preface: My first diary.
Not sure who saw it or not, but Paul Krugman took time off from dissecting the ridiculous SS reform idea to give some praise to new DNC chair Howard Dean. He makes lots and lots of good points to be outlined below. For starters, Krugman weighs in on the assertion that Dean is a far left winger:
It was always absurd to call Mr. Dean a left-winger. Just ask the real left-wingers. During his presidential campaign, an article in the muckraking newsletter CounterPunch denounced him as a "Clintonesque Republicrat," someone who, as governor, tried "to balance the budget, even though Vermont is a state in which a balanced budget is not required."
Even on Iraq, many moderates, including moderate Republicans, quietly shared Mr. Dean's misgivings - which have been fully vindicated - about the march to war.
But Mr. Dean, of course, wasn't quiet. He frankly questioned the Bush administration's motives and honesty at a time when most Democrats believed that the prudent thing was to play along with the war party.
I think its very clear to everyone that Deans ascension to the leader of the DNC had a lot to do with his opposition to the war from the start. Of course, other issues come into play, including fund raising, but certianly the war issue is of importance.
He goes on to make, perhaps the most important point that many on this site, myself included, truly believe in; That bipartisen actions have achieved nothing but the reduction in power of our party. So Krugman goes on to explain why its necessary for Dean to stand up to the administration:
But in 2005 it takes an act of willful blindness not to see that the Bush plan for Social Security is intended, in essence, to dismantle the most important achievement of the New Deal. The Republicans themselves say so: the push for privatization is following the playbook laid out in a 1983 Cato Journal article titled "A 'Leninist' Strategy," and in a White House memo declaring that "for the first time in six decades, the Social Security battle is one we can win - and in doing so, we can help transform the political and philosophical landscape of the country."
By refusing to be bullied into false bipartisanship on Social Security, Democrats have already scored a significant tactical victory. Just two months ago, TV pundits were ridiculing Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader, for denying that Social Security faces a crisis, and for rejecting outright the idea of diverting payroll taxes into private accounts. But now the Bush administration itself has dropped the crisis language, and admitted that private accounts would do nothing to improve the system's finances.
It is THAT exact reason that the Dems should continue on their current path of speaking plainly and honestly about what they believe. The country isnt moving to the right. Its right where its always been. We just have to stop being bullied, and to go and get them.
If we were wrong, they wouldnt be so happy to go on O'Reilly and tell us how wrong we are.