My email to Matt Bai, re his thesis that the Dem Party has no big idea

[CTyankee]

similar to those we had in the past with FDR, Truman and LBJ, as he explores in his book, "The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics."

Here is my text:

The "big idea" of the Democratic Party does exist. It is not easily user- friendly, and not because it isn't big enough but because it is too big. That idea is The Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th century. Edward O. Wilson has defined the Enlightenment as "assumptions made about a lawful material world, the intrinsic unity of knowledge, and the potential for indefinite human progress" in his wonderful work "Back from Chaos." These ideas, in my opinion, are the underpinnings of most of the arguments of progressive Democrats today. It is no wonder that we struggle to organize it and label it for effective marketing!

Now, I don't for a minute think the Democratic Party activists you describe in your book sit around talking about Bacon, Newton, Condorcet and Descartes (well, maybe some do!). But overall, the impetus to place human reason as the highest achievement of man is played out in the ideas of most serious Democratic thinkers. It is belief in the triumph of reason over revelation,in individual human rights and faith in the inexorable progress of humankind.

It is a daunting, if not impossible, task to summarize this phenomenon of history. Progressives are passionate about it being at the core of our Founders beliefs. When we defend our various battlegrounds piecemeal it is because we "see" the unity of it all so clearly. It is tough to sell because the terrain, as a whole, is so vast.

Perhaps the tumult of events in the world and the various catastrophes visited upon us by the policies emerging from the unholy alliance of neo-cons, evangelicals and other social conservatives will be the crucible in which our progressive agenda can become clearer and more coherent for the voters. And it may not be up to us to develop the talking points. FDR had The Crash, Truman had Democratic Party hegemony and stirrings of the post war boom, LBJ had the last of the Democratic hegemony but also the immense outpouring of national grief and unity following the JFK assassination.

The Democratic Party may well be poised at a similar tipping point. It may be thrust upon us by a presidency of Barack Obama. It may just be our time, whether we are ready with our bumper sticker or not.

[zbdent]

1. it's easy to shout "Lower Taxes" and "No more big government"!

but then, when pressed for details about how this will be accomplished ... they don't really have them ...

[CTyankee]

2. Ah, but so much is really "code" words. "No more big government"

didn't signal no more FEMA or help for returning GIs or privatizing Social Security. What it REALLY meant was no more mandated quotas for minorities. And well, lowering taxes is what everybody "wants" as long as they pay for what YOU want..heh.