We should all support a strong, viable two Party system, as ideological diversity is necessary and basic to political discourse.
But at this point we NEED to reconsider the axis of the political debate.
“Progressivism” the term socialists have taken up in the wake of the “Red Scare” and more recently “Liberalism” becoming a “dirty word” in the wake Jimmy Carter’s debacle, is no longer a viable political ideology.
If Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Rosie O’Donnell and Al Franken don’t prove that the “unhinged Left” is utterly without merit, then you’re just not paying attention.
Today’s ideological battle is no longer the old one between “Big government Liberalism” (the centralized state or “government-run economy”) versus the Corporatism (the highly regulated market-based economy) that is the hallmark of most Western democracies, but between the latter (Corporatism) versus freer markets, both lower taxes and a shift from productivity taxes (income taxes) to consumption taxes (some kind of national sales tax, like the Fair Tax) and perhaps some form of the Land Value Tax (supported by modern-day followers of Henry George).
The Republicans are and will almost certainly remain the Party of Corporatism, so the Democratic Party, which had long been home to most working people should regain that mantle with a shift in ideology, AWAY from the old failed “Franken/Moore/Olbermann Liberalism” to more free market and yet worker oriented policies outlined above.
The hard-Left has greatly damaged the Democratic brand especially among it’s initial core constituency – lower and middle class working people, the kind of people that Senator Charles Schumer recently addressed in his excellent work Positively American.
In that book, Senator Schumer put his finger on the problem the Democrats have had in recent years and at the same time outlined a plan for the Democrats to make the necessary shift toward a more worker-friendly platform.
A Minority of Democrats Self-Identify Themselves as Liberals
With slightly over 40% of today’s Democrats self-identifying as “Liberal,” it is indeed a marginal ideology.
There’s little reason to doubt that a Democratic move to woo more real Conservatives into their ranks wouldn’t replace those disaffected Leftists who’d leave the Party amidst such an ideological shift.
Jettisoning the Far-Left and Embracing a New, Winning Ideology
Moreover, the elections since 1950 have shown that Liberalism is a tough ideology to run on and win with.
JFK ran as a tax-cutting anti-Communist and hardly a Leftist. His brother Bobby was an aide, along with Roy Cohen, of Joe McCarthy.
LBJ won a major victory in a slime-filled election (the A-bomb commercial) that ultimately brought on the GOP’s “Southern Strategy,” which has cost them dearly since.
Jimmy Carter road to victory over Gerald Ford, in the wake of the Watergate scandals (Ford had pardoned Nixon as one of his first acts) as a moderate Democrat.
Since Carter’s star-crossed tenure, EVERY American President has run Right of his opponent, INCLUDING Bill Clinton (the lone Democrat to hold the White House since Carter) who ran to the Right of two Moderate Republicans (George Bush Sr., and Bob Dole).
Senator Charles Schumer, in Positively American, acknowledged that “The Democratic party has been far too liberal, shamelessly liberal and liberal for far too long.” That can and should be remedied by a much needed shift in ideology, in effect, a Democratic “Southern Strategy.”
Conservatives natural affinity is for the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has been harmed by its long affiliation with Liberalism and recently it’s been positively slimed by the likes of far-Leftists like Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Al Franken and Randi Rhodes.
Why continue along this pathway of failure?
Conservative (“Blue Dog”) Democrats are a growing phenomenon. At this point, nearly a quarter of all the Congressional Democrats are Conservative Democrats.
You can contact the Conservative Democratic coalition at; http://www.il-democrats.org/conservativedemocrats.html
But at this point we NEED to reconsider the axis of the political debate.
“Progressivism” the term socialists have taken up in the wake of the “Red Scare” and more recently “Liberalism” becoming a “dirty word” in the wake Jimmy Carter’s debacle, is no longer a viable political ideology.
If Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Rosie O’Donnell and Al Franken don’t prove that the “unhinged Left” is utterly without merit, then you’re just not paying attention.
Today’s ideological battle is no longer the old one between “Big government Liberalism” (the centralized state or “government-run economy”) versus the Corporatism (the highly regulated market-based economy) that is the hallmark of most Western democracies, but between the latter (Corporatism) versus freer markets, both lower taxes and a shift from productivity taxes (income taxes) to consumption taxes (some kind of national sales tax, like the Fair Tax) and perhaps some form of the Land Value Tax (supported by modern-day followers of Henry George).
The Republicans are and will almost certainly remain the Party of Corporatism, so the Democratic Party, which had long been home to most working people should regain that mantle with a shift in ideology, AWAY from the old failed “Franken/Moore/Olbermann Liberalism” to more free market and yet worker oriented policies outlined above.
The hard-Left has greatly damaged the Democratic brand especially among it’s initial core constituency – lower and middle class working people, the kind of people that Senator Charles Schumer recently addressed in his excellent work Positively American.
In that book, Senator Schumer put his finger on the problem the Democrats have had in recent years and at the same time outlined a plan for the Democrats to make the necessary shift toward a more worker-friendly platform.
A Minority of Democrats Self-Identify Themselves as Liberals
With slightly over 40% of today’s Democrats self-identifying as “Liberal,” it is indeed a marginal ideology.
There’s little reason to doubt that a Democratic move to woo more real Conservatives into their ranks wouldn’t replace those disaffected Leftists who’d leave the Party amidst such an ideological shift.
Jettisoning the Far-Left and Embracing a New, Winning Ideology
Moreover, the elections since 1950 have shown that Liberalism is a tough ideology to run on and win with.
JFK ran as a tax-cutting anti-Communist and hardly a Leftist. His brother Bobby was an aide, along with Roy Cohen, of Joe McCarthy.
LBJ won a major victory in a slime-filled election (the A-bomb commercial) that ultimately brought on the GOP’s “Southern Strategy,” which has cost them dearly since.
Jimmy Carter road to victory over Gerald Ford, in the wake of the Watergate scandals (Ford had pardoned Nixon as one of his first acts) as a moderate Democrat.
Since Carter’s star-crossed tenure, EVERY American President has run Right of his opponent, INCLUDING Bill Clinton (the lone Democrat to hold the White House since Carter) who ran to the Right of two Moderate Republicans (George Bush Sr., and Bob Dole).
Senator Charles Schumer, in Positively American, acknowledged that “The Democratic party has been far too liberal, shamelessly liberal and liberal for far too long.” That can and should be remedied by a much needed shift in ideology, in effect, a Democratic “Southern Strategy.”
Conservatives natural affinity is for the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has been harmed by its long affiliation with Liberalism and recently it’s been positively slimed by the likes of far-Leftists like Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Al Franken and Randi Rhodes.
Why continue along this pathway of failure?
Conservative (“Blue Dog”) Democrats are a growing phenomenon. At this point, nearly a quarter of all the Congressional Democrats are Conservative Democrats.
You can contact the Conservative Democratic coalition at; http://www.il-democrats.org/conservativedemocrats.html
You can look into Senator Schumer's book here; http://www.amazon.com/Positively-American-Winning-Middle-Class-Majority/dp/1594865728
The new ideological divide is between Conservative/Libertarians who support a more open, unregulated economy versus the Corporatists who favor a more regulated, more secure economy.
For either major political Party to further entertain the failed and discredited ideology of Liberalism/socialism/progressivism is to court disaster.
