Thanks to the unfathomable incompetence and hubris of the Bush Administration and their arrogant overreaching in trying to establish a 1000-year Rovian Reich, the Democratic Party is poised to reassume political dominance in America. No doubt, Rahm Emanuel is already patting himself on the back. Not so fast there, Bud.
In order for the resurgence to stick and be sustainable, Democrats must project a vision of America with which most of its citizens can identify.
Republicans have always been better at the “Vision Thing” — except for Bush 41, of course. They have beat the hell out of the Democrats in the bumper sticker wars; projecting simple solutions to complex problems in terms that most people can get their heads around without too much effort. While its implementation was a total flop, the Republicans got a lot of mileage out of their "Contract With America"
Democrats, on the other hand, are long on objectives and programs and short on vision. If you doubt me, just take a look at the party website. On a page called “What We Stand For” is what I guess they consider being their “Vision Statement”:
- The Democratic Vision
The Democratic Party is committed to keeping our nation safe and expanding opportunity for every American. That commitment is reflected in an agenda (emphasis added) that emphasizes the security of our nation, strong economic growth, affordable health care for all Americans, retirement security, honest government, and civil rights.
This is followed by a “6-Piont Plan” and a “50 State Strategy”. So, we’ve got an agenda, a plan and a strategy — I’m still looking for the vision.
Anyone who has ever written a business plan knows the importance of a Vision Statement. It serves as a source of inspiration and succinctly and unambiguously expresses ambitious, but realistic and achievable aspirations. Does the “Democratic Vision” above, inspire anyone?
By far, the best damned vision statement in the vision statement business is the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States.
- "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
There is not a spare word and it encapsulates what the US of A is all about. It is the filter through which all Americans should see the world and the standard by which our leaders should measure their actions. My favorite part though, is “a more perfect Union”. It recognizes that we are a work in progress — an iterative endeavor that is never finished but always striving to do better. It has special relevance to the Democratic Party, since it has led the process of incrementally securing the Blessings of Liberty for the most people.
Therefore, I propose that the Democratic Party adopt the Constitution as its Contract With America and the Preamble as its Vision Statement. By taking ownership of the Constitution the party can reach out to the broadest spectrum of society and offer a vision of Justice, Domestic Tranquility, Common Defense and General Welfare. It can show that providing a social and economic safety net is not kumbaya altruism, but insurance for a stable society and enlightened self-interest for all in a More Perfect Union.
Ed