Introduction
A little over a year ago, John Halpin, at the Center for American Progress, warned that Democrats were suffering from a lack of definition. The public simply doesn’t know what we stand for. They know we are against the war, and they are too. But the war isn’t going to last forever, and when it ends, they are going to want to know. (1)
Definition
Most people think of Democrats as liberal, but only 18% of the public consider themselves liberal. 42% think of themselves as moderate, and 32% consider themselves conservative. Most people believe that we want higher taxes. They think we want to erect massive social welfare programs regardless of the impact on the economy, and it doesn’t matter if we have to redistribute wealth to do it, so long as everyone has an equal outcome. We value hard work in so far as it supports those that don’t want to work. They think we are anti-business, anti-profit, and anti-religion. As far as they know, we would put our fingers into the collection plate if we thought we could get away with it. (PDF)
Democrats value gay sex. We value gay marriage. It doesn’t matter that we take sex out of the picture entirely and focus on the right of the individuals to live, love, and be equal in the eyes of the law. We are not only willing to support immoral sex, but some think we are willing to encourage it in our young, abolish marriage, and trample upon traditional values of family. Is it any wonder that 56% of the population opposes gay marriage, and only 22% support it? (PDF)
Democrats are seen as the party that wants to take away guns. It doesn’t matter if we are really only opposed to assault weapons, want to enforce the laws already on the books, and make sure that only law-abiding citizens have access to them. They still see us as itching for the chance to take them away from everyone. Is it any wonder that most of the public supports the NRA? (PDF)
Democrats are the abortion party. We want an abortion clinic on every street corner and in every middle school. It doesn’t make a bit of difference that we support abortion because we support a woman’s right to control her own body. It doesn’t matter that we support it because we support privacy, and keeping government out of people’s personal lives. It doesn’t matter that we support safe sex, birth control, and responsibility for the choices we make. The public still sees us as the party of abortion.
It doesn’t matter if Bush’s approval ratings drop to zero, or if the war is over in 2008 or not, until we begin to consistently define ourselves in a clearer light, the opposition will continue to have the upper hand by capitalizing on negative views that the American people have of Democrats. They are spending millions to do it. They are already suggesting alternatives to our strengths, such as universal health care. We cannot continue trying to define ourselves on the issues. We have to articulate our values, and let our policies reflect those values, or the public will continue to find hope crafty Republicans promising traditional value leadership. The war won’t last forever, and when it ends people will be asking who we really are, and unless we figure out a way to define ourselves, we may very well lose in 2008.
Memes
One way that we can define ourselves is to better understand how the opposition has defined us so ably, and that is in their use of "memes." Memes are more than talking points and catch phrases. They are the building blocks of culture and society. They are a science and an art. But they are not "frames" as some think of them. Memes declare our values, and frames express memes. The war in Iraq is an example. The frame is the danger of terrorism, but the meme is safety and security. Republicans talk about us trying to set a date for surrender. That’s a frame, but the meme is talking about our failure to provide safety and security. It is the underlying memes that people respond to, and not the pretty little catch-phrases and talking points.
It is outside the scope of this article to detail all of the peculiarities of meme creation and propagation, inferential transformation, selective attention, cognitive attractors, and the like. But it is encouraged to make an independent study of such things by starting with Dawkins 1976, Gabora 1997, Boyd 2002, and the Meme Tank. These are required reading for anyone interested in making a difference in the Democratic Party.
Progressivism
For a more complete discussion of progressive values, please refer to the "Politics of Definition" at American Progress. It is quite a long treatise, but it is worthwhile reading. Another aspect of defining ourselves is to understand that we should be spending less time trying to define our selves individually, and more time defining the party as something more than a mix of conflicting ideologies and unorganized rants.
One of the ways to do this is to understand that the history and intent behind resurrecting the term "progressive" is to move our party beyond the typical liberal-conservative ideologies that characterize both parties, and begin to transcend both through practical and pragmatic efforts. It does little good to turn the term "progressive" into just another word for liberal, which is just another word for Democrat in the public consciousness. Progressivism is a movement, and as seen from its history, is not limited by ideologies of either party. It is an orientation to politics. The idea is to move the party to a new place where competing ideologies are second to results. It is only through steps such as these that we will be able to define the Democratic Party and ensure our continuing and evolving viability as a major force for change in America.