Our defeat on November 2nd is forcing Democrats to reassess what it means to run in today’s political system. For many this analysis will conclude with the idea that we need to swing the party farther to the right, adopt religious overtones, and begin to appeal to all those who voted based on church affiliation and attendance. Others will conclude that we need to veer far to the left in order to reconnect with our base and counter the rightward tilt of today’s Republicans. I do not fall into either of these groups. I think the Democratic Party should camp out in the center of American politics and stand up for the issues that really determine the fate of our country. We have to reinforce our stand on fiscal discipline, civil rights, appropriate sized government, war when necessary, free trade, and international engagement. We have to be willing to lose a little of the left in order to gain all of the middle.
We’ve seen
from the turnout this past Tuesday that Republicans can successfully use wedge
issues such as marriage bans, gun control, and inherent fear in order to
overcome massive budget deficits, poorly executed wars, and insecurity at
home. We cannot allow ourselves to
become wrapped up in this dynamic. As
Americans first and Democrats second we have to realize that the future of our
country depends upon us not playing their game, but rewriting the rules to win
at our own. America will be hurt far
more by us succumbing to this religious fervor on the right than if we stand up
to it to redefine what it means to be an American. Our country’s founders specifically took
religion out of politics in order to insure that our political system would not
be controlled from the Churches. If both
parties start pandering to the Churches we will disavow their intentions and
our independence as a nation.
Instead,
what I advocate is that we as a Party decide to change the rules of the game by
which we elect our leaders. I do not
advance an idea of changing our electoral system, but rather a concept of
changing the minds of the electorate. We
need to show the true value of fiscal discipline and become the party of fiscal
restraint. We need to reveal the benefit
of free trade and become the party of international engagement. We need to elect moderates to offices rather
than hard-core liberals. Only in this
way can we really become the party of the center. This is not a swing to the right as much as
it is a claim of the center of American politics. Extremism from the Republicans puts them on
the fringe, not us. We need to undercut
their support at the trunk of the tree so that their branch falls off.
Results of
November 2nd are disheartening and may turn many of us off to
politics in the future. We should
instead look at this as an opportunity to undercut the Republicans and reveal
them for the extreme they really are.
Only in this way can we reclaim the mantle of leadership and really
stand for the values that will keep America strong. Disciplined, moderate, non-religious leadership
is what we need. Politics is not about
being right or winning. Politics is
about being right and winning.
