We liberals are going to take back the Democrats
Published by punkass marc September 30th, 2006 in Politics, Liberal DemocratsIn the wake of the Democrats’ failure to put up a real fight against the legalization of torture and the ability to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus, two things about our party have become clear (if they weren’t before):
1) They are weak and rudderless.
2) They have abandoned their liberal roots.
Many staunch Democratic voters feel hurt and abandoned by this latest debacle, but it’s hardly the first time we’ve felt this way. Disenchanted voters who hate the conservative agenda have even less reason to turn out and vote for a party that can’t distinguish itself from the right wing.
Right now, a number of incumbent Republicans are weak, and the Democrats stand to benefit. In theory. The races are close, but based on the outrage and dismay over their latest debacle, and considering the number of times previous we’ve gone into close elections with high hopes only to have those hopes dashed by hook or by crook, I fail to see how the Democrats will emerge victorious.
Should they somehow take back the House, it will be entirely because of who they are not. The Democrats have no positive identity, nothing to rally voters to their cause outside of hating someone else. Even then, they adopt the hated people’s agenda and language, arguing only that the hated people have taken too long or spent too much.
As I wrote on Monday, the Democrats can’t get new votes this way. Republicans don’t believe they’ll be better at waging war, and disenchanted liberals see them talking just like conservatives. Ask John Kerry how well this strategy works.
Only deep unpopularity by an incumbent Republican president or Congressional majority ever results in Democratic gains anymore, and that’s no strategy for long term success. If the Democrats want to regain long-term control of the White House and Congress, they have to tap into the liberal agenda. Not only is it the right thing to do, poll data suggests it’s quite popular.
If that’s the case, then we have to do something to get the Democrats to see the value in returning to their liberal roots. They must be convinced that if they start pushing a liberal agenda, the votes will come. We have to show them that going liberal is the right thing to do, which is what we care about, and the best way to remain in power, which is what they care about. As I’ve said before, this is the essence of win-win.
We just have to get the idea out there, and we have to do it in a focused manner. As Dick Cheney knows, buckshot hurts, but lasers kill.
To that end, what if we had a united liberal voice to communicate to the party the power and the hope that comes with returning to liberalism? What if we could show how many Democratic voters feel abandoned and how many potential new voters would be gained from a return to our roots? What if we decriminalized the world “liberal” and reattached it to the notion of being a Democrat?
Why, if I’m not mistaken, I think we’d have ourselves a majority party that fights for the liberal agenda again.
That’s why I’m starting Liberal Democrats.
The idea here is to provide voiceless Democrats and potential new party voters with membership in a group that speaks a focused liberal agenda to the Democratic Party. It’s also going to show the Democrats just how successful a return to liberalism can be for the party. While groups like MoveOn.org and ActBlue have done a great job mobilizing money and people to achieve immediate election results, there’s no group out there protecting the long-term Democratic product. I think we can fill that need.
At first, we have to get the Democrats to endorse a few broadly popular liberal ideas and begin formulating policies/platforms to address them. Once they do, we have to show them the votes. It’s as simple as that.
The ideas that strike me as big wins are:
-environmental responsibility via sustainable American energy
-health care reform for every citizen in America
-accountable, transparent governance
I know there are a million other liberal issues to address, many of which are deeply important to all of us, but the 3 above speak to almost every single American, and I think they represent the most electable platforms for a new national Democratic agenda. If we concentrate on these ideas first, there’s a good chance that we’ll be able to show the Democrats some real successes.
I know there’s been a lot of outrage and frustration expressed about the Democrats. I hope that once we officially launch our presence, you’ll direct some of that energy to joining with us. It’s not gonna cost you a thing, and we’ll need as many names as possible to show the Democrats how serious we are.
Once we get a critical mass, we can begin making a few targeted efforts to draw Democratic and media attention to our ideas. It may be as easy as flooding Howard Dean’s office with a postcard from each of us, for example, or coming up with our creative ways to use our size to good effect. A few minutes from every member put towards a single idea will cause quite an impact.
If you believe in liberal ideas, then we have to take back the Democrats, however long it takes. They’re our only hope of making systemic changes for the good of all. I know there are millions of people who feel just like we do and want more from the party.
I’m a few weeks away from the official launch, but I hope you’ll consider participation. It may seem like a longshot now, but if all our hours of frustration can be refocused into a few minutes each month of communicating our strong, simple message to the party, we can affect real change. I can’t tell you how long it might take for that to happen, but I do know that we’ll feel a lot better right away if we starting trying together.
39 Responses to “We liberals are going to take back the Democrats”
- 1 Pingback on Nov 4th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
That’s ambitious, but I’m in.
Try to push mothers and babies on the health care tip. Everyone loves babies. Or maybe I am projecting..
Kyso,
In some ways, totally. But on the flip side, all people will have to do is add their name to the membership list, assuming they agree with the mission statement. If enough people do that, we will already have gone a long way to legitimacy. I think that step alone could lead to a big payoff for a miniscule amount of effort.
Yes. Hell yes. But shouldn’t a provision for equal treatment for all humanity be appropriate? We have to pound the “pursuit of happiness” angle relentlessly if same-sex marriage is to ever be universally excepted. Of course, I may be just trying to get too much all at one time. I’m just jaded as to the trajectory of American politics.
Marc, I posited this ages ago, years ago when I was a commenter but last time I did on this blog you whipped out a variant on the naderite strawman to slap it down and I haven’t bothered because every other time I put this idea forward someone whipped out the nader canard and there didn’t appear to be any real support for this, so while I obviously agree with this totally, as I have for several years now, this also feels like a betrayal somewhat - though I am still behind this 100%.
Out of psychological interest, what finally made you see sense?
Thank you for taking this action, Marc. I agree with Kyso that it’s a bit ambitious, but there have been successful grassroots movements in the past that were also called “long shots,” so I believe that we definitely have a chance here if we unite.
Marc, I am with you, brother.
R. Mildred, I believe Marc is proposing an organization to contribute thought leadership to the existing Democratic Party, not an alternate party. Am I missing something?
It’s the same thing basically, I never got around to posting hte full idea but it was basically this.
Sorry if I sounded bitter or pissed off marc, I’m feeling really burned out atm so I’m acting like more of an ass than usual - I didn’t mean to snap at belledame in the other thread either I ended up going through most of the week without food or electricity or anything because of a bullshit complication in my livethat would not exist if the bankruptcy bill hadn’t passed and if I hadn’t been too stupid to remember to check the local area of my new apartment for basic amenities like ATMs that don’t add huge surcharges when you try to take money out.
Ugh, now I’m whining, I’ll shut up except to say this; it’s a really great idea, that’s all that matters.
RM,
I am not sure, maybe I misunderstood what you were positing. I probably thought you were proposing a 3rd party idea, which maybe you weren’t As Betty says, I am proposing a group designed to return Democrats to liberalism. I don’t think it’s too late to save them, and us.
I only really explained the thing in some thread on pandagon that has been lost to time by now, but it went: Boycott the dems (whether merely the DINOs or all dems, it depended on how I was feeling at the time I wrote it) enmasse and let the dems know why liberals and progressives are boycotting the dems, therefore scaring the shit out of the dems as they realise that they actually need our support to survive as a party henceforth leading them to either foolishly try to go further rightward for votes (which won’t work for them) or to stand up (i.e. act like an opposition party) for left wing principles to get our votes back, thus stemming the tide of neo-con bastardry and returning this country to sanity.
AFTER THAT IS ACHIEVED, start doing everything in our power to demolish the duopoly because the dems can never be expected to demolish the international system of helotry or truly deconstruct much of the architecture of oppression that exists in america (this last part is for progressives more than liberals and can only be achieved once the world is at least pretending to be sane again).
While boycotting the dems financially and vote wise, I put forth that we should build a local level organised progressive base with the money and time we would otherwise have been spending on the dems so that there was something ready for the second phase and because organising progressives into a real force in american politics again like back in the 60’s and 70’s is just a good thing in general - it’s the forth tier of the american system of democratic government that went missing for the period between the civil rights bill being passed and the clinton impeachment in which the right consolidated their power and set up everything needed to make this hell we’re stuck in right now.
How much of all that is involved in your plan? because I may be misunderstanding your plan here and pissing and moaning for no good reason.
And really, don’t worry too much, my assbaggery is just a bit of sour grapes combined with my depressive cycle kicking in early so you really can ignore my whining.
Hi Marc,
Just letting you know that I have linked this post on my own blog since I don’t quite understand how to use trackback yet. Here is the address if you want to look. Thanks!
http://fugitivefromgilead.blogspot.com/
Absolutely. Just tell me where to sign.
There’s a tradition within the Democratic party of starting alternative state parties and getting them seated at the conventions. I believe that the Minnesota Farmers and Workers Party is still the party accredited to the Democratic conventions from Minnesota, and that’s an overtly socialist party. I think the saving of the Dems would be for groups in the states to start alternative parties for the express purpose of going to the Democratic conventions and replacing the current state parties. Wouldn’t be possible in all states, but perhaps the movement would grow.
The Dems we have now in the national legislature aren’t worth spit.
Thanks all! I won’t bore the punkassaudience with non-stop yammering about this process, but I’ll drop an update at the end of the week.
Since when is accountable, transparent government only a “liberal” value?
Since January, 2001, apparently.
Hee.
I know you want to stick to the three but I think you should consider at least one more, getting our deficit under control. We are headed for a recession or depression at this rate.
I’d also like to see more worker’s protections and many people are discouraged that wages are not keeping up with inflation…and the fact that all this offshoring, deregulation, and other Republican hoodoo was supposed to keep prices down in the first place but obviously isn’t. I realize that you want to keep it short and sweet for now, but hope you will keep those in mind for later.
I’m in and will check back for more.
National Health Care? Count me in. Everybody in this great country should be able to have quality health care. No one should spend their life working for a living only to find themselves broke and on the same page with people who put absolutely nothing back to society.
As far as other liberal agendas. Bullocks!!! They’ve done more to ruin this country than entire generations of Bush adminstrations. Why not have entitlements for all? Why not create more special interest groups with ersatz legislation to allow gay marriages? Just what we need yet another self proclaimed minority eager to use their very own special “card” whenever they feel they want something. Let’s open our borders too and let the illegals do the Republicans dirty work for them. We won’t have to worry about the Bushies busting unions the “liberals” will do that for us.
Um, I think you took a wrong turn somewhere. The Dittohead convention is a few hundred miles away from here.
Why not have entitlements for all?
Huh?
Bullocks!!!
Psst…it’s bollocks.
Jack, I think he wants to know why we don’t just go completely crazy and let straight people get married too.
JackGoff - “Bullocks!!! Psst…it’s bollocks. “
And we’re the Sex Pistols!!!…
Junk, are you crazy? Do you have any idea how many heterosexuals there are? Letting them get married would be madness, madness! Even if it weren’t an affront to my God, I would still oppose it based on the lack of parking around my local courthouse.
Bollocks!!! Bullocks!!! I thought this was a liberal sounding off board. Poetic license rains (sic). Never let the truth get in the way of a good conspiracy. Theorhetically (sic) speaking that is.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good conspiracy
You sure you didn’t think this was a right-wing board? We’re not the ones talking about the “homosexual agenda,” like granting personal rights to oppressed groups is some sort of conspiracy against the oppressors. Go read the Free Republic for your conspiracy theories and untruths.
You add ’sic’ to your own misspellings? Why?
And what have the minorities said they want that you don’t already enjoy?
Well…. Andrew, being an employee of a quasi government agency I can tell you two things that minorities HAVE that, at the moment, I don’t enjoy. Equal opportunity for job advancement and thanks to the insidious meddling of the politically correct, the benefit of the doubt.
Jackoff, as far as “homosexual agendas” are concerned, most people could care less if others want to marry those of the same sex. A majority of people would just rather not have such an alternative life style shoved down their collective throats. Personally, I’m against those who would have such a lifestyle recognized as a viable minority therefore enabling them to use such recognition as a “card” for anything and everything they not only need but “want”. I also get a kick out of the unenlightened left blaming the Bush campaign for preying on the paranioa of their electorate by setting up the issue as one of “moral vs immoral”. The Gay Community themselves with their arrogance drew the line in the sand with such remarks as “We’re queer. We’re here. Deal with it. People did. They voted for Bush.
‘A majority of people would just rather not have such an alternative life style shoved down their collective throats. Personally, I’m against those who would have such a lifestyle recognized as a viable minority therefore enabling them to use such recognition as a “card” for anything and everything they not only need but “want”. I also get a kick out of the unenlightened left blaming the Bush campaign for preying on the paranioa of their electorate by setting up the issue as one of “moral vs immoral”. The Gay Community themselves with their arrogance drew the line in the sand with such remarks as “We’re queer. We’re here. Deal with it. People did. They voted for Bush.’
Wow, we’re quite the little Reichwing asshole aren’t we…
Ya know, “The Freepers” are always on the lookout for talented choirboys like yourself. Maybe you can do us all a favor and dump your sewage over there. After all, we’re just “the unenlightened left”, so there’s no hope our simple minds will be changed by your “enlighted” views…
A majority of people would just rather not have such an alternative life style shoved down their collective throats.
So, if a man and a woman get married, they are shoving their heterosexual lifestyle down everyone else’s throat? Is what people do in their bedroom the business of society as long as it’s consensual? Is someone in a homosexual relationship that is given the same legal and economic benefits as a similar heterosexual relationship a)detrimental to society, b)forcing their lifestyle down the throats of other people, and c)ANY OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS?
Methinks you have too much invested in controlling other people’s pursuit of happiness. (And at this point, most fuckstains like yourself go to the bestiality bullshit, which only makes sense if you think a gay person is similar to an animal.) You’re a bigot, and you’re posting at the wrong. god. damn. blog.
Equal opportunity for job advancement
Ha!
and thanks to the insidious meddling of the politically correct, the benefit of the doubt.
I gave you that, and look what you did with it. You parroted a hoary cliche and demanded other people pretend not to exist so that you don’t have to live with them.
Then you confused “marriage certificate” and “recognition as next-of-kin” with “magic lamp”.
Looks like everyone’s in a fighting mood lately. Which is fine, but don’t let a stupid troll be what gets your panties in a bunch. I sense our little red riding hood is gaining far too much satisfaction from his efforts.
In a quixotic attempt to return things vaguely in the direction of the original thread, I’d just like to note the fact that we just had a dittohead homobigot stop in and say he supports universal health care. Surprised me, actually. Well done, Marc– maybe you were right– some liberal ideas really are popular with everybody!
thanks, Quin; well, anyway, yeah, i don’t really have time for wrangiing with the dittohead homobigot, much as i’d probably relish a few good swipes.
well, i don’t have any brilliant new ideas as to how or where, but i definitely think it’s time to try something new, and radically so, since it’s pretty fucking clear that the current approaches aren’t doing the job.
has everyone seen this, by the way? “Bush Moves Closer to Martial Law?” uruknet’s not exactly mainstream, but editorializing aside, Leahy’s not exactly a foaming alarmist; and, well, see for yourselves.
http://www.uruknet.biz/?p=m27769&hd=0&size=1&l=e
Here belledame, I’ll trade you one:
“Bush seeks retroactive immunity for Violating War Crimes Act”
http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/68705,CST-EDT-REF23B.article (found via onegoodmove.org)
Put the two together, it really makes you wonder what exactly Bush’s puppetmasters really have planned. These kind of laws do not just get signed by chance.
**Comment deleted for thread drift. Let’s keep this thread on target. If you want to talk about liberals and Dems reconnecting, great. Go elsewhere for a slapfight.
-punkass marc
Wow! I take the time out to post a cordial exchange/response to people who obviously are so myopic that they can’t accept other people opinions without resorting to insults and name calling and you delete it? I gues the thought police really are bipartison. Nice job punkass marc, you’re quite the free thinker.
What you posted was way, way off topic to this thread. This post is not your editorial space to rant against leftists and war protesters — it’s about the Liberal Democrats idea.
All future diversions will also be deleted. Please stay on topic, everyone.
I gues the thought police really are bipartison. Nice job punkass marc, you’re quite the free thinker.
You can set your own blog here. Censorship is not allowing you speak anywhere. Go to the above addy and start blogging your bigoted heart out.