We have a problem. In spite of `being right' all along on so many issues facing the country, we are still portrayed as the party of no solutions and as out-of-touch with reality. My own opinion is that this long-standing negative view of Democrats is a big part of how Bush stays close to the 50% popularity mark in spite of his low ratings in every key category. As a liberal deep in the south land (thus the screen name), I still regularly hear the refrain "Bush may be screwing up, but thank God we don't have Kerry"...
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The 800-lb gorilla in the room on this perception problem is Iraq. Everything the so-called `loony left' has predicted going in has turned out to be correct. In fact, things are worse than most of us ever predicted they would be. While popular opinion on the Iraq war is finally turning `our way', there remains a perception that liberals have no practical solutions to fix this mess. In addition, there remains the challenge of how would we have dealt with Saddam in the first place. Glenn Reynolds (sometimes you have to read up on what the enemy is saying) sums up our problem in his typical smarmy fashion
this week:
And to critics of the war, it's worth responding with a quote from John Lennon: "We'd all love to see the plan." The war critics are long on carping but short on positive suggestions. It's hard to win elections when people regard you as unserious about protecting the country. And the war critics are unserious.
My instincts tell me we need to have an answer to this challenge. Turns out Juan Cole seems to be thinking along the same lines. He wrote an opinion earlier this week where he talks about approaching the UN for assistance in helping us out of the Iraq quagmire. A quote:
The United States will eventually have to go to the United Nations and request that it send a peace-enforcing mission to Iraq, as the US military withdraws...
Ironically, the Bush administration's attempt to do a unilateral end run around the United Nations could afford the American Left the opportunity to make international cooperation and international law popular again with the US public. The alternative for Americans is to continue to squander blood and treasure on a task too big for one country, even the world's sole superpower.
The always amazing Billmon doesn't think this is very practical.
There's something to say for Juan Cole's suggested solution -- a muscular U.N. "peace enforcing" mission to replace U.S. troops as they are withdrawn. Or rather there was something to say for it a couple of years ago, back when it was still remotely feasible...
But the neocons are even more fanatical about this than their paleo cousins. I really think they would prefer to see Iraq sink into complete chaos, and pay the price of another 1,700 American deaths, rather than pass even nominal military control to the United Nations.
Cole replies that he doesn't think the Republicans will go for the solution either, but he wants us to have a message to tell the voters next time around:
Oh, I agree entirely. It is highly unlikely that Bush, who is trying to destroy the UN by sending John Bolton there, would even consider such a thing...
[But] you have to set up issues in such a way as to make your opponent take the fall. If centrists and progressives go to the American public next year and say, "We want to hand Iraq over to the United Nations, but the War Party insists on keeping our young men and women there in harm's way for the sake of their corporate sponsors," I think that may resonate pretty powerfully.
The bottom line here appears to be that we still don't have a great answer to Kerry's biggest challenge from the last election. Mainly, if we're so smart, how would we do thinks differently in Iraq? Especially now that things are so screwed up? Ironically, the worse the situation becomes, the harder it will be for us to satisfy the average voter that we have the right answers.
I don't have a perfect answer to tell you. But I do think we need to hit the Republicans hard on two key points. First - they broke it. Second - they are not to be trusted to fix it.
We should remind voters that every choice in Iraq has been made by Republicans. Republicans control the executive branch. Every decision maker in the Pentagon is Republican. Republicans have the majority in the House and in the Senate. They are in charge.
We should hammer the point that Republicans are pretending the problems don't exist. Dick Cheney's recent quote on the near death of the insurgency would make a great beginning to a negative ad. Republicans blame others for their decisions. They refuse to take responsibility. They behave like children.
Our message should be that Democrats first step will be to recognize reality. We will not bury our heads in the sand.
Our message should include something along the lines of `It's time for the real adults to be in charge'.
We need a strong message. We should have the debate now, come up with a solution, and come out strong in 2006.
Thoughts?