MoveOn makes power grab
MoveOn wants to set the pace for the Dems at the national level. Hmm. The national Dems are a joke, no doubt. Even with record turn-out and organization in 2004 they still looked pitifully run next to the GOP. But, while ripping out McAullife's terrible reign is the right move, is MoveOn right for the job? Maybe. The group doesn't exactly have a winning track record themselves, let alone a history of winning important policy debates. If anything, MoveOn should help start other liberal think-tanks and orgs, not simply become the big one. The Dems need breadth to increase their reach. Still, when it comes to "saving" the Dems I just don't know. As demographic data and voting trends emerge from 2004, I increasingly think it's going to be very tough to right the ship. Right now, I'd say that there's a much better chance of the GOP self-destructing than there is of the Democratic Party re-emerging as a 50-state entity in the next couple cycles.
3 Comments:
What's the argument/data (I assume there is some) for the Dems being less of a 50 state org than the GOP? Just looking at the maps from 2004 it seems like if anything the two parties just got more entrenched, and quite frankly the GOP has a much of a "Northern problem" as the Dems do a "Southern problem," right?
As for fixing the Democratic party... Put Dean in charge. Stop caring what the Right thinks. They've done wonders by ignoring us and we should do the same. And start running to the left rather than the middle. I think Clinton did more harm then good in the long run positioning the Dems as a worthless middle of the road party.
Of course you're right, power begets power and it will take the GOP imploding (much as the Dems did in the late 70s) for the Dems to really return to power. Luckily it took 50 years for the Dem majority to become really corrupt and disgusting, but it's taken the GOP about 10.
Given that, I think (hope) that if the Dems can get their media response and branding together, and just stop being such enormous pansies all the time, then they'll do just fine.
Also, it doesn't really seem like they're makign a power grab so much as saying what lots of others out there are... The current Dem establishment is awful, the DLC sans Clinton is worthless, and we need new blood and a party apparatus outside the beltway bullshit.
Well, from my own little post-election data crunching, I found that Bush and GOP congressional folks did about 2-4% better in Blue and Purple-Blue territory than Dems did in Red and Purple-Red territory.
You are right, this is not much of a chasm, but I think this 2-4% advantage has nonetheless become decisive in maintaining GOP power at the national and state levels.
Plus, Dean himself just gave that big speech and was talking about how the Dems can't run an 18 state campaign. I think that's what got me thinking.
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