Note just tilting at windmills.
There's been a lot of talk about the possibility of Katrina being the "Democrats' 911" (as Ryan Lizza puts it). That's mainly because the one overarching lesson from the catastrophe is the need for effective, self-confident, authoritative government which the Democrats, for all their faults, still basically believe in. But it's also the historical moment. In 2001 Bush had just run a fairly clean, progressive-for-a-Republican-if-you-didn't-know-any-better campaign against his Democratic opponent. His domestic policy indescretions were still relatively minor (if you weren't a union member or an environmentalist). And at a time when Americans wanted a Strong Leader to rally around, he and his p.r. division offered us just that -- quite skillfully pandering to our fear and anger without actually sounding like they were channelling it.
That was then. The Bushies have since dropped any pretense of being "uniters", domestically or otherwise. They've pretty much established themselves as a heady combination of incompetent, messianistic, opportunistic and thuggish. The public is sick of the messianism in Iraq and at least vaguely aware that Bush might not be such a swell guy afterall. Marc Schmidt is almost certainly exactly right in forecasting the GOP's real motivation in rebuilding the Gulf region: turning the lemons of a big-government-requiring reconstruction into the lemonade of forcing the Dems to defend their "interests groups" (like working people) against "the people" like it did with Joe Lieberman's Homeland Security bill right before the 2002 midterm. But we have precedent now, and we're not battling stratospheric approval ratings. Any Dem that falls for the "bipartisan", "blame game" trick this time (Donna Brazille, this means you) really doesn't deserve a defence.
There are some signs that the Dems are aware of their chance. Lizza notes Harry Reid's quick legislative offerings in the wake of the August recess (I like the symbolism too: see, Reid can actually be productive on vacation!) Bill Clinton's recent call for the repeal of the tax cuts is most very welcome and we need to hear it echoed over and over. But the real pay-off is going to be longer-term, just like it was after 911, the reconfiguring of the national mood in a liberal or at least neoliberal, smart-government direction.
This, and the fact that I've been reading Charles Peters' 1987 autobiography Tilting at Windmills all week made me decide to be lazy and, instead of writing anything original, post Peters' advice to Democrats in the wake of the 2002 midterm defeat, which remains some of the best so-simple-it's brilliant advice dished out to the "party of the people" since Bush took office. Some substitutions are necessary: say "reconstruction cost cutting" for "Wall Street reform"; "anti-worker Davis-Bacon repeal" for "Harvey Pitt"; "trailer park towns" for "prescription drug benefits"; "backdoor voucher programs" for "leave-no-child-behind"; "civilian engineering and preparedness issues" for "military" etc. But the basic message -- be brave and explain yourselves -- is timeless:
IN THE WAKE OF THE DISASTER last month, here's my advice to my fellow Democrats:
Don't let the Republicans seize the middle. Expose the phoniness of Wall Street reform a la Harvey Pitt, of prescription drug benefits that don't give enough help to enough people, and of leave-no-child-behind education programs that do not provide the money to really improve poor schools. When the Republicans actually have good ideas, as in the case of seeking higher standards and better teachers, you can warmly embrace them, confident in the, sure and certain knowledge that they will be few and far between. The GOP is far too firmly rooted in its right wing.
Lead the base; don't follow its lowest common denominator. The Democratic base consists of women, minorities, and unions, especially those of public employees and teachers, who are the party's major contributors. It is essential that we lead our base instead of selling out to its worst side, as the Republicans have too often done with their judicial and regulatory appointments.
...
Don't talk down. Don't treat people who oppose liberal policies such as gun control and abortion as cretins. Often they are workers and farmers who would be our natural political allies on economic issues. Treating them with disdain doesn't win elections. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter understood this, and they are the only Democrats to win the presidency in the last 34 years.
Have faith in the common sense of the people and explain. Too often Democrats assume the public can't or won't understand. For example, the real position of most Democrats on Iraq was that there was no need to rush to decision in October because there was no evidence of imminent danger and that Bush's effort to keep the issue on the front burner in September and October was designed to keep economic issues that would favor the Democrats off the front pages. Why didn't they explain themselves? Doing so would have enabled them to expose Bush's cynical manipulation and at the same time put the spotlight on his administration's economic and regulatory failures.
...
On health care, the Democrats need to explain that they have been the party that from Truman to Johnson to Bill and Hillary Clinton has tried to expand the protection of the American people against the expense of medical care, The greatest challenge for the party is to learn from the failure of the Clinton plan and develop a health program for all that the American people can and will support, for this is our greatest need.
On regulation, the Democrats must explain that they have been the protectors of the environment, economic fairplay, and public health and safety, and that the Republican deregulators have usually been the enemy.
Where they don't know enough to explain, they need to learn. Democrats must accept their responsibility to master military issues. We need new Gary Harts and Sam Nunns. And that means a lot of Democrats have to learn a lot more than they know now so that they can discuss equipment and manpower needs with authority. This is not only relevant to national preparedness but to making sure that we do not waste money that could be spent on health and education to develop weapons that we don't truly need.
Finally Democrats must always remember that we are the party not of the privileged but of the people, that we have a proud history of protecting the powerless from the powerful, of caring about what happens to average everyday Americans and of appealing to the generosity and idealism in the human spirit. If we remain true to ourselves, victory at the polls will come.
Be brave. Be informed. And tell it like it is.
That was then. The Bushies have since dropped any pretense of being "uniters", domestically or otherwise. They've pretty much established themselves as a heady combination of incompetent, messianistic, opportunistic and thuggish. The public is sick of the messianism in Iraq and at least vaguely aware that Bush might not be such a swell guy afterall. Marc Schmidt is almost certainly exactly right in forecasting the GOP's real motivation in rebuilding the Gulf region: turning the lemons of a big-government-requiring reconstruction into the lemonade of forcing the Dems to defend their "interests groups" (like working people) against "the people" like it did with Joe Lieberman's Homeland Security bill right before the 2002 midterm. But we have precedent now, and we're not battling stratospheric approval ratings. Any Dem that falls for the "bipartisan", "blame game" trick this time (Donna Brazille, this means you) really doesn't deserve a defence.
There are some signs that the Dems are aware of their chance. Lizza notes Harry Reid's quick legislative offerings in the wake of the August recess (I like the symbolism too: see, Reid can actually be productive on vacation!) Bill Clinton's recent call for the repeal of the tax cuts is most very welcome and we need to hear it echoed over and over. But the real pay-off is going to be longer-term, just like it was after 911, the reconfiguring of the national mood in a liberal or at least neoliberal, smart-government direction.
This, and the fact that I've been reading Charles Peters' 1987 autobiography Tilting at Windmills all week made me decide to be lazy and, instead of writing anything original, post Peters' advice to Democrats in the wake of the 2002 midterm defeat, which remains some of the best so-simple-it's brilliant advice dished out to the "party of the people" since Bush took office. Some substitutions are necessary: say "reconstruction cost cutting" for "Wall Street reform"; "anti-worker Davis-Bacon repeal" for "Harvey Pitt"; "trailer park towns" for "prescription drug benefits"; "backdoor voucher programs" for "leave-no-child-behind"; "civilian engineering and preparedness issues" for "military" etc. But the basic message -- be brave and explain yourselves -- is timeless:
IN THE WAKE OF THE DISASTER last month, here's my advice to my fellow Democrats:
Don't let the Republicans seize the middle. Expose the phoniness of Wall Street reform a la Harvey Pitt, of prescription drug benefits that don't give enough help to enough people, and of leave-no-child-behind education programs that do not provide the money to really improve poor schools. When the Republicans actually have good ideas, as in the case of seeking higher standards and better teachers, you can warmly embrace them, confident in the, sure and certain knowledge that they will be few and far between. The GOP is far too firmly rooted in its right wing.
Lead the base; don't follow its lowest common denominator. The Democratic base consists of women, minorities, and unions, especially those of public employees and teachers, who are the party's major contributors. It is essential that we lead our base instead of selling out to its worst side, as the Republicans have too often done with their judicial and regulatory appointments.
...
Don't talk down. Don't treat people who oppose liberal policies such as gun control and abortion as cretins. Often they are workers and farmers who would be our natural political allies on economic issues. Treating them with disdain doesn't win elections. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter understood this, and they are the only Democrats to win the presidency in the last 34 years.
Have faith in the common sense of the people and explain. Too often Democrats assume the public can't or won't understand. For example, the real position of most Democrats on Iraq was that there was no need to rush to decision in October because there was no evidence of imminent danger and that Bush's effort to keep the issue on the front burner in September and October was designed to keep economic issues that would favor the Democrats off the front pages. Why didn't they explain themselves? Doing so would have enabled them to expose Bush's cynical manipulation and at the same time put the spotlight on his administration's economic and regulatory failures.
...
On health care, the Democrats need to explain that they have been the party that from Truman to Johnson to Bill and Hillary Clinton has tried to expand the protection of the American people against the expense of medical care, The greatest challenge for the party is to learn from the failure of the Clinton plan and develop a health program for all that the American people can and will support, for this is our greatest need.
On regulation, the Democrats must explain that they have been the protectors of the environment, economic fairplay, and public health and safety, and that the Republican deregulators have usually been the enemy.
Where they don't know enough to explain, they need to learn. Democrats must accept their responsibility to master military issues. We need new Gary Harts and Sam Nunns. And that means a lot of Democrats have to learn a lot more than they know now so that they can discuss equipment and manpower needs with authority. This is not only relevant to national preparedness but to making sure that we do not waste money that could be spent on health and education to develop weapons that we don't truly need.
Finally Democrats must always remember that we are the party not of the privileged but of the people, that we have a proud history of protecting the powerless from the powerful, of caring about what happens to average everyday Americans and of appealing to the generosity and idealism in the human spirit. If we remain true to ourselves, victory at the polls will come.
Be brave. Be informed. And tell it like it is.
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