Political Cocktail Chatter

I was at an event last night and had a long, interesting conversation with someone who spent several years (decades?) in the trenches working on Democratic politics. It was a very typical Democrat conversation, where we both expressed outrage at what the world has become under the current Administration but also vented our real frustrations in how the Democrats are responding, and we managed to work in a little head-banging-against-the-wall about our mistakes in the 2004 election. I walked away feeling recharged, and angry, but determinedly still optimistic about the possibilities for the future. He said he does not feel optimistic himself, but he agreed that we *have* to force ourselves to try being positive otherwise we just give up.

In discussing this year's midterms, Older Democrat Guy (ODG, for this post) had some very strong criticisms for the way we're handling things. Especially with this week's Senate debate, in which Democrats divided themselves, it appears that the Party is planning on running this campaign on anti-war sentiment. The polls show that support for this war and this wartime President keep dropping, and more and more people think that going in to Iraq was a mistake. Democrats are speaking out against the war left and right (a few years too late, in my book), and with these dueling Senate proposals (indicative of even larger divisions within the party? Let's hope not.) it looks like they're trying to step over each other in proving who's more anti-war - and yet more pro-troop - than whom. Well, while I'm glad to finally see the opposition party opposing something, I agree with ODG -- an anti-war platform is *not* going to drive voter turnout. Reminding people that they feel disappointed, disillusioned, or disenfranchised doesn't really make people get off the couch or leave work to go vote in a midterm year.

And you know what will drive voter turnout on the conservative side? Have you noticed a few incendiary issues have been put on hold lately, only to be surely revived in the fall session right before the elections? Remember how successful they were drawing conservative voters in droves when they put gay marriage on the state ballots? What might it be this year....? Hmmm.... no action on immigration "reform" yet. And, wow, really? They haven't renewed the Voting Rights Act yet? My God, it's 2006. Can we really be considering that as an issue that needs any debate? Why isn't it just automatic? Ah, language provisions might require us to offer voting access in....God forbid.... Spanish??? Cynicism tells me this is one they're saving for the fall. In discussing this strategy, ODG said something chilling: "Karl Rove is back. And he's working on the midterm strategy."

And as I was saying to ODG, this is where our MORAL OUTRAGE needs to come in to play. It's insulting to our American values system, and to all that we claim to hold dear as what it means to be a nation of the people, for the people, and by the people. I was lucky enough to see Congressman John Lewis speak yesterday, remembering the events that happened 41 years ago on "Bloody Sunday." To hear him speak was truly moving, and to think that the issue of voting rights, and the more general issue of who and how someone "gets to" become American, is still being debated as a political tactic makes my skin crawl.

And this is where ODG said Democrats need to focus their energies -- this midterm election should not be about the war. It should be about what kind of America we all want to live in. Policies do reflect our values, and everything from the tax structure to economic policies favoring corporations over individuals to poverty and welfare policy to civil liberties all combine to create the relationship between the nation and the people who shape and are shaped by it. Conservatives do not hold a monopoly on values -- for Democrats to move forward and stop being just second-ran reactionaries, we have to start putting forth our moral vision and tie it to real strategies for positive change.

In related news, my guy John Edwards seems to be doing just that.*



*That's a subscriber-only column in the NYT. If you want to read it, shoot me an email and I'll share.