NY Times: The Dead Center (MUST READ)

[La_Serpiente]

The Dead Center

The dismal fifth-place showing by Senator Joseph Lieberman in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday serves as both reminder and motivator to the other Democratic presidential candidates on what it will take to win in November. For so long now, everyone has assumed that recapturing the presidency depends on who triumphs in the battle between liberals and moderates within the party. Such thinking, though, is inherently flawed. The real fight is between those who want only to win back the White House and those who also want to build a new political movement — one that rivals the conservative movement that has given Republicans their dominant position in American politics.

Senator Lieberman's defeat on Tuesday could be a good indicator of which side is ahead. To their detriment, Mr. Lieberman and the perennially dour Democratic Leadership Council have been deeply wary of any hint of a progressive movement, preferring instead an uninspired centrist message that echoes Republican themes.

On the other extreme is Howard Dean, who could be called the quintessential "movement" Democrat. His campaign is both grass-roots and reformist, and is based on the proposition that ordinary people must be empowered to "take back America." Similar threads can also be seen in the campaigns of Senators John Edwards and John Kerry. (Full disclosure: I've been helping Senator Kerry.) It was no accident after last week's caucuses in Iowa that a beaming Senator Edwards told supporters they had "started a movement to change America."

I hope that Mr. Edwards and the others will stay on message — and movement. After all, Democrats have seen what the Republican Party has been able to accomplish over the years. The conservative movement has developed dedicated sources of money and legions of ground troops who not only get out the vote, but also spend the time between elections persuading others to join their ranks. It has devised frames of reference that are used repeatedly in policy debates (among them: it's your money, tax and spend, political correctness, class warfare).

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The Dead Center

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The author, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, makes the point that this election should be a political movement that will serve as the foundation of the Democratic party.

[Wonco_the_Sane]

1. NYT rocks

They have their faults, but hey...so does Democracy. BEST paper in the world!!!

[La_Serpiente]

2. The New York Times is not the best paper I agree

Like the article that stereotyped Kucinich supporters as Vegans and Kaballa Bhudda people. That wasn't too nice. On top of that, it was put in the Style/Fashion section.

The article above is a letter to the editor.

[Cassandra]

3. Actually, it's an independent Op-Ed

The Times usually prints one or two every day.

[La_Serpiente]

4. Yes, an op-ed

[WingNOT]

6. Hmmm... I'd vote for the Guardian actually :-)

Guardianistas of the world unite !!

[mgc1961]

5. I enjoyed the letter.

Reich gets it!

:yourock:

[fjc]

7. Reflects my views almost exactly. Great article.

[MissMarple]

8. Bingo! Robert Reich is right.

We are leaving the old left liberals and upper class neo liberals, the Democratic Party needs an infusion of red blood and Dean represents the first transfusion. All of the candidates who represent the middle class Americans who are getting squeezed by George&Co are helping to begin a movement that will change American politics. I just hope we don't trivialize it away in petty bickering between factions. Americans need to learn how to get along. Did we all forget kindergarten?