Anchors in Tumultous Times
In a recent Rolling Stone roundtable, David Gergen said something very interesting:

GERGEN: To the degree that the Republican Party is discovering that you can reach out to lower-income working people, whose lives are in huge flux. As Peter was pointing out, those voters are looking for something beyond an economic boost. They don't have much faith in government producing for them anymore, and they're looking for security. And they find it in a wartime president, and in their cultural beliefs. They're looking for anchors. The Republicans have learned how to reach out to those people and offer them some anchors -- while Democrats find it harder to talk to them in those terms than they did in the past.

The New Deal coalition was built on people believing that government could provide an economic anchor in times of severe, and then not so severe, economic times. Eventually, its compelling power was eroded by the right associating it with failed socialism.

Our job over the next four years, as we again face severe economic times (whether it is a depression, stagflation or a continued middle-class squeeze) is to convince voters that government can again play a role as anchor in tough economic times. It will play that role in a different way, after all, we have learned something over the past fifty years, but it will play it effectively.

This is not a case that a presidential candidate can make during a campaign. The frame of "big government liberal" has already been built. It is a case that we, the writers, talkers, organizers and other grass roots believers, have to make.

Brian Schweitzer
Barrack Obama is wonderful, but he will not single-handedly rescue the Democratic party. To win in the West, we need to resurrect our populist theme and connect with farmers and small businesspeople. They should be a natural constituency.

Don't believe it? Read this article about Montana's new -- Democratic -- governor.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0412.sirota.html

We need more of what he is selling.

Progressive Framework
Some thought about simple phrases to characterize the progressive agenda

How about

FOR FOREIGN POLICY

FIGHTING ON ALL FRONTS -- Using our cultural, economic, diplomatic and, finally, military might to end terrorism and promote peace and freedom

ON ECONOMICS

FAIRNESS -- A fair tax code that doesn't give special tax benefits to the well connected

OPPORTUNITY -- Opportunity for everyone to live the American dream -- to get rich or to live a comfortable middle class life -- not just back scratching crony capitalism

SECURITY -- Collective help -- like affordable health care -- to help people with things they truly can't control

ON CIVIL LIFE

STEWARDSHIP -- preserving our planet, our economy and our way of life for ourselves and future generations

PRIVACY -- The right to control your own body and way of life, free from intrusion by other people

The Kooks and the Crooks
Two of the most important parts of the Bush constituency are the Crony Capitalists -- the big money, I'll scratch your back type who want to prevent true equality of opportunity and the Radical Religious Fundamentalists. The two do not have completely coincident interests; Often they conflict. It will be interesting to see how they play out and who really holds sway. For example, while the War in Iraq may bring short-term gains for business, if we do, indeed, become an international pariah, it will be bad for business. So you could expect the Crony Capitalists to keep the excesses of the Bush Imperialist agenda in check.

In the end, I think that anything that the Crony Capitalists do can be undone. It may be harder to dislodge them from power, but their damage is not irretrievable. On the other hand, many Fundamentalists want to bring about Armageddon. At the least, they want to force an all out war against the forces of evil throughout the world, which could lead to Armageddon.

Lets root for the Crooks to take precedence over the Kooks.

Amazingly, the sun came out this morning!
I don't know how long this will continue, but lets take advantage of it while we can.

A couple of quick thoughts about where we go from here:

1) We need to reclaim religion from the radical right. Religion should be about love and helping the less fortunate, not about punishing anyone who is different.

2) We need to reassert the idea that government intervention in the economy is a good thing, not a bad thing. (I hope for this to be the main point of my blog)

3) We need to convince the middle and lower class, including small business owners and farmers, that our ideas of fairness and equal opportunity are really in their favor.

4) We need to continue to organize and speak out.

A day in the life of Joe
One of my loyal readers (Yes, I have some!) sent me this from the Wesleyan parents' listserve:

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his
morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging
liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first
swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are
safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their
safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical
plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid
medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe
to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the
meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is
properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total
contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what
he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes
is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the
laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to the subway station for
his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money
in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal
fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the
opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical
benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy
liberal union members fought and died for these working standards.
Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want
his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker
compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't
think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some
bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some
godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers
who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his
below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided
that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and
earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that in
addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state
funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his
farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is
among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal
fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded
roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in
the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers
didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal
stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural
electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on
Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking,
cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe
wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk
show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and
conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans
have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout
his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals
ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone
should take care of themselves, just like I have

A great President?
From Wealth and Democracy

A point to underscore: serious U.S. arousal against abuses of wealth and power has always transcended class lines -- class warfare is both a rare bird and a dubious term -- and many of the notable triumphs have been led by persons with sophisticated and affluent backgrounds: Jefferson of Monticello and the Roosevelts of Oyster Bay and Hyde Park. Indeed, George Washington of Mount Vernon led the earlier opposition to concentrated wealth and hauteur three thousand miles away in London that created the United States.

Also, Americans have given their highest regard to presidents who wove political battle flags from the various threads of popular indignation -- a definition that adds the names of Jackson and Lincoln to the four just mentioned. The lesser esteem given to those presidents hailing bankers or proclaiming that "the business of America is business" completes the historical measurement.

TV Ads
Is it just me, or are MoveOn's TV ads about a thousand times better than those from the Kerry campaign? This is one area where we have to get better.

JUST A THOUGHT
WHAT GOOD IS BEING CONSISTENT, IF YOU ARE CONSISTENTLY WRONG?

MUST READ ABOUT IRAQ
One of the best pieces I have read about the true costs of the invasion of Iraq.

http://richardreeves.com/columns/latest.html