(From the diaries -- kos)

Yesterday the flailing Mitt Romney launched a new ad against Mike Huckabee for being soft on immigrants.  Huckabee responds with an ad, consistent with his new nutty immigration "plan," showing how tough he is.  In the special election in OH-5 that concludes today three sets of GOP ads - by the candidate, by the NRCC and now by Freedom's Watch - all focus on immigrants.  Last week Tom Tancredo, still at 1 percent in the Republican race for President, launched a new and extraordinary ad that ends with these words "Deport those who don't belong.  Make sure they never come back." For the GOP it has become all immigration all the time.

(From the diaries. Food for thought. And now I'm really going offline -- kos)

I was 17 when Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980.  Since then the great back story of American politics has been the ascendency of the conservative movement, and its ally, the Republican Party.  One of the big questions we will all be talking about in the days to come will be whether or not this story of conservative ascendency has come to an end, and whether we are entering a new period in American history.  

I believe we are.

The last 100 years of American politics can be put into three rough historical periods. Period 1 ran from TR to FDR, and was a battle for the mastery of a new reform-minded and modern politics eventually captured by the Democrats, and philosophically located squarely in the progressive camp. Period 2 was FDR to Reagan, and was an era of Democratic ascendency and consolidation of power, and a triumph of progressive values. Period 3, the conservative ascendency, began in 1980 and saw great triumph in 1994, and again in this decade. Today as a result of their recent success, the Republican Party and the conservative movement has more political and ideological control over the government than any time since the 1920s.

The question about conservatism has always been could it mature enough as a governing philosophy to replace 20th century progressivism, and provide America with a true alternative governing approach? The Bush era has answered that question, and the answer is no. Given the extraordinary failure of conservative government to do the very basics - keeping us safe, fostering broad-based prosperity, protecting our liberties, balancing the books and not breaking the law - history will label this 20th century conservatism a success as a critique of 20th century progressivism, but a failure as a governing philosophy. It never matured into something more than an ivory-tower led and Limbaugh-fed correction to a progressivism that had lost its way.

Despite the many billions spent in building this modern conservative movement, history will label it a grand and remarkable failure. And we will look back at 2006 as the year this most recent period of American history - the conservative ascendency - ended.

So like two heavy weight boxers stumbling into the 15th round of a championship fight, the two great ideologies of the 20th century stumble, exhausted, tattered and weakened, into a very dynamic and challenging 21st century. This next American era will not be one dominated by these two exhausted ideologies of the past, but will be a battle for the mastery of a new, as yet unarticulated 21st century governing approach suited to the challenges we face today and built around the media and people of our time. The core direction of this battle is not the left-right one fought at the end of the last century, but will be more about forward and backward. Meaning that the way we will have to measure progress from now on is to look at how a party or ideological movement captures the three main dimensions of this emergent, post-liberal/conservative politics of our day - a new governing agenda capable of tackling the challenges of our time, and new political arrangements built around the emergent media and people of the 21st century.

2006 will become known as the year American conservatism reached its peak, and our 20th century politics fought one its very last battles. The future will belong to those who master this "new politics" of the 21st century. Friends, we have a lot of work to do to ensure that it is our movement, and our values, that leave these old and tired battles behind and get about mastering this new politics of the 21st century.

For a video presentation of about this idea of the "new politics," visit our New Politics Institute site at http://www.newpolitics.net. Crossposted at http://www.ndnblog.org.

In recent months it has become clear that the conservatives who run Washington have failed to deliver on the basic responsibilities of governing - creating broad-based prosperity, managing our finances, keeping us safe and meeting new challenges as they arise. Over the past several days, a wave of arrests, investigations and indictments have also illustrated the degree to which these conservatives have become corrupted by their almost unchecked power, taking actions that have tarnished our democracy and will certainly send several conservative leaders out of government, if not to jail.

Things are moving quickly and these various threads are likely to evolve into one of the biggest political scandals - or series of scandals - in American history.  They involve money, abuse of power, conspiracy and coordination, obstruction of justice, fraud and traditional political skullduggery.  But what makes these scandals so remarkable is that they involve not just a single branch of government but the leadership of an entire political movement.

(more in extended)  

Years of conservative government have left Americans much worse off, our government without the tools needed to meet today's challenges.

For months, NDN has been making the case that modern conservatives have failed to deliver on the basic responsibilities of government - keeping us safe, managing our finances, creating broad-based prosperity and preparing us for the challenges of the twenty-first century. Last week, we released a new report illustrating how ineffective the conservatives have been in creating opportunity for all and managing the government of the United States.  Please download it, and, if you choose, offer improvements of your own.    

As we look to dig out from Katrina and help the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast reclaim their way of life, we must begin the same process for ordinary Americans across the country.  Those calling for help on the rooftops of New Orleans are not the only ones who have been left behind by the failures of modern conservatism. (more in extended)

Today I endorsed Howard Dean to be the next chair of the DNC.  While I am disappointed that I did not win, I believe Governor Dean - with help from all of us - will be a good Chairman and will help write a new and better chapter to the already remarkable story of our Party.  My full statement is below in the extended entry.  

As for you all, thank you.  Thank you for your kind words.  Thank you for your concern about our Party.  Thank you for the money you've raised, the people you've touched, the passion you bring and your fighting spirit that has inspired me every day for so long now.  You are doing good my friends.  Keep it up.   We still have a lot of work to do.  

And yes, I will be working hard with you each day to make sure that our Party is stronger and that Governor Dean becomes a successful and effective Chair.  

Till the next time,

S