A Little More to the Left

A Little More to the Left

In roughly two months the DNC will be under the leadership of a new chairman. Maybe it will be President wannabe Howard Dean, but if Craig Aaron's instincts are correct, its more likely the next chairman will be someone who thinks the way out of the woods is to move a little closer to right and a little further from the left. Instead of coming up with a sustainable solution to Democratic woes, the party will once again try to reposition itself for the next election cycle:

If previous setbacks are any guide, the same consultants and pollsters who lost the election will again win the battle to interpret its results. Almost inevitably, they will conclude that the party needs to shift further to the right, ignoring the base (who else are they going to vote for?) and cozying up to the stockbrokers or gun owners or home-schoolers (or better yet—all three!) with new proposals for “budget reform” and hints of “flexibility” on abortion rights.

Aaron's assessment of the conservative movement is right on and he is right liberals and the progressive movement would do themselves well to begin thinking in terms of long-term goals aimed at winning the ideological war between the left and the right as opposed to short-term cycle to cycle objectives. As Aaron points out, conservatives have effectively and methodically stollen the tactics of the left and used them to build a sustainable conservative movement. He suggests liberals and progressives need to become movement focused.

While I agree whole heartedly with some Aaron's remedies for fixing the Democratic Party, I disagree with his interpretation that the way to right the policy course is to enthusiastically and blindly embrace familiar liberal solutions to the challenges facing the country:

Instead of middling centrism, the Democrats need bold ideas to counteract the right’s lies, especially the “cultural populism” they rely on to mask a massive upward redistribution of wealth. These ideas aren’t necessarily new ones: embracing economic populism, fighting inequality, challenging corporate corruption, providing universal healthcare, protecting the environment, rejecting imperialism.

I believe Democrats will become successful when we recognize the core principles the party is based, embrace these principles, and come up with legislative solutions that conform to these principles. Success shouldn't be based on whether our proposals are left, centrist, or right. They shouldn't hinge on whether they are populist enough. Policy success should be determined by how will the party's principles are implemented and how well we fix America's problems. When we lose an election our impulse shouldn't be "we need to become more moderate" (ie moving to meet the right) nor should it be "we need to move to the left." Democrats should develop bold solutions that change the policy paradigm. Democrats should develop solutions that solve problems and conform to the core principles of Democratic party.

Social Security reform is being billed as the first major domestic policy fight of 2005. Republicans and President Bush have offered a plan to partially privatize America's first safety net. Republicans and Democrats both recognize Social Security will be facing a financing crisis when the baby boomers retire. Yet, Democrats haven't (as of yet) come up with an alternative Social Security reform. Policymakers and the public are left with two choices 1) a Republican plan which is new, and may or may not work (all social programs and legislation are gambles at first) or 2) Social Security as it is.

Because of their lack of ideas, their fear of being labeled a liberal, Democratic party has become the "conservative" party, the party of the status quo. By comparison, the Republican party has offered solutions conforming to their basic world view and principles. Ronald Dworkin argues all law is derived from basic, core principles. The law judges and legislators make conforms to these principles. Likewise, I believe party politics is about principle and not policy. Policy is a means to enacting the principle end. Republicans have figured this out but when will Democrats.