verbena-19

Tomgram: Jonathan Schell on the Democratic Party's Urge to Lose

TomDispatch.com

Tomgram: Jonathan Schell on the Democratic Party's Urge to Lose

Remember when the Democrats were keeping their powder dry for the fierce battle against the President's still unknown second nominee to the Supreme Court -- and so, during the Roberts nomination hearings, didn't even ask the judge a question about his well-reported role in the Florida 2000 vote recount battle? They were, they swore, saving their "opposition" for the even worse candidate sure to come. Now she's here -- Harriet Miers, the President's lawyer, who contributed $5,000 to his Florida "Recount Fund" in 2000 and was running political/legal interference for the President and Vice President that year. She may also rate as the single most sycophantic candidate for just about any office in memory. (According to former Bush speechwriter David Frum, "She once told me that the president was the most brilliant man she had ever met.") In essence, having passed on a man who, in at least a modest way, helped George grab the 2000 election via the Supreme Court -- not a Democratic senator even asked him if he'd recuse himself, should another such case ever reach the court -- they are now in the process of topping themselves by sending courtwards a family retainer; or rather, as on so many other issues (count the Iraq War as issue number one in this regard), they seem to be preparing yet again to stand aside and let the President willingly commit suicide, or, in the case of Miers, the right supposedly take her down. It could happen, but don't hold your breath waiting (despite all the recent press punditry about this).

Skip the social issues for a moment, the new Roberts/Miers Supreme Court will certainly be two things: the Unlimited Presidential Power Detention and Torture Court and the Property Court (or rather the Corporate Court). But what an interesting situation this would be if Miers were not confirmed and the President then had to deal with his base by nominating someone the Democrats are sworn to filibuster. You might find yourself with two nominations sunk, Sandra Day O'Connor still on the court, and deep into the 2006 election campaign. Now that could be something, but again, since it's the Democrats, don't hold your breath.

Opposition, as the Republicans knew in the Clinton era (and still know), is a habit. You don't save it up for a rainy day or you find yourself up on a roof waving a white cloth and calling hopelessly for rescue. Paul Hackett, the impressive ex-Marine Iraq vet, who almost wrested away a solidly Republican congressional seat in a district outside Cinncinnati this summer, commented recently, "The Democratic Party is like an addict. They're addicted to failure. I want to help the party. The question is, how do you help someone that doesn't want help?"

That's the question which, in another fashion, Jonathan Schell takes up in his latest "Letter from Ground Zero" for the Nation magazine (posted here thanks to the kindness of that magazine's editors). Tom


How to Lose an Election
By Jonathan Schell

As George W. Bush's approval ratings sink below 40%, and the GOP and all its projects, from the Iraq War to Social Security "reform" to Hurricane Katrina recovery plans, seem to be going to pieces, we are hearing on every side that it won't be enough for Democrats to rub their hands in glee (however discreetly). They must come up with their own plans. They must offer the country something positive to embrace. One response to this need comes from two former advisers to President Clinton -- William Galston, now of the University of Maryland, and Elaine Kamarck, now of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. They have produced a report called "The Politics of Polarization," a sequel to one they wrote in 1989 for the Democratic Leadership Council. Their main piece of advice, now as before, is that "seizing the center remains the key to victory."

The word "center," of course, has many possible meanings. One is simply the political space where most of the voters are, whatever their views. Defined thus, a centrist strategy is a mere tautology. Any party that wins over a majority of the electorate will have seized "the center": A winning strategy is one that wins. Since the contrary idea -- a jolly "let's persuade only 40% of the voters!" -- is highly unattractive, any "centrist" strategy has an obvious built-in appeal.

Click here to read more of this dispatch.

posted by Annamarie at 10:50 PM