So I was reading an article in the Tallahassee Democrat that I thought was particularly dismissive of the blogosphere and the netroots movement. It pissed me off. So I wrote the writer. We actually had quite a good conversation. I think I did a pretty good job defending our progressive values against his DLC - styled points, but I'm curious what you guys think.
To give you a little taste, I'll first leave you with this little gem before the jump from the original article, which can be found here:
Here's the following conversation, in it's entirety...
-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan Barash
Sent: Mon 8/13/2007 2:16 PM
To: Cotterell, Bill
Subject: Your generalizations about liberals in the democratic party
Are a shameful display. Please do some research before you post your
generalizations. The progressives of today are indeed like the liberals of
the 60s and 70s. The difference now is that they have a better way to
organize and get their message out. The DLC is feeling isolated and
meaningless, and their words are ringing hollow. People in this country
don't want the choice between Republican and Republican light. They want
real change, they want their core values to be represented by their
leaders. Progressive values are mainstream values. The only reason
Democrats have lost control of their progressive majority over the past 30
years is because their institutions and excitement have been crumbling and
their ability to speak with their own voice has been drowned out by the
constant call to move towards the center.
America is not a conservative nation. Progressives just need the chance to
get out their message, to tell people about their vision for America. It's
an America that follows the constitution and doesn't get into dumb wars.
It's an America that doesn't let children die of preventable diseases.
These ideals are in the mainstream in American political thought, and they
are Progressive ideals. People like you are just hurting our chances in
08. Please, for our parties sake, give it up.
Sincerely,
Bryan Barash
On 8/13/07, Cotterell, Bill <BCotterell@tallahassee.com> wrote:
Thanks for your note. We disagree strongly but I understand what you're saying.
I particulary disagree that America is not a conservative country. The only two Democrats elected president in the last 40 years have been southern governors who ran from the right, then governed from the middle-left; one became the first president since Hoover to be defeated, the other was forced back rightward after the 1994 congressional elections.
Hardly a glowing testiment to "progressive" politics (why can't liberals call it what it is? Conservatives do.)
As for chances in '08, that's precisely what I was writing about. Yeah, great, by all means, go hard to the left. The Republicans will love it.
The worst thing that could happen to the Democratic Party -- and it very well might happen -- is to win next year mainly on the strength of opposition to the war, then mistake that victory as a mandate for not only ending the war but for launching a huge round of social-welfare programs. If that happens, 2010 will be a rerun of 1994, public repudiation of a liberal agenda and a new President Clinton having to deal with a Republican Congress, while scrambling back to the center for re-election.
Cheers,
bc
Bill Cotterell
Political editor
Tallahassee Democrat
(850) 671-6545
______________________________
From: Bryan Barash
Sent: Mon 8/13/2007 5:06 PM
To: Cotterell, Bill
Subject: Re: Your generalizations about liberals in the democratic party
Bill,
To call Clinton a liberal is to kid yourself. Clinton's biggest problem was that he was a DLC born and bred politician, who wasn't able to effectively communicate his progressive ideals. Look, I'm not pushing for us to bring back the welfare state. There are a lot of welfare and other such programs that did more harm than good, and many progressives realize that. But we can put in place programs that will work, that will help people realize the American dream. The answer is not to pander to conservatives, the answer is to lead with bold new initiatives, and gauge their effectiveness regularly. Keep the good ones, get rid of or modify ones that don't work as intended.
But most of these DLC guys are trashing the Democratic party. They're saying our values aren't good enough so we should pander until we get enough of the center to come along with us. Our values are certainly good enough. People don't want to lose their jobs to Mexico because of the failure that is NAFTA. That's in the mainstream. People want trade agreements that have fair labor provisions with real teeth, ones that can be enforced. People want children to have healthcare, and they're willing to pay higher taxes for it. Studies consistantly show 75% of Americans supporting that through programs like CHIPS.
And look, progressives are against appeasing George W. Bush. He's been a monster of a President. He's lied to the American people, kept his administration under a shroud of secrecy that would make Nixon blush, and has failed at every major policy and/or international issue he has tried his hand in. This guy is a crook. His attorney general is a joke. And yet the "moderates" in the party just handed him our fourth amendment rights not to be spied on without a warrant. If our party can explain our values in a coherent way, and get through the fearmongering of the GOP, we won't need to pander to them, our ideals are superior, they're more in the mainstream.
And, lastly, progressives have often been blurring the traditional political boundaries. We can say people should have guns to go hunting while saying we should be taking semi's away from gangs. We can love God without crusading against Americans who disagree. The problem isn't our values, it's that centrists haven't stood up for themselves when attacked. They've sold out their beliefs. That's why we haven't won elections in the past thirty years. That's why the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. That's why we can't evict the most corrupt executive this government has ever seen.
Thank you for responding to me. I'm interested in what you have to say, and am taking your arguments into account. But I've done a lot of research and believe that I am firmly in the right. Please feel free to respond with any criticisms or to correct me if you feel I've spoken incorrectly.
Regards,
Bryan Barash
Thanks and I agree with some of what you say. However, I don't think people are willing to pay higher taxes for children to have health care. Not if the alternative is -- well, what we've got now.
Also, hatred of Bush is a poor substitute for coherent policies. Bush will be gone, in fact he is effectively gone now (watch for Republican presidential candidates to start distancing themselves, as Humphrey did with Johnson in 1968). I don't defend what Bush has done but he should have been easy to beat in 2004 and he wasn't. There's got to be a reason for that, and it's not that the American people are stupid or were duped by Karl Rove.
Weird thing is, Bush's popularity at the moment is coming back up while Congress's is languishing. That could be a momentary blip. But if Pelosi pushes for a harder left agenda and Reid is forced to go along because the Democratic base is perceived lining up behind Clinton and Obama, it's going to be hard to keep the center.
Yes, Clinton was DLC to the core. Carter 76 would have been, too, if the DLC had been around back then. It was created largely because of Mondale's 84 campaign and to a lesser extent because of Carter's 1980 loss.
Odd thing about Carter in 76 and Clinton. They won. So did Gore, if all the votes had been counted. DLC types, all.
The progressives (I would say liberals) -- Dukakis, Mondale, Kerry) lost. It reminds me of a joke by Tom Lehrer, a humorist in the 1960s, who wrote a song called "The Folk Song Army." (Joan Baez, Dylan, a few other protest musicians were big back then).
"Remember the war against Franco, that's the kind where each one of us belongs," Lehrer wrote, "He may have won all the battles, yeah, but we had all the good songs."
OK, left, keep your ideals. Every eight or 12 years, you'll compromise with those nasty DLC types and win an election. The Republicans will just have to be content with winning the other two-thirds of the time.
Cheers,
bc
Bill Cotterell
Political editor
Tallahassee Democrat
(850) 671-6545