Democrats Lost at Sea

Ever since the catastrophic Bush election of 2000, the Democrats have been lost at sea.

I was quite involved in the Dean 2004 campaign. There was a glimmer of hope for a minute there. Dean never had a chance to share who he was or what he stood for with the mainstream public. He has been imaged as a ferocious, out-of-control bulldog. Actually he is quite calm, reasoned, seasoned, and educated. But his main appeal was definitely his far reaching vision of what America was about, what our problems are, and how they could be addressed. I do not think any of this received more than a half minute of attention in the popular media. Which goes to show another problem, the monster that is our press today, but I'll save that for another time.

Currently I receive news and propaganda from a number of left-leaning organizations, and I could not be more tired of these messages. I include the messages from Dean in his new role as head of the Democratic National Committee in my critique. Democrats and leftists have devolved into endless sniping and Republican-baiting. They only seem capable of criticizing, mocking, and slinging mud. Basically, I am repulsed by the behavior of my own party. In particular I am sick of all the ad hominem attacks of Republicans and members of the Religious Right. Except Pat Robertson, he deserves it.

Democrats and liberals need to get back to our vision of what America stands for and our values. I've been strongly influenced by George Lakoff in my political thinking recently, especially his book "Don't Think of an Elephant". What the Democrats have been missing is a clear idea of what they stand for. Or, if they know what they stand for, it would be nice to hear it once in a while. All I've heard from Democrats, both nationally and in my state, is endless pot-shots at elected Republicans. We need to take the time to tell people what we as Democrats stand for and why, what our understanding of the American dream is. The Republicans are light-years ahead on this, and we have to start working and building our vision now.

Comments

Louis Merlin said…
I just read Dean's rebuttal to Bush's 2006 State of the Union. It is fairly on the mark, and Dean is starting to talk about Democratic priorites. The central values seem to be centered on opportunity, security, and honesty - a good start.
February 01, 2006
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