Democratic Malaise

Was anyone beside me depressed by the utter vacuouness of Pelosi's and Reid's "rebuttal" to Bush's State of the Union Address? Admittedly, it is hard to prepare a rebuttal to a speech that rebutters have actually seen for the first time only hours before they are required to go on national TV to present a contrary vision. It is especially hard when the rebuttal is supposed to represent the shared views of a group as fractious and disorganized as the Democrtaic Party is today. But still. Was there anything of subtance about Bush's speech that was a surprise? Everyone who was remotely paying attention new that the core of the speech was going to be a proposal to "reform" social security with personal accounts and more talk of spreading freedom throughout the world. So, wasn't there time to come up with even one idea; nay, even one sentence that wasn't a vague platitude? Wasn't there something they could say beyond "We're agin' it!"

The Democrtic Party has alllowed itself to become the party of stasis. They, nuch more than the Bush Republicans, are the true "conservatives" in that just about all they have to say is either "don't change a thing" or "roll back the changes Bush has already made." When is the last time that you heard anyone from the Democrtic party propose something affirmative. Maybe there are others, but the last "big ideas" I can recall hearing from a Democrat were Bill Clintons' proposals on universal health care and NAFTA. The first went down in flames and the second is a fundementally Republican idea. Even so, I respect at least the effort to advance the ball.

The Democratic Party -- the party of FDR and LBJ -- today seems much closer to the don-nothing party of Eisenhower and Goldwater. They are like an entirely overmatched football team, giving up 8, 10, 12 yards per play, with absolutely no idea how to get the football back or what to do with it in the rare instances in which they do.

This too will change, of course. The Republicans, so completely full of themselves today, will, as they always do, over reach. (Think Watergate, or Iran-Contra, or James Dobson on Sponge Bob, etc.). And, when they do, some representative of the Democrtic Party will emerge who can articulate a vision that melds the progressive ideals of the Party with the realities of a nation concerned with security and moral values. But, today at least, that seems to remain a far-off prospect, and I, for one, am concerned about how long it will take to restore something akin fo a conflict of visions to American politics.