The Status Of The Democratic Party

Great Discussion from the Public Radio Program "On Point", about the Status of the Democratic Party.

Included in the discussion are Donna Brazile and Mr. Markos Moulitsas himself, the founder of the Blog Daily Kos. Markos helps dissect the Democratic Party.

(Link Below)

Markos brings up some great points about the Democratic Party, regarding structural problems with the Party and the strategy that is needed. For years I have been screaming about many of the same ideas that Markos mentions. Interesting to see that there are a few people out there who share my view about the lack of Progressive infrastructure.

No matter what ideas Democrats, Progressives, Independents or any other groups have; if they don't have the kind of media infrastructure that Republicans have, they will not be allowed to share their ideas or their "message" effectively. It's a little difficult to get a message out when Conservative Republicans practically control the radio airwaves and much of Television. There are a limited number of outlets for Progressives to use to get any sort of message out. And when Democrats do manage to get a message out, Republicans are able to hijack the message, distort it, or discredit the messenger ("Swiftboating" their victims). John Kerry was literally destroyed in a way that I have never seen anyone destroyed before. And you can even go back to 1999 and 2000. Look at all the ideas that Bush stole from Gore...regarding healthcare and several other ideas. Bush made several of Al Gores ideas appear as his own. Gore was never able to reclaim his own ideas after that. That was a result of Republican media dominance.

Republicans have spent the last 20 years or so building their infrastructure. Even if Democratics pull off a miracle in 2006, and/or 2008, the trend of the country overall is still going toward the Republican side...mainly because they control the debate so well. Their support network in the media and in corporate America allows them to dominate almost unimpeded.

I also agree with Markos when he talks about the flawed idea of "Politics being local" and that Democrats must concentrate on local elections. This is nonsense. Democrats must do both. The idea of "politics is local" is a little outdated. Overall it is still a good strategy.... if you have 15-20 years for it to work. WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH TIME. Politics move so much faster today than in the past anyway. The problem with the "Politics is local" idea is that it assumes there is a local political base for Democrats to work with. Look at the recent election maps. Some 70-75% or more of the local Counties across this country are Republican...firmly controlled by the Republican Party. It would take decades for Democrats to take and hold that kind of ground. It would take more than political change...a fundamental cultural shift would have to take place within the U.S. for this to change. Democrats must groom charismatic State Governors, a few Senators and Representatives, but most of all, they must groom charismatic Presidential Candidates. National Politics is where Democrats, Progressives and Independents must focus, at least in the short term. In general it is my opinion that the Republican Party must be fought from two directions...from the top down (National Political level) and from the bottom up (grassroots level)....simultaneously. It would be a mistake to focus on the local level at this point, where Democrats don't even have much of a base to work with, while neglecting national politics.

I had to disagree with one thing Brazile mentioned. She mentioned that the war in Yugoslavia didn't cost any U.S. lives- comparing it to the war in Iraq. According to Brazile, war is o.k. as long as there are no U.S. casualties. It's a flawed way to think of war. Because with any war you start, you must be willing to spill a lot of American blood, because things often do not go as planned. From the time that a war is started, leaders must be willing to follow through under the worst case scenarios. If they can't do that, then they shouldn't start a war. In other words, this kind of thinking that Brazile supports will lead the country into all sorts of conflicts. This is why I often look at Republicans and Democrats as being one in the same. Both Parties have the same imperial, pro-war tendancies, despite the Democrats fake act, pretending to be Pro Peace, when they are far from it. One only has to look at their history to know that the idea that Democrats are pro Peace is a lie.

It's as if Brazile is oblivious to all the unintended consequences that came about in the war against Yugoslavia. It strained relations with China and nearly caused an all out conflict with Russia....when Russia entered a live NATO area of operations...something that never took place before. Not to mention all the civilian casualties from that war.

I have my doubts that Democrats will be able to capitalize on Republican stumblings to take back Congress this year. I am even less enthusiastic about 2008. If Hillary Clinton is the best candidate that Democrats can put forward, then they are in very serious trouble as a Party. I recently took some time to research possible Democratic candidates for 2008, and this has to be one of the worst periods for Democrats. They just don't have many promising candidates. They have several that are qualified, but few that are electable to an American public that is increasingly anti-intellectual. Americans elect Presidents based more on style rather than substance. This means that Democrats would really need a strong Southern or Midwestern Democrat, and there are really none to be found. I am hoping for a dark horse to emerge and take over the entire stage...the same way that Bill Clinton did (although i'm no fan of Clinton). This nation has a tradition of producing these powerful charismatic figures.

I am keeping my fingers crossed anyway. Ultimately for me, the Democrats are the lesser of two evils. I hope for the day when the U.S. really becomes a true Democracy and we have AT LEAST 3 or 4 major national political parties, rather than the same Party with two faces. With at least 4 political Parties in government, no one Party would be able to get away with the nonsense that we see over and over again from the Republicans.

To listen to this excellent program, click audio links at the top of the linked page.


To learn more about Markos (Kos) Moulitsas Visit his blog, The Daily Kos. From there, Click "About".