The Nation had a great editorial on Kennedy's recent speech at a conference on "reimagining the welfare state" in NY. Kennedy's fantastic remarks seem to not have generated much attention and i'm not sure if they were discussed here at Kos (point me to it if so...) but really, his words should be shouted from the rooftops and front and center our message in 2004.
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/spotlight/spotlight_kennedy_speech.htm
Kennedy's clear and spirited defense of Democratic achievements and what's more, a defense of activist GOVERNMENT, is a message that i dearly hope Kerry takes to heart, but i just have my suspicisions. We Dems have become so paranoid about being labelled "liberals" that everytime someone asks Kerry, "Aren't you scared of being a Mass. liberal?" he doesn't try to defend liberalism and its achievements. Instead, Kerry cites how he voted for welfare reform, free trade and the Holling-Gramm deficit reduction act (which all public finance students know was a sham gimmick legislation). it's really depressing in a way how on the defense liberals are when they're the ones who built the middle class prosperity of this country. I wish Kerry could remind voters of that in the way Dean did when he talked about trade unions building the middle class. Hopefully Kennedy can change that tone. if nothing else, i will feel safe knowing that if Kerry wins, Kennedy will be there to whisper in his ear and guilt trip him into doing the right thing...
Some of the gems in Kennedy's speech:
Today's Republicans are very different from those who led their party in earlier years. The Republican Party is now controlled by ideological extremists who reject any meaningful role for government in expanding economic opportunity or preventing the abuses of private economic power. These latter day Social Darwinians clearly believe that those who assemble great concentrations of wealth should be unfettered and permitted to dominate the nation's economic life, much as they did in the late 19th century.
Progressives cannot continue to play defense in the battle of ideas. The stakes are too high. Nor can we allow ourselves to be cast as mere defenders of the status quo. We must make the debate between our vision of the future versus theirs. In reality, it is the Republican Right which is wedded to the ideas of the distant past, 19th century ideas which America rejected in the early years of the last century. We should portray them for what they are, Neanderthal merchants of outmoded ideas recycled from long ago.
That last line is classic. May all Democrats read his message, and stop running away from the word "liberal." the cultural connotations of "liberal" [going back to McGovern's "abortion, amnesty, acid days] though are probably part of the problem...