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Second Kick from an Old Donkey A majority of Americans are
beginning to see through Bush and the narrow-minded arrogance of his
headstrong administration. There is a good chance that their dishonesty
will at last be recognized by a majority. But that doesn't necessarily
mean that they'll vote for us in 2006 and 2008.
Howard Dean, the only one chosen to represent us all until we elect a
president, is very actively extending and assisting a truly national
Democratic organization. He emphasizes community. But he is not in a
position to speak for our Senators, Representatives, or future candidates
for office, though he and they substantially agree on issues, on
objections to Republican folly, and on civic values.But so far most of their lists of Party goals, in the form of "agendas" –
intended for the common good – have been more appropriate for legislative
debates than for a political philosophy that explains everything we stand
for or oppose. Without such an explanation our ultimate motives won’t be
understood by people who vote against us because of a single issue. We
lose elections when voters have no idea about what essentially
distinguishes us from Republicans.
We must take the offensive by criticizing what we can see that Republicans
actually stand for, not in rhetoric, but in what they do and hope to do.
That will help us approach the task of articulating, in contrast, an open
and honest political philosophy of our own. We must publicly question
Republican motives and relentlessly criticize their propaganda.The danger of "centrism" is that almost every step in that direction makes
it harder for us to deny the moral legitimacy of Republican individualism
especially when it speaks in the name of religions that urge quite the
opposite of self-aggrandizement.
Maggie Thatcher (Reagan's soul-mate) said "There's no such thing as
society, only the individual and the family." "God wants us to be rich"
said a chaplain at a Republican Convention. Republicans even want
privatized Social Security to accumulate heritable wealth for investors
(instead of simply insuring retirement). What they mean is "We're all in
this alone!" For them selfishness is a virtue, ownership more important
than any other private right.We must urge our leaders and think tanks to criticize Republican
conservatives in terms of social morality. We Democrats reflect the best
combination of personal freedom and social justice. We should study the
complex history of philosophical and religious ideas that have influenced
present political doctrines. Otherwise we will continue losing ground in
the struggle to frame a general concept of what we stand for as the truly
public spirited party.
See First Kick |
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From the GDCC newsletter of June 2005. |
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Gloucester
