I think it is more than economics and the use of fiscal policy to brunt the coming recession. You need to appeal to people at the heart. Though quite frankly I think you need to offer people something more than hope to eat. I have found my answer to that challenge this year in John Edwards.
John Edwards offers plenty of policy prescriptions, but more he offers people a critique of why they feel so much anxiety in the contemporary world. The seeming loss of power over their lives, the struggle to make ends meet with two incomes, the explosion of hostility toward America not seen in over a generation. These and other causes of unease could easily slip into the nativist (those illegals are breaking the government) and the militarist (we need to show our strength around the world because that is what terrorists understand).
Certainly that is what we get from the Republicans. Scapegoating and militarism and we need to rebalance the federal budget. (But it will be on the backs of working families by for one example cutting access to Medicaid and SCHIP. I wish more had been spoken about this issue in recent days as an object lesson in what is to come).
To be successful our next candidate needs to appeal to the heart and the mind of the broader electorate. We can not afford to run a 270 electoral vote campaign. We need a broader victory that we help the Dems expand the seats in the House and Senate necessary to make any sort of meaningful change. To do this means reaching beyond the past constituency and bringing in folks that should be with us in the South and West.
The Edwards message of changing the balance of power in the nation and giving back to the people and valuing their work. This can bring us what we need politically and make the country a better place, at the same time. It will help us bridge the divide from Two Americas to One.
The difference between our candidates and the Republicans was in bold last night at St. Anselm. We have such a strong field among the Democrats. But 2008 is the progressive moment we have been working for since the dark day in November 2000 when the political course of last generation was set. Bill Clinton was an important bridge back, but the Clinton legacy was squandered in scandal and lost opportunity to tackle the real challenges confronting America. We need a bold progressive voice for change. For some that is Barack, for others it is John Edwards. I stand with John.
Thanks for the indulgence today ( I really try hard not to write much in each post here but this discussion deserves much more)…and back to knocking on doors for me.
