Democrats can -- and should -- become the Party of Active Optimism.

Armstead

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Mon Oct-03-05 08:43 AM
Original message

Democrats can -- and should -- become the Party of Active Optimism.

Edited on Mon Oct-03-05 08:50 AM by Armstead

Right now people are depressed about a lot of things. Katrina, terrorism, Iraq, rising gas prices, economic jitters, the exposure of racial tension, special-interest corrupt politics and a general sense that the US is in decline.

For years, ever since sunny Ronald Reagan, the GOP has had success partially due to portraying itself as the party of optimism and solutions, in contrast to the pessimistic, gloomy Democrats.

But after 25 years of their agenda being in control, we have come full circle. The chickens have come home to roost from right-wing, free-market fundamentalism and the cronyism and incompetence that inevitable leads to.

Meanwhile, Democrats are floundering for a message that is coherent enough to win over the middle and excite the liberal "base." Should we be the party of "competence" and lay low while the GOP flounders? Should we try to be the party of Big Ideas and come up with a dramatic new agenda?

While the issues are complex individually, I think there is a core message that that Democrats could look to that would cover a wide spectrum. It would be both a counterpoint to the GOP morass, and directly address the unease that many Americans feel.

They should take a cue from Sen. Paul Wellstone and become the party of Optimism and Solutions. One of Wellstone's catch phrases was "We can do better." He didn't only mean it in a partisan sense. he meant it in a general sense. "We can all do better." And remember, Wellstone served during the 1990's, a period when people were generally already feeling much better than they do now.

By saying we can do better during good times, he was also sending a message that is more relevant during bad times. Right now we HAVE to do better to deal with the immediate mess we're in. That's a "centrist" message that everyone can relate to (except the corporate overlords and the freepers, of course).

But that also goes beyond that. It says that we as a nation can IMPROVE through collective action as well as through private initiatives. That's a clearly liberal and progressive message.

IMO the time is perfect to start hammering that home. The conservative philosophy (which includes the corporate "centrist" DLC attitude) is basically passive and fatalistic and pessimistic. Conservatism says that we are slaves to the power of "the market" and there's nothing we can do about it. That message plays right into the hands of the powerful corporate sector and the small minority at the top. But it is totally contrary to the interests of average middle class and poor people.

Look at fuel prices. The conservatives in charge say we have to bend over and take it, while oil companies make immense profits while we have to choose between heat and food or driving. "Too bad," they say. "That's the way the markets work. We can't do anything about it."

Same thing with healthcare, the media, sprawl and a host of other problems that seem intractable.

But they are only intractable because we don't have the will to do anything about them as a society. And that's because the right-wing free marketeers have told us we can't. Unfortunately, those messengers of gloom include many Democrats.

But IMO, the nation is ready for a more pro-active liberal agenda again. Maybe we have to re-think the Big Government liberalism of old, but that does not mean we should abandon the concept of a government that represents hope, and engages in the broader effort to solve problems and protect the interests of the majority.

In outre words, liberalism as an optimistic counterpoint to the morass and dead end that both Corporate Power and the right wing have taken us.

"We can do better."