My Dream Democratic Party, Too
In this Washington Times editorial, Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute suggests that the Democratic Party, instead of trying to position itself as more socially conservative, continue to fight for civil rights and social liberalism while returning to a tradition of championing financial responsibility:
"Where's the opposition?"
Another reform-minded Democrat was Paul Douglas, a senator from Illinois between 1949 and 1967. He was a self-proclaimed liberal and champion of civil rights but also a critic of government waste who often said: "A liberal need not be a wastrel." His 1952 book on cutting the budget argued "waste in the government benefits no one. It is a frittering-away of resources which could be used to improve the lives of people."
I believe the Democratic Party would be wildly popular among the American people if it would move in this direction. Hell, I'd vote Democrat if the Democrats came to the realization that shrinking government is right in line with other liberal values. The Libertarian Party could appeal to the same constituency if we can turn our leadership in the direction of doing realistic politics.
posted by Mike Laursen @ 11:12 PM
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3 Comments:
You know what's interesting is that Democrats seem to have moved towards fiscal responsibility much more so than the current Republican administration and Congress. I don't understand voters who think the Republicans are so much better with balancing the budget and cutting taxes. It simply doesn't reflect reality right now.
But I can't proudly call myself a Democrat anymore. I'm not socially conservative at all. And I do believe in universal health care and gay rights (including marriage) which the Democratic party does not. There are other things I differ with the Democrats on ... I'll probably continue to vote for them but I think the Green party platform is much more in line with my politics. Sadly, the Democratic party is the party of moderation and compromise. Of course, they are painted as hard left liberals but that doesn't reflect reality either.
That Republicans are viewed as fiscally conservative goes to show that you can build up a public image with mere talk and few people will look into the reality.
(To be fair, I should say there are Republicans like California State Senator, Tom McClintock. Nobody could ever accuse him of being loose with public finances.)
The Democrats are definitely going through an identity crisis, though. They're so afraid of losing elections that they're at risk of giving up on long-held principles, and loosing valuable core supporters like you.
At the core of a lot of problems, I think, is that American politics is set up to be an absolute winner-take-all game, where a slight edge at the polls gives a party absolute power.
I thought this was an interesting read from Mother Jones. It really sums up how I feel:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2005/08/the_truth_about.html
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