This diary is going to be a bit of a departure. I am one of the 'newbie' diarists at dKos, and I'm also one of those who have been pushing populism as a way for the Democrats to win national-level elections. [As was outlined in the excellent article -
The DaVinci Code for Democrats - which was summarized in a recent fromt page diary.]
In this process I have sometimes been highly critical of those advocating centrism, and the DLC position. This has occasionally led me to be abrasive as the rhetoric heated up - for this I feel I should apologize. [Though, to be fair to myself, I can safely say I am not alone here!]
As the debate and discussion has continued, I am now considering a revision of my position ... and, within a carefully thought-out context, I am at the point where I feel I can say "Centrism is GOOD for the Democratic Party."
Have I lost my mind? More below the fold...
I am premising my "born-again Centrist" status on the following concepts:
- The Democratic Party NEEDS to be the 'big-tent' party in reality. While the GOP claims this status, it is more true about us. If handled poorly, a 'big tent' party dissolves into in-fighting, contrary positions and a total lack of direction. When handled well, a broad range of ideas within a common framework is the strength of a great democratic [small 'd'] movement. Thus, it is incumbent upon us to keep our tent as large as we possibly can.
- The GOP is increasingly fond of using federal power to institute one-size-fits all solutions across the country [witness the fights over medical marijuana and right-to-die legislation]. That type of attitude does not fit within the modern Democratic party mold. While it may require a serious debate over how 'state's rights' vs federalism fit within a Progressive agenda, we can find a lot of strength in supporting local determination of 'wedge issues' - with some local Dem candidates running a populist-themed campaign, and some local Dem candidates running a centrist campaign. Handled correctly, the strength would be the sharp contrast with the GOP monotheism. Handled poorly, the danger would be a 'watered-down' message, and being viewed as "GOP-lite" which has been shown to be a losing strategy.
- SOME of the issues that populists - or at least, I - have with the DLC and centrists seem more about language and presentation that about core ideals. I think the word 'centrism' itself is a horrible word, because it creates the mental image of physical movement towards the GOP .. validating GOP positions, and weakening our own. "Family-owned Business Friendly" or something is much better for the mental image it creates, but it's an awkward term. Is there something better?
- As the GOP becomes more neocon dominated, and continues to bully moderate GOP politicians and voters, there is an opportunity to capture some of these folks .. and some of them are pretty good folks. And, as the saying goes, "I would rather have somebody inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."
I guess I am suggesting a platform of "Informed Populism" ... putting the party forward as being populist at its core, but realist and flexible enough about modern economics to realize when moderation is needed. Committed to civil rights and liberties, but smart enough to develop policies that maintain those liberties while respecting local traditionalist views.
So I pose these questions:
- Are there enough commonalities between Populists and Centrist that can form a core set of "Democratic Values" that will stand in sharp contrast to the current GOP? If so, what are they?
- Do we have message-makers and policy-makers within the party who are savvy enough to select the vital populist and centrist issues that can 'cohabitate' ideologically? Are they smart enough to discard the positions that are either not vitally important [non-issues] or too divisive to establish an official position on [the "agree to disagree" issues]? Finally, do we have the talent to package this attractively?
- Can we REALLY become the true "Big Tent" party, without damaging the integrity of our core values?
Bash away, ignore, whatever you see fit....