February 17, 2005
Agenda.....huh?
Seeking a rallying cry, louder voices
Democrats want to do better at conveying the party's message. Which is what exactly?
Yes, the Democrats have chosen a new leader. Yes, they are officially all about looking ahead, not dwelling on defeat. And yes, they have vowed to take back the White House in 2008. But it's still pretty much of a downer to be a Democrat these days.
I have refrained from commenting on the election of Howard Dean to the DNC chair. I am neither over-confident he will take the party in a direction that it doesn’t need to go nor am I afraid he will bring them back to greatness and power. It is amusing that he and other Democrats feel that there is nothing wrong with their policies and ideas, and that they just need to learn to express them better.
Apparently there are some Democrats that realize there is more to it than just wrapping your message of doom and gloom in a pretty bow and saying, “Buy this or Bush will take over the world!” They want to know what liberalism stands for or what is their agenda? Watching this develop is also amusing and I have thought about submitting my Liberal Principles I to their agenda seekers.
The Liberal Agenda by The Readers of The American Prospect
We’re taking suggestions: What does liberalism stand for?
Well, we all know the basic outline of conservatism's elevator pitch: "We believe in freedom and liberty, and we're for low taxes, less government, traditional values, and a strong national defense." But what is liberalism's? We at the Prospect have, among us, attended or sat on about eleventy hundred panels since the election at which someone invariably says something like the following: "We know what conservatives stand for. But what do we stand for?" No one in Washington seems to know. So we turn to you. Give us liberalism's elevator pitch.
Here are some juicy entries:
• We're for a government that watches out for you, respects you and defends your freedoms and liberties, including freedoms from poverty, prejudice, fear, and want. --J.R., Lawrence, KS
• We're for government that stays out of bedrooms, keeps an eye on boardrooms, and protects our poorest from disease and hunger so they can focus on building a better life. --K., New York, NY
• Equality for all, privilege for none. --M.O.
Some of them are rather good (not the ones above), even if they don’t realize they are describing conservatism and not liberalism. Unfortunately, many of them are still obviously reactionary to things they believe that Conservatives are against and thus Liberals can be for. This is still not an identity. As the President so eloquently said during the debates, “A litany of complaints is not a policy.” A winner will be very difficult to choose.
Posted by price at February 17, 2005 04:58 PM