The Coming Dominance of Democrats

No, I haven't been dipping into the loco weed. It will take some time, but not forever. The reality of the situation is made clear from two terrific op-ed pieces from the NY Times, one by a prominent Democrat, one by a prominent Republican. I thought that after my earlier screed on the Texas Legislature, we could use something uplifting.

Bill Bradley, the Democrat and former Senator from New Jersey, rightly points out, as many others, including this writer have said on numerous occasions, that what ails the Democratic Party is our party structure, to which we have paid too little attention for about 30 years. He does not much mention our lack of communications infrastructure, but that's a big part of it too. This is true nationally, and certainly in Texas and in the Panhandle. Whether you buy Bradley's pyramid metaphor or not, it is clear that party leaders, from Howard Dean on down, all clearly understand what the rebuilding process looks like and the process has begun. We now have a broad fundraising base, we have activist organizations like ACT and MoveOn, we have a growing radio network, we have new think tanks like the Center for American Progress and the Century Foundation, and party leaders all over the country are putting resources into grassroots development. Furthermore, since we are not so far behind as the R's were in the mid-60's, it seems to me that we can look forward to greater electoral success well before that 10-year rebuilding process is complete.

On the other hand, as pointed out by John Danforth's (former Republican Senator from Missouri) piece, the R's have veered into dangerous territory from which it will not be easy to reemerge. For a conservative like Danforth to explicitly say that the Republican Party is now the political wing of a movement of religious zealots (my word, but the meaning is clear) is damning. He correctly suggests that right-wing Christian evangelicals are not merely promoting their political agenda, but promoting their religion by inserting it into public law, in opposition to the preferences of other religions and religious traditions, and flouting the Constitution. He does not say it, but there would be no reason for him to write this if he did not fear that continued promotion of religious doctrine by his party would ultimately fracture the party along sectarian lines. The evidence is all around us that this process has already begun. But the R's are electorally addicted to the activism of Christian fundamentalists. When (not if) we overcome that activism and begin winning elections regularly, whether because we have improved our infrastructure or because they are thrown out of office as corrupt or incompetent, how will they wean themselves off that drug? Call me crazy, but I don't see legions of bankers and business executives out knocking on doors.

It's hard to see sometimes, while the local crop of bumper stickers proclaims This is Bush Country, but we can win here too. The reality is that the majority of folks who pulled the 'R' lever last fall are voting in opposition to their own interests. Many of them are doing so out of the sincere, but seriously misguided belief that Republican leaders share their values. What Republican leaders do that reflects their true values is to mislead, mismanage and grandstand for political gain. And the public is catching on. We are in the vanguard of a movement that will bring truth to the misinformed, a guiding light to the misled, and comfort to the mismanaged.

DEMOPHOENIX