it's heating up

[Marco Anglesio]

On Wed, 25 Oct 2000, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Chuck0 wrote:
> >In this case, Nathan doesn't understand thay many people would like to
> >see the Democratic Party die a slow painful death.
> 
> A quick death wouldn't be so bad either. But this is the point: like 
> the IMF, the Dems are essentially unreformable. They're the problem, 
> not a potential solution. A Gore defeat would be good news, since it 
> would throw the party into confusion and despair.

A similar situation to that which allowed the DLC to form, you mean.
However, one election defeat isn't going to do it. Maybe three in a row.
And they're more likely to adopt the opposition's tactics after the loss,
since I believe that they (the DLC) see themselves as being on the right
ideological footing (which they appear to be - center-right-lite - for
this day and age). It's a lazy ideological footing but going from there
all battles become merely tactical questions: which ads to run, which
talking-head candidate to back. 

And so you have 2000, where both parties are mouthing similar rhetoric and
playing the tactical game equally well. They throw a bone or two to their
"core" constituencies, but I don't think that's so much ideological as an
attempt to exploit wedge issues in the electorate to their advantage. 

There is no reason, I think, to expect that this will change. As much as
we'd like to have a principled party of the opposition, the election of
the american president is not a decision suited to principled parties of
the opposition because the loser has little if any influence over the
victor. A principled party of the opposition requires that influence be
exercised - for example, the NDP tacitly supporting the Liberal minority
government in Canada, 1972-74, when many of the left's legislative gains
were realized without having to compromise by joining a ruling coalition. 

If you want to build that principled party of the opposition, like the
Greens are elsewhere, then I believe that the best forum for such would be
in the legislative, not the executive, branch. When in Washington or in
state capitals, Green legislators could build track records and
credibility. Parachuting Ralph Nader in to be the Green presidential
candidate is great for attracting the protest vote, but I'm not sure if
it'll do anything for the GP's long-term viability or that of any
party of the left. 

Marco

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>          Marco Anglesio           |       Whenever books are burned      <
>         mpa at the-wire.com          |    men also in the end are burned.   <
>   http://www.the-wire.com/~mpa    |            --Heinrich Heine          <
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