They Aren't 'Just Resting', The Democratic Party is Dead

[oc2002]

this week reminds me of where we where more than 4 years ago, and how little things have changed for the democratic party.

here is something Robert Riech wrote back then, and applies the same today.

They Aren't 'Just Resting'

The Democratic Party is Dead



by Robert B. Reich
Sunday, March 11, 2001



If I were a political consumer, I would -- with apologies to the late Monty Python parrot -- be going back to the store right about now and registering a complaint: "This political party -- the Democratic Party. It's dead."



"No, no, no no," he replies, "it's just resting."



But I know a dead party when I see one, and I'm looking at a dead party right now. Just consider the past eight years: lost the presidency, both houses of Congress, almost all its majorities in state legislatures, most governorships. Will lose additional House seats in the next redistricting. Most of the current justices of the Supreme Court appointed by Republicans, also most current federal judges. And the interminable Bill Clinton scandals. The Democratic Party is stone dead. Dead as a doornail.



Not at all, he says. After all, the Democrats are only one seat away from taking over the Senate. If Katherine Harris and the Supreme Court hadn't mucked it up, Al Gore would be in the White House right now. He won the popular vote by a half-million. Democrats and Greens together won more than 3 million more votes than the Republicans. And the Dems raised as much soft money as the Republicans for the first time in history. Forget the Clinton unpleasantness. The public will forget it. It always does. The party's not dead, "just resting."



Maybe, or perhaps it's stunned, lying there inert with less than two years to go until the midterms. Simply can't get over not having Bill Clinton in the White House.



But just you wait, say the party's salesmen: Someone will emerge to bring it back to life.



Look, the only reason the Democratic Party is sitting upright is that it's been nailed there, like the Python parrot. Who speaks for the Democrats? Clinton is utterly disgraced. Gore ran a lousy campaign. Terry McAuliffe heads the Democratic National Committee only because he raised a ton of

money for Clinton.



And don't tell me the Democratic Leadership Council, with all that talk about being from the vital center -- why, even Hillary joined up – is going to revive this bird. The DLC stands for nothing, nada, zero, except it's anti-union. No grass roots. No troops. No one out in America cares about the DLC. The DLC says it's centrist, but centrism is wherever the polls say most Americans are. And most Americans drift wherever there's a lot of hullabaloo. Centrism is unprincipled. Centrism doesn't lead. It follows. Centrism is Dick Morris. Centrism is nowhere.



If the Democratic Party's alive, why doesn't it insist that the budget surplus be spent on health care for the 44 million Americans without it? And child care for the millions who lack it? And good schools for all kids? Why doesn't the party say it's plain absurd to spend $300 billion on the military when the Cold War is over, and tens of billions more on a missile-defense shield that won't work? Why isn't it outraged that most of the benefits of President Bush's tax cut will go to people at the top? Why does it play dead on the environment? Why? Because it's not playing dead. It is dead!



The Dems aren't even fighting for campaign finance reform. They got so much soft money last time that they've decided to hold on. This party is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. This is an ex-party!



The writer was secretary of labor from 1993 to 1997 and is the author of "The Future of Success."

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. We need more negativity on here like we need a hole in the head.

[NoodleBoy]

2. You have two options: keep whining, or DO something about it

Only one of them will help.

By the way, have you NOT been seeing the reports of Reid and Dean leading great defenses and not keeping quiet when we're attacked? How could you be a member of this board and not hear of Rahm Emanuel's 5 point plan to campaign on in 2006? Or about the reports that, for the first time, we're actually LEADING the Republican party in donations?

[oc2002]

3. your right I have not, but then nobody I know has ever heard of it either.

[NoodleBoy]

nice comeback. maybe if you weren't busy whining you'd have heard.

[BillZBubb]

20. Telling the truth isn't whining.

As to your text:

1) Reid and Dean leading "defenses" is not what we need. We need to be perpetually on the offensive--attacking Repugs and selling our vision. We aren't and that is a big problem.

2) Rahm Emanuel's 5 point plan may or may not be worth a plug nickel. Unless we get ALL Democrats to fall in line, we'll continue to look like the Keystone Kops. We need a unified party with a unified message. One guy's 5 points won't get us there. It may take an uprising from the base to get this party off life support.

3) We are leading in donations, but is that really a good thing? Who is donating? Is it corporate money?

Finally, even though the Repugs are taking a beating in the polls, the Democrats are not gaining any real traction. We need to address that issue squarely. If you see that as whining, well, too bad.

[NoodleBoy]

24. whining about it on a message board and not doing anything is whining.

1) Reid and Dean not only have lead defenses, but also took a critical offense. Remember social security privatisation? We took the offense, galvanized public opinion and annihilated Bush's first move after re-election.

2) Rahm Emanuel isn't just some jerkoff blogger, he's the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. That means, he's the one leading 2006 Congressional elections, you know, those elections everyone are saying are so critical. He's the face of it all, the voice of it all, the body of it all. He's also a Representative with a very high profile, probably destined to achieve a higher office one day.

3) Yes, it's a good thing. People are donating, not corporations. Ever head of Democracy Bonds? Probably not, which makes my point.

And finally, we're not gaining any real traction because we're fighting Bush, Delay and Frist for the spotlight, and with all of the legal trouble they've been going through lately that's probably a good thing. On the other hand, Rahm Emanuel, Chuck Schumer, and Howard Dean have been the ones representing us nationally, with state Governors such as Richardson and Napolitano have been leading on the state level.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. again what you see as whining is IDENTIFYING the problems

The leadership (and dean is trying mind you, for that I love him) is not leading... they are NOT leading

Moreover, they are not letting the base into the agenda, so I see, the ever so popular WATCH C-SPAN... no people don't need to watch C-SPAN, they need to be told by their leadership this is what we are doing this week.

Oh yes the emails from the DNC (week in Review) are a good step in the right direction, but we need our people on the radio not some of the time, but all the time... the power of radio has yet to be understood by our leadership

They need to be on Main Stream Teevee... (I know the problems before you say anything) but it is also true that the ratio, according to FAIR, last time I checked, it was 5 pugs per 1 dem and I am sorry when that Dem is mostly a member of the DLC well the progressive message is not getting out there


Yes the time is ripe for a revolt from the base and that is what you are seeing, people are FED UP... it will not be too long before either of two things hapepn...

the base (which is taken for granted) votes for somebody else (yes the dreaded third party, or just forms one) or the base gives up and does not give money, tears and toil to the party, and worst yet stays home in November.

This is not cassandra, but the many posts you see as whining are a symptom that something very serious is amiss... and the cheer leaders are not helping. Nobody is posting these negative posts because we hate the idea of a strong democratic party. Methinks the we don't need more negativity crowd, and please don't take the Dem's to task crowd are missing the point completely. Now if you miss it I won't care... if the party leadership misses it... that is a whole different story.

[bigscott]

4. Sad but true

RR is a relevant today as in 2001.

Dems have to start standing for something again - not just AGAINST stuff. Tell us what you believe in, tell the country what you believe in - then fight as hard asn mean as they do to get it.

The current administration has ruined this country - we have to articulate a plan to take our country back.:kick:

[oc2002]

6. yep. they have no vision, no bold initiatives, nothing, nada, zip...

and where is the outrage at least?

[papau]

9. no vision, no bold initiatives? Perhaps they should push for maned Mars

missions?

or perhaps bold initiatives that are bull shit and waste money that is borrowed from the next generation have long list of not so bold commen sense ideas - like end the tax cuts on the rich - that should be discussed first?

[NoodleBoy]

15. or maybe this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4953981

"5, Count 'Em, 5 Democratic Ideas"

[papau]

23. vision & bold initiatives=?education/deficit reduction/energy w/o only oil

plus more education and finally National Health. Which of these five were not Democratic Party goals before this "5 points" speech?

Getting the Party behind single payer National Health is a good idea and single payer National Health should be added to the platform - but the others are rewrites of prior Dem Party/Presidential statements - they are not bad ideas - it is just that the poster suggesting the Dem Party lacked ideas - or at least lacked "vision & bold initiatives" - and that does not seem to be correct.

=================================================================
One, we make college education as universal for the 21st century that a high school education was in the 20th.

Second, we get a summit on the budget to deal with the $3 trillion of debt that's been added up in five years and structural deficits of $400 billion a year.

Third, an energy policy that says in 10 years, we cut our dependence on foreign oil in half and make this a hybrid economy.

Four, we create an institute on science and technology that builds for America like, the National Institutes has done for health care, we maintain our edge.

Five, we have a universal health-care system over the next 10 years where if you work, you have health care.

[NoodleBoy]

26. reading that stuff makes me proud to be a non-whiney dem.

[oc2002]

27. has any elected democrat actualy come out in support of any of those?

I have not heard of any ELECTED dem say one damn thing about any of those ideas.

[NoodleBoy]

29. uh, gee, maybe Rahm Emanuel, rep. from Illinois

You know, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a position elected by Democratic members of Congress? By proxy, every single Democratic member of Congress supports it.

[papau]

30. Contact Rep Barney Frank's office - who has spoken on all 5

Then Ted Kennedy

Then go down the list

I think you have a vaild complaint about single payer National Life - seems at the National Level the party is afraid of the insurance companies -

and I suspect you and I would like to see that change.

:-)

[Selatius]

5. The best solution now would be to ignite a populist movement

DFA or PDA could theoretically be used as a launch pad to overtake the party leadership and replace them, co-opt the entire party and drag it to the left.

[oc2002]

7. what DFA or PDA?

[NoodleBoy]

10. you've got to be kidding me.

[stillcool]

17. funny...

why do you bother?

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. here you go

http://www.pdamerica.org/

The other is Democracy for America and they hold monthly meetings across the country

[hogwyld]

13. I think it's started already

By making Howard Dean chairman of the DNC, we are going back to our leftist roots. We need more progressive bomb throwers to shake things up. I'm hoping that more and more people fight for what they believe, and seize the left. That at least will bring back passion which the Dems are sorely lacking at the moment.

[ArkDem]

8. Did Riech go to college on a basketball scholarship?

[oc2002]

14. thats mean. lol.

[Dr Fate]

11. Speak for yourself and your own local & state organizations . n/t

n/t

[NoodleBoy]

16. word

[TahitiNut]

12. They're just pinin' for the fjords.

:shrug:

[NoodleBoy]

18. Everyone who thinks the party is dead, remember: YOU ARE THE PARTY

And by the way, if you're trying to say the Dems have no ideas, check this out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4953981

[DanCa]

19. Pokes democratic party with a stick

wait did it move did it flinch - just kidding. seriously guys we turned out more dems than ever there was major fraud and suppression the gop wants us to give up on the dem party. Thats a meme. Look at it this way we took a "popular ninety eight percent war time president" and took him to the mat, I think it was very rocky esque and I think we even one. They just figured out how to cheat surprass and seperate and scare people better.

[Just Me]

21. Here we go, AGAIN!! For cryin' out loud.

:yoiks:

[Greyhound]

22. It's only negative if you refuse to look at the truth of it, and start

working to change it. I know that's why I came here and why I continue to post responses. He wrote this 4 years ago and not one thing he says has changed. Why? Can it be that our 'leaders' are not leading us toward anything except the dismal future the ruling class (which they are a part of) has decreed to be our lot?
America (not amerika) is/was anathema to the ruling class. The Constitution originally dealt with this by setting up the system so that it could be corrected by us. By trying to ensure the power of government would rest in the hands of the States and its Citizens they thought to keep the rulers of Europe from doing exactly what we have seen done to us over the last century or so.
The political parties, as they are today, belong to the ruling class. It is way past time We take them back or replace them.
:smoke:

[txaslftist]

25. Why don't you go post at "Third Party Underground" then.

Oh. There isn't one?

Hmmmm.

What do you know?

[Lexingtonian]

28. a stupid lumping of all Democrats

Of course, Reich could have written exactly the same column in early 1995. The Party survived the conservative Democrats getting killed off as a group and dominant force and wing of the Party in 1994 and 1996, however.

Yes, the moderate wing of the Party, which dominated it then, got damaged in 2000 and destroyed in 2002 and 2004. I don't miss them either, any of the Republican Lite milquetoasts aka toast-in-'02. There's nothing to miss about Zell Miller, Ben Campbell, and a thousand others of their stripe and their fecklessness and pusilanimity and reactionary approach and their being mentally stuck in the Seventies and Eighties (at best).

We've got the liberal wing as the survivors, the other two wings were sadly obsolete and deserved to be killed off. Voters were cruel to Democratic hopes and ideals, sure, but this editorial utterly ignores that they've also killed off two obsolete wings of the Republican Party (moderates in '90/'92 and conservatives in '98/'00).

The fact that this 2001 editorial got posted, apparently because its superficiality, its naive and selfimportant and whiny points amid blatant peddling of 'Democratic' pieties, seemed some kind of wisdom... aaaargh. Look, the politics of the present is not about resurrecting the pieties of the Democratic Party. (Nor should any Party try to resurrect itself to ideals of an era gone by.) The politics of the present is crude and anti-idealistic and about the electorate crashing the hardline Right wing of the Republican Party into a field of boulders from 20,000 feet.

[txaslftist]

31. Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated.n/t