The Democratic Party is less a party of cohesive conviction and more a collection of victims, each of whom was wronged in some form or fashion by any number of perpetrators. Our party is the refuge of the damned: women, gays, minorities, union members, rank and file military, teachers, government workers, and the odd enlightened (read guilt ridden) Anglo. Everybody is limping and bleeding to the table. Everybody is also thoroughly pissed off. Who can blame them?
The present incarnation of the Republican party is out reclaim much ground as they possibly can, screwing up the country in the process, and eliminating much of the hard won gains of the afore mentioned. So we are victims. And we hold on dear to our identity as victims. Whenever you read an op ed piece about one subset of society facing a measure of adversity, with a speed, letters to the editor are written to make sure that readers don't forget the other folks going through the same trouble. If you mention problems women are having in the workplace, you better give gays their due. If Hispanics are suffering education and job problems, forgetting to discuss African American troubles will get you in a world of pain. It is as if we celebrate our diversity as a nation by making sure everyone's torment is given a fair hearing all the time. Democrats are very good at apportioning out sympathy.
And in this victimhood are the seeds of our undoing. Because the sense of hurt is so strong and is the driving force for much of the activism within the party, we can rarely get a cohesive and persuasive message out to the rest of the electorate. Instead, we become defined by who is screaming the loudest at the moment. We become the party of angry women or militant homosexuals or never satisfied Blacks: all mischaracterizations, but all very convenient for the 15 second sound bite and right wing talking heads. How can we possibly govern if we can't get our own house in order?
Getting our house in order requires a great deal of give and take. Our fractions must be willing to give on a part of their personal agendas to enable the national party to regain the mantel of power. What does that mean? That means we need to be WE and not a collection of us's. Our message to the country needs to be one that is cohesive, coherent, and addresses the concerns of the majority of Americans. Certain things will have to hit the back burner, reframed, or be chucked out the window all together. Some things immediately come to mind (a note to my reader - I am a white, straight, protestant male so many of you might read the following an say fuck him, he's had it easy. You right, I have had it easy. What I write here comes from a genuine desire to make right the wrongs of our society, stuck in neutral or reverse because we Democrats aren't in power. Each of these areas has some merit and warrants discussion and some sort of resolution, but as blunt rhetorical instruments, they are failing us all):
Gay marriage. I know this is a human rights issue. I also know that the Republicans are scaring the whole damn country into thinking that bands of gay men and women are roaming the country getting married and enticing our youth with toaster ovens. In the 30+ years since Stonewall, we have come a long way. But this final push to marriage is hobbling our chances to get back in power. Now some might say "so what...its worth losing the White House to raise the conscience of the nation". Here's the thing. Nobody is getting lynched over gay marriage. Police dogs aren't be set on marchers during Pride Parades. Domestic partnership agreements and civil unions are providing a sufficient bridge to full marriage rights. It's time to refocus on the healthcare crisis, arcane/unenforceable legacy legislation, and violence.
Slave Reparations. This is a very bad idea. Who gets them? How Black do you have to be? With all the mixing, mating, and raping over the last 400 years, who would be able to get a piece of this action? What amounts of money are we talking? Billions? Trillions? How do you place a dollar amount on human suffering? Who pays? Companies? The Federal Government? Individual state governments? Would we be willing to take the money if it meant other programs would be eliminated or gutted? We need to channel our energies to improving our educational system, providing opportunity for everyone, and revitalizing our poorest areas.
Third World Lesbian Mothers. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? When I was in college, taking a political science class, this was actually proposed as a standard by which to measure the value, effectiveness, and impact of a position or piece of legislation - how would this appropriations bill affect third world lesbian mothers? We unfortunately have a very noisy faction of the left who use this kind of benchmark as their rallying point. These are the folks who don't bathe, bust up windows at world economic summits, and spike old growth trees, killing loggers. Yeah, you're pissed and you have a right to be pissed but all you are doing is scaring the shit out of people, not changing minds or hearts. Stop it. And take a bath.
Will people in our party and in the left in general continue to champion the afore mentioned causes? Yes and they should. Democrats should not be in the business of shutting people up. What I ask for is a truce. We must present one cohesive public face to the world and support each other in that effort. Taken a page from Ronald Reagan's playbook, commandment number 11, speak no ill of a fellow Democrat...ever! If someone in a position of power doesn't ascribe to your agenda, give them a break. Conversely, those in positions of power must stop trying to shore up their own support for a potential run (I am know speaking DIRECTLY to the two Joe's: Biden and Liberman) by bashing fellow Democrats, especially the chairman of the party.
For the truce to work, for the elements of our party to be willing to give on portions of their agenda to achieve the greater good, they need to get something in return. First, we take no vote, voter, or group of voters for granted. The days of counting on minorities and labor to come through for Democrats are over. We need to prove EVERY DAY that the candidates we run and the positions we hold are worthy of support. This means we must listen to the people, we are the party of the people after all, and act upon their concerns, not merely pay lip service to their desires.