The latest AP-Ipsos
poll shows Bush's numbers falling to an all time low, losing the confidence of the public on his "signature issues" (e.g. "security") and losing support among his most faithful voters. On Iraq and on the direction of the US, Bush spells disaster for the Republicans:
"Nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans, believe civil war will break out in Iraq -- the bloody hot spot upon which Bush has staked his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of people say the U.S. is on the wrong track, a 6-point jump since February."
Yet, as the Republicans themselves desperately attempt to distance themselves from Bush, Slate editor Jonathan Weisberg still finds an opportunity to
trash the Democratic Party with a cheap but insidious hack job in the Financial Times.
Beyond noting once again that the corporate media conglomerates reward those who shill for the Republicans (which is true), the "Democratic Wing" of the Democratic Party must recognize the role that it must urgently play to hand a decisive defeat to the Republicans in November.
More on the flip...
Weisberg reprises a well-honed corporate media meme when lambasting the Democratic leadership:
"According to the latest CBS poll, George W. Bush's approval rating hit a personal low of 34 per cent..."
(...)
"But Democrats do not have a charismatic schemer such as Newt Gingrich to lead the way. Instead, they have Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Howard Dean."
(...)
"Since assuming their positions after the last election, the three have appeared somewhere between useless and disastrous as party leaders. Individually, they lack substance and policy smarts (Ms Pelosi); coherence and force (Mr Reid); and steadiness and mainstream appeal (Mr Dean). Collectively, they convey an image of liberal elitism, disarray and crabbiness."
This twofold attack implies that the Democrats are doomed as they lack an effective battle plan and a charismatic leader (compared to the Republicans as they were poised to take over Congress in 1994). It is a superficial analysis, however. While Gingrich's Contract With America was a well thought-out and well-articulated tactical campaign, it was not Gingrich's "charisma" nor the actual "Contract" that drove voters to the polls. Rather, it was the Conservative Wing of the Republican Party's extremely successful mobilization of its base within the broad frame of the "Contract" campaign that built the overall Republican momentum. The Conservative Wing mobilized church by church and town by town to turn out its core voters to support the Contract despite the fact that the Contract did not even address most of their core issues such as outlawing abortion, etc. (this is pointed out quite accurately by Kos and Jerome in Crash the Gate).
Weisberg's piece is especially disingenuous because it completely fails to address the ongoing struggles within the Democratic Party. He barely acknowledges the significance of the budding party discipline that Reid, Pelosi and Dean agree on and makes no mention whatsoever of the significant differences of opinion over party-building strategies between the Dean camp and state parties and the DC insiders. But his ability to peddle his weak "Three Stooges" analogy does reflect the urgent need for the Democratic Wing to demarcate itself within the Democratic Party.
Much effort has been made by progressive Dems and especially by the netroots to challenge the organized centers of opposition to progress (and thus victory) within the Democratic Party (DLC, consultant racketeers, etc.) and to propose tactical and strategic shifts in political platform and organizing methodology. And this is certainly the key to uniting the Democratic Wing and empowering its leadership to articulate a clear vision and plan for a Democratic Party victory in November. Yet in order to do this succesfully, a much clearer identification of who is who in the Democratic Party would be of great help. Whereas lightning-rod allies (Dean, Feingold, etc.) and enemies (Lieberman, Cuellar) are commonly identified, the task remains to identify the state of progressive forces within the Democratic Party state by state, congressperson by congressperson to know where the potential forces for progressive change actually stand. The netroots infrastructure provides the means to do this, if only there is the will.
Amidst all the confusion and the morass that the past thirty years of conservative offensive and progressive disarray have caused, let's go back to the basics:
Know thy Enemy, Know Thyself.