In his book, What's the Matter with Kansas, Thomas Frank gives brilliant insight about how Kansas -- once a Democratic bastion -- was lost to the republicans.
That brings up a logical question: What's the Matter with Democrats?
Specifically, why is the Democratic leadership so spineless in capitalizing on the mistakes and willful callousness of the Bush administration?
I'm beginning to wonder if the answer is neo-liberalism.
...More Beneath the Fold...
Neoliberalism
sounds great. It sounds like liberal social policies, with a dose of economic reality.
However, neoliberalism is actually as dissimilar to true liberal politics as neo-conservatism is to true conservative politics.
Neoliberalism is, in fact, hostile to many of the things that we hold dear. As Wikipedia puts it:
"In international usage, President Ronald Reagan and the United States Republican Party are seen as leading proponents of neoliberalism. But Reagan was never described in this way in domestic US political discussion, where the term is most commonly applied to moderate Democrats like the Democratic Leadership Council."
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Bottom line: Let's not let "neoliberals" hijack the honorable liberal tradition of standing for the environment, workers rights, economic justice, etc.
And let's not let the DLC speak for us. Let's instead act like a true opposition party.