Archive for November 19, 2008

For Sarah Palin, More Ethics Problems

This time she faces complaints for improperly mixing her governorship and her larger political ambitions, by holding press conferences in the governor’s office. Turns out you can’t use state resources to promote, or hurt, a political campaign. Oops.

I’d Buy Tickets to a Hagel-Limbaugh Throwdown

Chuck Hagel lets ‘er rip re: conservative royalty … like Rush Limbaugh. Actually, “royalty” isn’t the right word. Limbaugh and Coulter and Malkin and Faux News and … the list goes on … are more like the Republican Party’s la cosa nostra … rife with megalomania, sociopathy, paranoia, revenge, secretiveness … but notably lacking culture, loyalty, or good cannoli.

New Labour and the New Democrats: Lessons for President-Elect Obama, from Tony Blair

Keep smiling. You earned it.

The year 1992 gave America its redemption from the Reagan years but, across the Pond, progressive politics was in a much, much worse state. Despite significant electoral gains, Neil Kinnock’s Labour Party failed to retake a majority in the House of Commons, and 10 Downing passed to John Major, a pale shadow of Lady Thatcher possessed of most of her ideas, but little of her intellect and charm. The message was clear: even Lady Thatcher’s coattails could beat the Labour Party – a narrow, far-left, quasi-socialist party – any day of the week.

And yet, in the space of four years, Labour transitioned from the perennial, sidelined minority party to the undisputed master of Parliament. Labour has held power for more than a decade now, endured an unpopular war and, now, and still retains some home for the future in the form of the one man seemingly capable of navigating the global financial crisis (ahem: Gordon Brown). An unlikely hero, yes, but a hero nonetheless. How did they do it?

Easy. Compromise and a charismatic leader. In a process begun by Kinnock but brought to its fantastic conclusion by Tony Blair, Labour sought the middle on the issues that made it an unpopular fringe group, abandoning nationalization of industry as a central party plank (yes: they were that far left), and tacking right on a whole host of economic issues. ((For an internet source – i.e., a good book on Google Books – check out The Rise of New Labour.  I offer this only as further reading; most of what I’m drawing on is personal knowledge, the sources of which I’ve long since forgotten.)) By usurping the best of Thatcher’s ideas without compromising most of his leftist bent, Blair succeeded at winning over the elusive middle, and built for himself a party that, despite serious troubles, seems poised to retain power even in the upcoming general election.

The lesson to draw from Tony Blair – go slightly right, young liberal, and grow up with the country – should sound familiar. It’s how we just won an election or, more appropriately, how the Republicans lost an election. John McCain’s campaign style, and especially (you knew it was coming) his selection of Sarah Palin, clearly demonstrated that the Republican Party, for one reason or another, is incapable of seeking the center. The Religious Right ties their hands on social issues (Sarah Palin), and the business lobby ties their hands on economic issues (McCain sudden love affair with the Bush tax cuts). Culture war elections are the exception, not the rule, and this year, when the trend reasserted itself with a vengeance, McCain was unable to compensate appropriately. Fortunately for us, and fortunately for America, the Democrats seized on the opportunity and outflanked the GOP.

While the Republican Party spent the past eight years (and the previous pivotal eight months) catering to and contracting a narrow base, the Democratic Party under Dean spent its time expanding its base, winning Senate and House seats with moderate, inoffensive Democrats, taking a middle-left approach to culture war issues, and shedding the unfortunate stigma that John Kerry’s party exemplified. Labour’s vulnerability was its economic policies, which actually resembled socialism; the Democrats vulnerabilities were cultural. In large part, Howard Dean patched over those defects. After inheriting a moderate Democratic Party repackaged to dodge culture war bullets, all Barack Obama had to do was deliver on an even-tempered message, and appear relatable. Mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, the process of “ideological triage” was not without significant casualties. In a very real way, gay rights may be to Barack Obama what nationalization was to Tony Blair: the farther-left issue that the middle-left party simply cannot touch. But even this is no big loss. Not because gay rights are unimportant, though: frequent readers will know that my feelings are quite the opposite. Rather, gay rights can best be resolved by the non-political branch (the judiciary), and the Democratic Party will be in line to pull the right levers there with minimal attention. Making gay rights an election issue actually hurts the cause at this point, at least in the long run. So if the Democrats have left behind important issues, we haven’t left them far behind.

Especially as the American consensus continues to shift left on important issues like abortion, stem cells, privacy, and even gay rights, the Democratic Party can continue to live the Blair dream of bridging the center and the left so long as it conducts itself in a bipartisan manner (keeping Lieberman was a good start). Plausibly occupying the center is the key. That the Republicans seem so willing to shoot themselves in the foot by going farther right (go Palin go!) will just make it that much easier for centrist Democrats to outflank Republicans towards the high middle ground.

Of course, it’s easy to over-state the Blair comparison. Blair eventually faced his political reckoning in the form of the Iraq War, in which he nearly destroyed both his party and his country. Blair’s mistake should stand as a constant reminder that the center isn’t good for its own sake, and some party planks just aren’t worth abandoning. When you’re wrong, you’re wrong, and the electorate will eventually figure it out.

A special plea to British readers, and CompPol junkies:
Please, tell me if I’m wrong. It’s the only way I’ll learn.

Sixty Within Reach (But Not Likely)

Holy filibuster-proof majority, Batman! Mark Begich beat out Ted Stevens, putting an end to the GOP’s longest-sitting Senator, and stymying any nascent scheming Governor Palin had at getting herself a Senate seat this year. That puts the Democratic Senators at fifty-eight. And, Franken goes into a recount against Coleman for Minnesota’s seat, and for Jim Martin in the Georgia runoff, the cavalry has arrived. Sixty is within reach… albeit, still unlikely.