Battle for the soul of the Democratic Party
The graphic above depicts what many believe has occured over the past few decades. It's undeniable that the Democratic party has shifted to the right over the past 15 or so years, as it's clear that the Republican party has been dominated, some say hijacked, by those ideologically on the far right.
What does this contrast between the relative positions of the parties along the political spectrum from around 1960 to today suggest to you as far as which direction the Democratic Party should go in the future?
Has the Democratic party abandoned their base in order to compete for the large campaign donations of the wealthy and corporate interests?
Note that the Democratic Party of today is further to the right than the Republicans of the 60's. Do you agree with this assessment?
I've written a long screed on the subject, if anyone is interested, which can be found here.
posted by The Inside Dope @ 11/10/2005
2 comments
2 Comments:
As an added note, a Wall St. Journal poll recently conducted asked, "Which party has a vision for the future".
The results was Dems 41%, Republicans, 60%
This is the result of Dems pandering to the right and trying to be all things to all people.
In response to YoungDem, I conceed that the choices by necessity are fairly stark, but it would be impossible to include every nuance and possible strategy which supposedly doesn't fit into either choice.
But I would contend that no matter how you gussy it up, your message is either to continue the DLC path of moving to the right in order to appease the powers that be and the voters whom they've lied to and brainwashed, or you stand up for reality and do as you suggest, stand firm for the values and beliefs that have made the Democratic party the dominant party in this country over time.
If I could be presumptuous, I think what you're advocating would fall squarely into the choice of moving the party back to the left.
But for some reason, you're deathly afraid of the label "liberal" or "left." In addition to what you advocate, correcting the results of the right wing smear campaign and showing that the Dems are the party of morality and traditional values, the label "liberal" needs to be reclaimed as well and it should be proudly and unashamedly embraced and rehabilitated from the dirty word it's become.
I feel we're in agreement here, only you still feel it's too risky to admit that the core values of the Democratic party which has made it the party of the people for hundreds of years are definitely "liberal" and rightly so.
As a matter of fact, the very things that make this country the best in the world are "liberal" ideals of freedom and justice for all.
People who self-identify as conservatives today, if they were asked what they support on an issue by issue basis, would be far closer to what the conservatives have labeled "liberal" than they realize.
Liberal values are American values, and yes, they are moral values. The Dem positions of a few decades ago on a wide variety of issues are the positions that most people identify as the sacred values which make this country great.
I think what you're talking about is how to begin to convince those bamboozled by the massive right wing hi-jacking of the media and government that they're much more closely aligned with the Dem message than the Republican/corporate message.
That's fine.
I believe the party needs to stand up firmly and unashamedly for what it's always belived in, rather than being wish-washy and trying to appease right wingers, who, after all, will never vote for them anyway.
Just stand firm and articulate the liberal values that have always been traditional for the party, and people will follow.
But the error, in my view, is when Dems focus on only winning NOW, and thereby catering to those with a distorted conservative view on the issues. In other words, running away from liberal positions because of the risk of defeat.
The right didn't do this, and the country responded. They stood rock solid for what they believed in, even if it meant defeat. And while Dems appeared squishy and waffling and flip-flopping, the right eventually were massively victorious.
They stood by their beliefs no matter what, and didn't cater to the left in order to win.
In doing so, they ensured that they had a solid following and were rightly known as people who A. Believed in something, and B. Would fight for it.
The Dems are instead known for A. Not standing for anything in particular, since they'll change and go right at the drop of a hat if they think it will benefit them, and B. Being hacks and political whores, so to speak, who will do or say anything to get elected.
Stand up and be counted, and don't run scared thinking you have to be a corporate candidate who is for gun rights, pro-life, anti-gay, etc.
Stand up and believe in something, and even those who may oppose you on some issues will respect you enough to go with you.
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