The Democratic Party is undergoing one of its periodic paroxysms of soul-searching.
It’s not a pretty sight.
The soul-searching has long been bubbling in the blogs. It bubbled onto the front page of The New York Times this week.
But it’s nothing new. The same battle has been going on between Liberal Democrats and Not-So-Liberal Democrats for years.
This time it’s been brewing since 1992, when Bill Clinton beat the True Liberal-Jesse Jackson wing of the party and won the White House. That brought an eight-year truce.
But now, out of the White House since 2000 and in the congressional minority even longer, Democrats are redrawing the lines and resuming fire.
The bloggers and Real Liberals say the answer is simple:
- Off with the heads of the consultant class, whom they blame for the defeats of Al Gore and John Kerry;
- Out with the centrist, “cautious” New Democrat approach of Bill (and Hillary)
- Stand up for our “real beliefs” and stop worrying about whether the voters agree with us, because they’ll admire us for standing behind our principles.
Problem is, what are those real beliefs?
Raise taxes? Or cut taxes, as Governor Easley has proposed here and
Pull out of
There is no agreement. Democrats, unlike Republicans, do not march in lockstep on issues like taxes and foreign policy.
So, as always, we will argue about it this year. As always, each Senate and House candidate will chart his or her own course – on the campaign trail and (if elected) in
As always, the resolution will not come until the 2008 Presidential-nomination battle. Either Hillary Clinton will win, or a “Real Democrat” will. Just like McGovern vs. Jackson in 1972, Carter vs. Udall in 1976, Carter vs. Kennedy in 1980, Mondale vs. Hart in 1984, Dukakis vs. all others in 1988, Clinton vs. Tsongas/Brown in 1992 and Kerry vs. Dean in 2004.
If the Democratic nominee wins the White House, the battle will largely subside.
If she (or he) loses, Democrats will once against form up a firing squad in a circle.
It’s what we are best at.
Soul-Searching Democrats
The Democratic Party is undergoing one of its periodic paroxysms of soul-searching.
It’s not a pretty sight.
The soul-searching has long been bubbling in the blogs. It bubbled onto the front page of The New York Times this week.
But it’s nothing new. The same battle has been going on between Liberal Democrats and Not-So-Liberal Democrats for years.
This time it’s been brewing since 1992, when Bill Clinton beat the True Liberal-Jesse Jackson wing of the party and won the White House. That brought an eight-year truce.
But now, out of the White House since 2000 and in the congressional minority even longer, Democrats are redrawing the lines and resuming fire.
The bloggers and Real Liberals say the answer is simple:
- Off with the heads of the consultant class, whom they blame for the defeats of Al Gore and John Kerry;
- Out with the centrist, “cautious” New Democrat approach of Bill (and Hillary)
- Stand up for our “real beliefs” and stop worrying about whether the voters agree with us, because they’ll admire us for standing behind our principles.
Problem is, what are those real beliefs?
Raise taxes? Or cut taxes, as Governor Easley has proposed here and
Pull out of
There is no agreement. Democrats, unlike Republicans, do not march in lockstep on issues like taxes and foreign policy.
So, as always, we will argue about it this year. As always, each Senate and House candidate will chart his or her own course – on the campaign trail and (if elected) in
As always, the resolution will not come until the 2008 Presidential-nomination battle. Either Hillary Clinton will win, or a “Real Democrat” will. Just like McGovern vs. Jackson in 1972, Carter vs. Udall in 1976, Carter vs. Kennedy in 1980, Mondale vs. Hart in 1984, Dukakis vs. all others in 1988, Clinton vs. Tsongas/Brown in 1992 and Kerry vs. Dean in 2004.
If the Democratic nominee wins the White House, the battle will largely subside.
If she (or he) loses, Democrats will once against form up a firing squad in a circle.
It’s what we are best at.