If You Must Read One Article About Democratic Soul Searching And How To Find Our Way Out Of The Wilderness

10:04 pm EST April 20th, 2006 | Democrats | 10 Comments

… read this one. This is the kind of thing I was talking about here.

And I want to send this bit to Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mark Warner, Bill Richardson, Russ Feingold, NARAL, The Sierra Club, The NAACP and anyone else who it applies to:

I dream of the Democratic presidential candidate who, in his — or her — announcement speech in August 2007 says something like the following:  To the single-issue groups arrayed around my party, I say this. I respect the work you do and support your causes. But I won t seek and don t want your endorsement. My staff and I won t be filling out any questionnaires. You know my track record; decide from it whether I ll be a good president. But I am running to communicate to Americans that I put the common interest over particular interests.

I’m tired of the checklist.

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10 Responses to “If You Must Read One Article About Democratic Soul Searching And How To Find Our Way Out Of The Wilderness”

  1. Chessie says:
    April 21, 2006 at 1:04 am

    One of the best reads this year.

    Do you think the beltway Dems will pay attention?

  2. Frank_D says:
    April 21, 2006 at 4:04 am

    James Taranto had an interesting take on this article yesterday

  3. Frank_D says:
    April 21, 2006 at 4:04 am

    I dream of the President, of either Party, who says, “I’m going home!, and I’m taking the keys to the Capitol with me… See ya’!”

  4. Oliver Willis says:
    April 21, 2006 at 5:04 am

    Another b.s. emmission from Taranto? I ate lunch at the same table with the guy once, not the kind of guy I’d look to advice for on anything much less somehting so important.

  5. Frank_D says:
    April 21, 2006 at 6:04 am

    Good thing you didn’t read what he had to say — your head might have exploded!

  6. Frank_D says:
    April 21, 2006 at 7:04 am

    George Washington

  7. Frank_D says:
    April 21, 2006 at 7:04 am

    Which forward – thinking Democrat wrote this?
    “We are either a United people, or we are not. If the former, let
    us, in all maters of general concern act as a nation, which have
    national objects to promote, and a national character to support.
    If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it.”

    Give up?

  8. ArC says:
    April 21, 2006 at 7:04 am

    Frankly, I liked Digby’s response better.

  9. Dugger says:
    April 21, 2006 at 8:04 am

    That was a good sentiment for Democrats. They do seem beholden to extremists and the candidate htat at least appears to not be owned by these yahoos, would have abtter shot at winning.

    Dugger

  10. Frank_D says:
    April 21, 2006 at 8:04 am

    I think it is clear that to three authors, Digby, Taranto, and Tomasky certain things weigh heavily on Tomasky’s mind, and, in his view, should somehow be incorporated into Democratic Party thinking.
    Of course, I refer to the “common good.” The ‘key’ to the equation seems to be determining something or other to be “the common good”, and then getting the American people behind it.
    And, of course, what that “common good” will be, and exactly how to get the American people behind it are two difficult questions to answer.
    But if we step back far enought, what do we see?
    What do Americans — fairly universally — agree are legitimate goals for government (i.e., the people), and government alone?
    Health care? Not hardly. Senator Clinton is still smarting from her attempt to push that one on Joe Six – Pack
    “Immigration reform”? (read: “let ‘em in, or let ‘em stay here” Until it means something else, it’s D.O.A.)
    Affirmative action? The author avers, “… affirmative action has been the most important single factor in the last 40 years in the broad expansion of the black middle class…” Even if all the people hollering about “good old – fashioned all – American fairness” left the ‘room’, and took all the bigots with them, you would have left all the people who believe that tax breaks, and reducing minority dependence on welfare had a lot to do with accelerating black middle class affluence
    I think that’s why “promote the general welfare” is 5th in the Preamble, not first