In Search of a Message Words of validation, caution and hope for a new year BY DAN CAROL As we suffer through the post-mortems and ad nauseum autopsies of the Democratic Party and what it stands for — a scene played out so many times after Mondale (1984), Dukakis (1989), Gore (2000) and now Kerry (2004) — a few words of validation, caution, and perhaps hope. Validation: Yup, you are right, they all suck. No question about it, we perennially offer up lame national candidates with tepid, poll-driven, policy prescriptions rather than inspiring ideas that animate Americans around the future. Kerry was no different – he couldn't break out of Senate-speak but we almost got him over the top with good mechanics. So we can despair about it — or we can find someone better. I'm pro-that. Caution: The best way to look ahead to 2008 is to do nothing right now. In fact, you'll feel better if you assume that things will get worse first. There's an ongoing fight over who will be the next Democratic Party chair, and even once that is settled, the party won't really have a single voice until the 2008 nominee is chosen. We will be a cacophony of conflicting voices and messages. So save your anger and energy to apply to 2006 electoral payback — while you keep your eyes open for the presidential campaign that best blends passion and practical politics. In the meantime, try and get in touch with your inner (Nelson) Mandela, because real social change takes time. Heck, as I look at the next 20 years of American politics, I think we'll all need to be open to sometimes supporting moderate Republicans who are pro-public education, environment and privacy. These folks are like an endangered species that need to be saved. Hope: That all said, we shouldn't settle for a moderate Democrat. There is no reason — no reason — that a liberal candidate can't win anytime and anywhere. How could Paul Wellstone do so well in Minnesota by voting against welfare reform, the Iraq War and so much more? The same reason that a right winger named Ronald Reagan could win the presidency in 1980, bankrupt the country, trade arms for hostages and still end up beloved by a grieving nation. These guys spoke with passion, from their heart. People get that. People LOVE that. Validation II: You're not crazy at all; this moral values stuff is hogwash. Studies from Ad Age and other non-political sources that the mainstream press has missed are showing that red staters watch just as much "Desperate Housewives" and read just as much Playboy as the evil blue staters. But let's also be realistic. A nation settled by puritans isn't quite ready for gay marriage. We can despair — or recall what the world looked like for gays, blacks and women 40 years ago and remember that's a lot of social change. In the meantime, look at 2004 electoral results in red states like Montana (new governor), Florida (living wage passed by 72 percent), and Colorado (renewable energy initiative) for living proof for what poll after poll shows: We have a healthy working majority for all of our progressive values. Caution II: So where do we screw up? It's by infighting every two years over whether we should be more conservative or less conservative — and by the locus of that fight being over a perfect national message for the party. The fact is that we can't develop a united national message overnight and we'd be stupid to try. States are where we can all play — and get along. The average New Democrat DLCer and the most rampant Nader-policy-loving progressive all support living wage increases, worker training programs, public education and new investments in green technology. So let's work together to demand joint candidate pledges on those issues. Hope II: If you haven't yet read Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?, crack it open. The analysis shows how the Republicans have been running cultural class warfare for 20 years on social hot-button issues while Democrats have stayed silent on economic "class" issues for fear of upsetting their business fund-raising base. Just what do we have to show for it? Loss of the Congress, a weak candidate bench, and Social Security hanging by a thread. So you say, where is the hope here? Well, it is now illegal for the Democratic Party to take big business checks. Plus, progressives have now clearly shown how little people can raise big money online (thanks to Howard Dean, MoveOn and, yes, John Kerry, who raised $82 million online). So the money excuse for Democrats to sell out is now OVER. That's a hopeful little tidbit. But still we need a message. Oft-cited thinkers like George Lakoff of the Rockridge Institute are saying that we need more "strategic message initiatives" like the Apollo Alliance (www.apolloalliance.org),a project I am proud to say I co-founded, and was the subject of my very first EW column in 2003. I agree. So I going to try and use this column moving forward as a diary to develop more strategic message initiatives on a range of issues — from education to electoral reform. If that adds up to a message — great. If it helps us win more campaigns and build a movement, even better. I'll see you out there. Dan Carol is a Democratic political strategist and a founding partner of CTSG (www.ctsg.com),a progressive consulting firm based in Eugene and Washington, D.C.
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