an open Letter to the Democrats / cc to Philip Terzian et.al.

In some circles the conventional wisdom regarding the Democratic party following the 2004 election goes like this: it is too liberal, and (as Philip Terzian, associate editor of The Providence [R.I.] Journal wrote) “the hard-line, left-wing, anti-war, feminist, affirmative-action, abortion factions that dominate the Democratic Party have caused it nothing but grief.” Apparently what Democrats should do – according to these birds – is become soft centrists or hard-line rightists; pro-war, patriarchal, Jim Crow, right-to-lifers. Cow-towing to evangelical hypocrites would, supposedly, be advantageous as well.
Now the erudite crowd holding this position would certainly cry foul and claim I’ve mischaracterized them, but what else is new? It is crystal clear (as that old liberal [by today’s standards] Richard Nixon used to say) that these ginks think the Democrats lost because they weren’t Republican enough and that for Democrats to win they have to stop working for the people and start duping the people a la W & Co.
Well, just the facts, ma’am.
On one level their argument is ludicrous: the Republicans skillfully exploited prejudice against gays, immigrants, and foreigners; promulgated fantastic fears of relatively unthreatening “evil doers”; lied about all sorts of “plans” they had to help the world; translated an attack on New York and Washington by reactionary religious terrorists into an excuse to wage an unrelated war they had been planning for years; and the Democrats’ problem – supposedly - was that they chose not to behave similarly – something which, apparently, they must do now to ever have any chance of success.
I said it was ludicrous, and it is - to anyone who sees the goal of government as serving the people.
On the other hand, the argument makes sense if both parties’ goal is to rule over, rather than serve, the people. Obviously, the Republicans were much better at manipulating the voters, and the easiest way for the Democrats to replace them (and I think Machiavelli would agree) is to beat the R’s at their own game. Fuck the people.
What a sad state of affairs. Hardly anyone is calling for courage or heroism or steadfast resistance to venal self-promotion. No, instead the Democrats are letting themselves be criticized as foolish for whatever weak, half-hearted resistance they occasionally present.
What the Democratic party must do is turn its attention to helping the vast majority of Americans live a decent life: a decent job, a livable wage, health care, and a secure retirement. Let the Republicans continue helping the minority that makes $200,000 and more a year. Let the Democrats help the people have a decent life.
If the Democrats can help us find the hope and means to better feed, clothe, house, and care for the health of our families; and to feel more secure about our parents’ – and our own – retirement, then the Republicans will no longer be a majority representing a minority, but what they truly are, a minority pushing the prerogatives of a minority.
Those who suggest cloning Democrats from Republican stem cells understand and respect power but are hypocrites when it comes to the vaunted notions of what America supposedly stands for. Come the revolution, we’ll have to fix that.