Digby is wrestling with some of the biggest questions Dems must face in the wake of our recent electoral awakening.
He rightly points out that "economic populism" is a dead end. Goodbye, Mr. Shrum.
But how can we best leverage our nuanced positions in the culture and values fray? It's suicidal to pull the plug and renounce gay marriage, much less start railing against Hollywood and porn. Operation Shrill takes us nowhwere; it divides our Democratic coalition.
So what unites us? Our best lead on this is Barack Obama, whose emotional, well-crafted speech at the DNC wowed us as one.
It was all about our American family.
We don't need Shrum's shrill "economic populism." We just want every American family to get a fair deal.
We need to keep the government away from our families and out of our homes. Especially our bedrooms.
First and foremost, we need to protect our children.
Our American Family: That's Obama's frame, and it works simply and well. No nuance. He talks about his daddy and his mama; where they've been and where they're going.
John Edwards' terrific "two Americas" stump speech hit many of the same notes.
Democrats value families. And work.
Within that frame, we value American families when we keep the government away from our daughters' bodies.
We value families when we give equal rights to every mother's son and daughter, to live and love without interference from the government.
We value families when we level the playing field with taxes, because we reward work, not wealth.
We value families when we keep the government away from porn: Keep the government out of our bedrooms!
That American family frame can inform every stance a candidate takes.
It's a sound acid test: Is it good for the American family?
Digby's right. Shrumian populism sucks.
The American family can trump all.