Hope that this finds all of you doing well!

I read this today in American Prospect. Just thought some of you might need some good news for a change!! [That is, it's good news if you're a Dem. anyway!] I know I certainly did!! Enjoy!

Take care, stay safe & be peacefull!
***sending healing energy & vibes for a beautiful day~***

--naughty knotty ganja girl


"Now there are signs that, just as Democrats were running on the dying fumes of interest-group liberalism in 1980, Republicans today are being powered by a conservatism that is losing steam.

First, Republicans won the White House in the closest election in American history and without winning the popular vote. Second, Bill Clinton proved that supply-side economics and the huge deficits that accompany it do not work, and the failure of George W. Bush to recognize that is hurting him with economically pressed voters, imperiling his re-election this fall. Third, as the country has become more tolerant and diverse and more time has passed since the culture wars of the 1960s, ??70s, and ??80s, Republicans are finding it harder to turn wedge-issue politics into victories. Finally, a foreign policy governed by a black-and-white view of good and evil seems to be causing more trouble for America in the world than it is preventing.

Moreover, in the eyes of the electorate, Bush is proving no better than Carter when it comes to both economic and foreign policy. According to a Gallup poll from last month, 56 percent of those polled disapproved of his handling of the economy, 55 percent disapproved of his actions in Iraq, and 53 percent disapproved of his handling of foreign affairs. Bush??s personality and perceived strength in prosecuting the war on terrorism is keeping him in the race, but as John Kerry is introduced to the American public, Bush??s advantages on both could be undermined.

Politically, Democrats have revamped their party??s infrastructure, much like the Republicans did after their post-Watergate defeats, and have proven to be able to use the Internet to raise record amounts of money from small donors. Democrats won governorships in 2002 in places like Wyoming, Kansas, Michigan, and Arizona, and have won two special Congressional elections this year in Kentucky and South Dakota. And as John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira argue in the Emerging Democratic Majority, there is a growing group of middle-class professionals who, along with an ascendant non-white America, are giving the Democratic Party a ripe opportunity to forge a lasting majority coalition.

The Democratic ticket may win this fall just by offering itself as an acceptable alternative to a failed president; after all, the moon does occasionally eclipse the sun. But the real opportunity and challenge for Democrats is to do what Reagan did and knock the other party out of its place in the political universe.

To do that, Democrats need to offer a compelling and bold agenda rooted in a coherent worldview. They need a public philosophy that does not merely restore the old-time religion or recycle what worked in 1992 and 1996, but that builds on both to offer a vision of where the party wants to take the country during these difficult times.

When that happens, Democrats will regain their place as the sun, and a new kind of ??morning in America? will dawn.

Kenneth S. Baer, a former senior speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, runs Baer Communications, a Democratic consulting firm.

Copyright © 2004 by The American Prospect, Inc. Preferred Citation: Kenneth S. Baer, "Here Comes the Moon", The American Prospect Online, Jun 11, 2004. This article may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author. Direct questions about permissions to [email protected].
knottyganjagirl Reviewed by knottyganjagirl on . Things Looking Up for Democrats???? Hope that this finds all of you doing well! I read this today in American Prospect. Just thought some of you might need some good news for a change!! I know I certainly did!! Enjoy! Take care, stay safe & be peacefull! ***sending healing energy & vibes for a beautiful day~*** --naughty knotty ganja girl Rating: 5