The Democrats may have won the recent election, but they still lack a coherent governing philosophy, according to political scientist Dan DiSalvo. Unable to overcome the legacy of 1968, which represents the collapse of the New Deal coalition, the Democrats are caught between the vital center and radical politics.
What a revelation! Errr..wait a minute, any political party in this country that seeks to build a governing coaliton in a diverse population of 300 Million people is going to face the quandry of balancing different and often opposing points of view. I think we can classify this observation under NO SH*T Sherlock! Is this wonderlic seriously suggesting to me that the GOP has not been utterly subverted by it's own radical wings? Their solution to this problem was to embrace the madness. Now we have the unholy alliance of corporate power and Dominionist christian facism. Isn't that the coherent governing philosophy the GOP has pimped? Is that the model we are supposed to follow?
What are the properties of a coherent governing philosphy, while we're on the subject? The Gingrich/Bush governing philosophy has been revealed to be "Entrust us with your democratic institutions so we can trash them. Oh, and use the power of the regulatory state on the behalf of our corporate enablers against our constituents. God Bless America!". If that is a coherent philosphy, we don't need one. Facism has a very coherent view on governing, that does not mean I want facists elected to govern.
I absolutely could not give a crap what anyone associated with the American political right or the Republican party has to say about governing. They have had 6 years to demonstrate their "coherent philosophy". It is pretty clear their governing philosophy sucks ass. For the most part, because it is not a philosophy of governance. Look, if your philosophy of governance is centered around contempt for the organization you seek to operate, and you hold the very mission of the organization in contempt, what do you think the outcome is going to be? If the CEO of UPS hated delivery services as a core part of his ideology, and filled the management ranks with people who shared that view and sought to undermine the company at every opportunity, all the while attempting to enrich themselves and their friends with the companies money, what do you think is going happen? Anyone? Just look at the record of the GOP Congress and Bush Administration for your answer. It is as close to an utter repudiation as you will find.
And for Chrisakes, can we stop harping about the freakin 60's. 1968 was almost 40 friggin years ago, get over it. Stop looking for easy to point to watershed moments to prove your pet theories please. If there was a watershed movement in the 60's, it wasn't the yippies or the anti-war movement. Sorry folks, I like the music and the romance of it all too. Deal with it hippies. Memo to Boomers, we were tired of your nostalgia and bitter recrminations in the 80's. Just think how our cups overflow in 2007. Just for your information Boomers, the 1968 campaign was not the most important political milestone of the 1960's, it was arguably the civil rights legislation of that decade. Look at the electoral map of 1964, and the maps of 2004. What could possibly have brought that change about?
The correct answer is of course many things, but the switch of conservative southern democrats to the GOP is more important than the political chaos of 68. And by the way, anyone who thinks that "leftist Intellectuals" are running anything in the Democratic party, or even in most liberal groups needs to switch off Fox News and put the bong away. That is yet another canard fed like a peeled grape from the rights agitprop machine into the beltway media to be manufactured into conventional wisdom. In fact, the truth is that the Democratic party needs to do MORE, MUCH MORE, to connect with their liberal base and the intellectual and political energy they provide. Integrating those people and their ideas into the party is the key to continuing growth and success. They need to embrace their inner hippies and leftists, not run away like pack of whiney pussies. Clintonism is a road to nowhere without the heart of American liberalism to make it more than a series of political strategies.
If the Democratic party wants to build a coherent governing philosophy, well, Go Left young man.
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