Which Dems Win?
July 18th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
The lunch rush midday Friday at the Netroots Nation convention was driven by netroots blogfather (and the convention’s erstwhile namesake) Markos Moulitsas, of Daily Kos fame. Moulitsas shared the stage (after a silly “Meet the Bloggers” video interview with the netroots version of a mainstream media madame Arianna Huffington) with former Tennessee congressman and Democratic Leadership Council Chairman Harold Ford.
The discussion, moderated by a Howard Dean stand-in from the Democratic National Committee, toggled back and forth between these two not-necessarily-mutually-exclusive poles of the modern Democratic power structure.
On one hand: Moulitsas’ self-congratulatory reminders of the “market need” that has driven the stratospheric ascent of the political blogosphere over the past four years, his veiled threats to “pay a visit” to unresponsive Dem candidates in the 2010 primaries, and his acknowledgement that the netroots, for all their perceived power, still got their hats handed to them by the dark forces of AT&T on the recent Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) vote—a Bush Administration gimme that generated broad disappointment in previously favored netroots candidates like Montana Sen. Jon Tester and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
On the other hand: Ford’s gentle warnings against the dangers of applying ideological purity litmus tests, especially to Dems in conservative states who, as a matter of electoral practicality, simply can’t support, say, gun control and hope to get elected.
The difference between an Obama administration and a McCain administration, Ford said, is to great to forget in the netroots’ hunt for the perfect candidate.
Moulitsas repeated his calls for politicians responsive to their constituents, and advocated for choice among clearly defined alternatives as the engine that will continue to drive public engagement in party politics. Ford, forced to play the practicality card, urged unity and big-picture perspective.
Asked to comment on the influence of each others’ respective camps, Ford issued a warning that simultaneously heralded cause for hope when he said, “We can’t win without one another. It takes both wings of the party to make the party move.”
That line generated polite applause. But what really got the crowd going, and implied that those wings are still a long way from flapping in synch, was a Moulitsas anecdote about his speech in front of a recent DLC gathering. Moulitsas recalled how he “accidentally” let slip a reference to “that asshole Joe Lieberman.”
Even the DLC crowd erupted in applause, Moulitsas said. This lunchtime crowd did the same.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Democrats have to appeal to the center to win in November. Forget about FISA and the exotic social issues. The Democratic Party needs to focus on economic issues of concern to working and middle class families. Too many netroots types have convinced themselves that they represent mainstream opinion. While the netroots offers a useful perspective at times, their outlook is very different from your average American voter.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Democrats already are the center.
Poll after poll indicates that, in terms of Iraq, health care, the economy, energy security, and issue after issue, Democratic positions are the same positions most Americans embrace.
The frustration comes in when Dem leaders don’t act on those well supported positions, but cave to a false idea of the “mystical middle” that is contrary to what Americans want and believe.