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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2005-06-05

Funny, Refreshing Candor

John Aloysius Farrell, of the Denver Post, has filed a report on the "Take Back America" conference in today's edition. I'll just post a few of his grafs, which I found quite hilarious.

American liberals staged a revival meeting here last week, arriving at the near unanimous conclusion that their path to power rests in telling voters what the Democratic Party stands for ... if only they could figure it out themselves. . .

Parodied by foes as a fussy elite, here was a pillar of the Democratic base: white, educated, anti-war, trending female, receptive to gays. There were few black or Hispanic Americans and fewer, if any, Republicans. . .

Modern American liberalism was forged a century ago, when labor leaders joined progressives to combat the robber barons of the industrial age on behalf of the common man. The movement ultimately settled in the Democratic Party. It was hugely successful, in part because the party had a simple identity.

"They were the party of working people," said historian Thomas Frank, author of "What's the Matter With Kansas?"

But by the mid-1960s, much of liberalism's work was done. Women had the vote. Children no longer worked in sweatshops. Progressive taxation was secured. Union men and women earned good wages and benefits. Racial discrimination was outlawed. Social Security and Medicare eased the hardships of old age.

Just as Democrats were poised to weave the last corner of their safety net - national health care - they lost their focus. They shifted their attention away from the economic interests of working families and to the causes of social liberality. They cast themselves (with the aid of their Republican opponents) as elitists, out of touch with average Americans. . .

That makes economics the key: It bridges Democratic divides and exploits Republican divisions.

But the Democratic establishment "is absolutely determined to not let that old-school economic populism back in the door," Frank said. "They would rather lose elections. And they do. They lose and they lose and they lose."

Allow me a moment of schadenfreud. Okay, that's done. Now, let's take a look at the GOP leadership in the Senate and sober up a bit.
Posted by: Michael / 6/05/2005 12:47:00 PM

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