From "The West Wing" episode "Gone Quiet", from 2001:
"I am tired of working for candidates who make me think I should be embarrassed to believe what I believe, Sam. I'm tired of getting them elected!"
"We all need some therapy, because somebody came along and said liberal means soft on crime, soft on drugs, soft on communism, soft on defense, and we're gonna tax you back to the stone age because people shouldn't have to go to work if they don't want to."
"And instead of saying "Well excuse me, you right wing, reactionary, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-education, anti-choice, pro-gun, `Leave it to Beaver' trip back to the 50's", we cowered in the corner, and said "Please, don't hurt me."
"No more. I really don't care who's right, who's wrong. We're both right. Let's have TWO parties, huh? Whaddya say?"
Why is it that I have to watch a television show to hear what I want to hear, to find leadership for our party? Well, I'm not going to look to television for leadership anymore. I'm going to go out and find it, even if I have to provide it myself!
As we watch the Bush Imperial Presidency continue to implode, and hope that it doesn't drag our beloved Nation down with it, it is instructive to compare George W. Bush, Jr. on a superficial level with William Jefferson Clinton, and more importantly, to take a hard look at the lessons to be learned from each. If you are looking for deep scholarly insight and a fully footnoted treatise, stop now. If you are interested in the ramblings of a Congressional Candidate from Colorado, an everyman with absolutely no political connections to speak of, then read on.
It seems to me that those of us on the left too often get caught up in our lists of issues, all of which are critical and important in their own right, and lose sight of what drives people to actually vote. I recall all too clearly how many people said they supported Dubyah in 2004 either because "he seems like a guy you could have a beer with" or because "he's strong and he knows what he stands for." The truly tragic part was that neither one was true.
On a superficial level, at least, Bush and Kerry were the same guy. Both from the upper-crust north east. Both Ivy Leaguers. Both trust fund babies from wealthy powerful families. Both career politicians. Scratch the surface, of course, and you found that where John Kerry dedicated his life to service, George Bush dedicated his life to play. John Kerry served his Country in war. Bush made a game of it. John Kerry served his community in law and politics. Bush served only his own bank account in running business after business into the ground while being continually bailed out by Daddy's wealthy friends.
But on election day, 2004, more people chose Bush because they believed the image of a cowboy boot wearing, beer drinking, good ol' boy, and felt that Bush was someone they could relate to. The reality is that Bush is an alcoholic, who, I hope, doesn't drink beer, and most certainly wouldn't ever have one with regular people like us! But there is something to be learned in the fact that the image they sold really worked. And it's a lesson completely lost on the folks at the Democratic Leadership Council.
As far as I can tell, the DLC follows a mantra that says "Move to the center, stand for nothing, and people will like and vote for us. Be more like "them" and people will like and vote for us." As evidence of the strength of this argument, they offer Bush, Jr. and Bill Clinton. With the former, they apparently think that support for Bush in the last two elections equals support for a rightward shift in America's politics. And with Bill Clinton, they believe his popularity lies in the fact that he was a centrist.
They are wrong on both counts, and they want to drag the Democratic Party to its own funeral because of their mistake!
The majority of people do not go into the voting booth with a checklist of issues. They don't vote for a candidate because that candidate has met their tests on all the right issues. Most people make decisions to vote for candidates because they relate to that candidate in some personal way, or they feel inspired, or they just like something about the candidate on a gut level.
In the absence of any connection or inspiration, the vast majority of people will do one of two things. They will either vote a party line, or they will stay home!
With Bush, Jr., many people believed in his "folksy charm" and bought into the bogus cowboy macho routine. They believed he was strong, when in reality he is simply stubborn and refuses to accept facts and changing circumstances. They believed he cared about them and would have a beer with them, when in reality, he would rather have most of us arrested than share any kind of beverage with us. We are beneath his station in life, and he darn well knows it.
Bill Clinton is different. Bill Clinton was a truly successful President and I think history will view him as such. He was also very popular. He was consistently above 50% throughout his second term, even during the impeachment process, while Bush appears to be trying to find out how low a President can go.
But Clinton wasn't popular because he was a centrist or a moderate. Bill Clinton was popular because he was the American Dream raised up in front of our eyes for all of us to see. Bill Clinton was the man from Hope. When he said "I feel your pain" we believed it because he was from a trailer park, for crying out loud! He didn't have to adopt cowboy boots and a fake southern charm. He had it in his bones from his childhood, and that's something you can't fake and you can't reproduce artificially.
So when I hear the DLC talk about being "more like Clinton" I simply shake my head, because they don't understand Clinton's appeal at all. Clinton's appeal was charm and charisma and a story that people could relate to. Clinton's appeal was the ability to understand policy on a deeply nuanced level, while still talking to the common man at a very common level. It had nothing to do with being a centrist.
Which is why I cringe and worry so much when I watch an entire generation of so called "leaders" in the Democratic Party compete to see who can actually stand for less! You want to know why I don't support Hillary Clinton? Because she is in as safe a U.S. Senate seat as you can find, and yet she stands for NOTHING! She could be providing us with bold leadership, but she doesn't. And I shouldn't pick on her because she's certainly not the only one.
We don't have to move to the middle to win back a majority in America. We have to begin standing up strong for the things we believe in. We have to stop cowering in the corner. We have to stop saying "please don't hurt me." When we poll on issues across America we find that Americans really are progressive, and they support the things we talk about, usually to the tune of 60% or higher.
Americans want universal health care. Americans want strong public education. Americans want to protect the environment. Americans want women to have freedom of choice. Americans believe the Iraq War was a serious mistake. The list goes on and on.
So where are the bold Democrats standing up to provide leadership on those and other issues? Will it simply fall to a whole new generation of Democrats to provide that leadership?
I'll tell you what--we have that new generation here in Colorado. My friend Morgan Carroll in the State House is one!
Now we need them on a national level!
We are all Americans, and all deserving of the full protection of the United States Constitution and the laws of this great nation. We have a god given RIGHT to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and what's more, we have the right to leadership that provides those rights for us.
I believe that Democrats need to begin providing that leadership, and I will support those candidates who do, and I won't support those who don't.
I will defeat Tom Tancredo in Colorado, and when I do, I will not be a rubber stamp for anyone. I will provide leadership. I will work hard to legislate and lead with courage and I will look for people to follow in Congress who do the same!
I rely on all of you to send me those people, that new generation of leaders we so badly need! If we fail in this, we fail America, and that is an outcome I simply will not accept!
Bill Winter
http://winterforcongress.com/
Cross posted to MyDD at http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/6/18/144642/409