When DLC Democrats want to take aim at their own, the
Wall Street Journal is happy to provide them with a soapbox.
Take today's Journal, for instance. Its editorial page features a long, rambling screed with the cringe-inducing headline, "Why the Democrats Are Losing the Culture Wars." It's written by Dan Gerstein, the former communications director for Senator Joe Lieberman.
Unfortunately, the article isn't yet available to non-online subscribers, but I've got my trusty paper copy of the Journal spread out on my desk. So let me share the lowlights, along with my running commentary.
Simply put, Gerstein misdiagnoses the problem of the coarsening of entertainment; pins the blame the wrong people; and tries to portray his boss, as well as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, as the true heroes of the culture wars.
Gerstein takes an unjustified cheap shot at John Kerry, accusing him of having "openly embraced Hollywood and went on to lose married women voters by a margin of 55 percent to 44 percent." Just one problem, Dan. Remember what happened on September 11, 2001? It turned a lot of those women into "security moms" who were willing to vote for a candidate who was "wrong, but strong." Janet Jackson's exposed nipple ranked 117th on their list of concerns.
He also admits that the problem isn't with Democratic lawmakers (who have been in the minority in Capitol Hill, in case he hasn't noticed), but with the people who run the entertainment industry. At one point, he refers to parents who "are just looking for a little cooperation from the captains of culture." Hmm. Wouldn't Rupert Murdoch be at the head of that list? And what about Republican lawmakers who accepted money from companies that profit from the $10-billion-per-year porn industry?
Gerstein then saddles his own party with the blame for crude entertainment, calling Democrats the "defenders of the entertainment industry." He treats concerns about the First Amendment with the barely disguised contempt:
Their first move usually is to deny that the culture has any influence on attitudes and behavior. When that ludicrous proposition gets dismissed, the free-speech shields are instantly raised...
Sounds a lot like Rick Santorum and Tom DeLay's dismissive attitude toward the separation of powers.
He also his party task for having "a profound aversion to making moral judgments." Really? Did he miss the Alberto Gonzalez confirmation debate, where most Democratic senators took to the floor to denounce torture as immoral? And what about those on the other side of the aisle who are circling the wagons to protect Tom De Lay?
Gerstein even resorts to the cheapest rhetorical parlor trick of all, the Think of the Children gambit:
We are also putting ourselves, in this case, in the uncomfortable position of siding with giant corporations over small children.
As opposed to the GOP, who voted for the interests of insurance and pharmaceutical companies, polluters, and credit card companies, whose actions will affect the lives of small children far more than Bono's dropping of the F-bomb at the Golden Globe Awards.
And what, pray tell, is Gerstein's solution to what he calls an "avalanche of crud" crushing the nation's children?
Follow the lead of Senator Clinton and the sainted Senator Lieberman and introduce "a bill to fund more studies on the electronic media's impact on children." I kid you not.
After reading the op-ed, I wish I could ask Gerstein one question: "And your point is?"
The Gerstein piece is also a good example of bad writing, As a public service to fellow Kossacks, I've run it through the Cliche Meter®, and here are the results:
heartland residents are tuning out our party...loopy linguists from Berkeley...cultural thinking of our elites (he riffs on "elites" throughout his column)...the average mother in the exurbs...moral world-view..."values vacuum"...a time of great moral uncertainty...the party of "anything goes"...moral leadership...clear statements of right and wrong...
zzzzt crack bzzzzzztt zzzt pop
Oops. The Cliche Meter® just shorted out. Pardon me while I jump in the car and take it to the shop.