A Storm is Coming.
"For years, the party has been led by elite Washington insiders who are closer to corporate lobbyists than they are to the Democratic base. But we can't afford four more years of leadership by a consulting class of professional election losers." While kicking Terry McAuliffe out the DNC door, MoveOn.org lays claim to the Democratic party. "We bought it, we own it, we're going to take it back."
Well, Kevin, what's your take?
I don't know if you saw it -- it'd be worth checking out if you haven't at democracyforamerica.com -- but Dean had a fantastic article and a pretty good speech on the future of the Democratic party. I must say that I came to the same conclusion somewhat independently, that Democrats need a national strategy, not a battleground state strategy. We've needed it for a long time, now, too. As for the MoveOn crew, I'm not sure how much I care for the idea of "ownership" of a political party, and especially the Democratic party. Isn't there room enough for all of us, conservative and liberal Democrats alike? Isn't that, really, what Bill Clinton taught us -- not to swing to the right, but to meld liberal and conservative ideas together? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I sincerely hope we get it together in the next several months. We have a 2006 mid-term election strategy to get started on.
I'm basically with you, Ben. I think MoveOn probably have the right idea, but I think there's a problem with their tone here. While I'm all for stepping away from all the corporate money that's turned us into GOP-lite, I for one would rather have "elite Washington insiders" running our political party than an ad hoc committee of millions of MoveOn members. Anger and amateurism will only get you so far.