Looking Back, Looking Forward (Page 16)

The defeat of John Kerry, combined with the Republican advances in the House and Senate, has unleashed waves of dismay and perplexity within liberal and progressive circles. What happened? Why did so many voters embrace a President whose Iraq policy was paved with lies and deceptions, who has shown contempt for science, the rule of law and many of the principles of the Enlightenment, and whose economic policies favor the rich at the expense of the vast majority of Americans? What lessons do we draw from Kerry's failure to win over the electorate in spite of the Bush Administration's conspicuous failures? Are the Democrats crippled, or merely wounded, and is the party really out of touch with "mainstream" values? Finally, what should the priorities of the progressive movement be in this era of Republican dominance, and what is the best formula for future electoral success? The Nation asked some of the country's leading political activists and intellectuals for their thoughts on one or more of these questions. Their brief essays follow.   --The Editors

DAN CARTER

FOR 2008, THE DEMOCRATS SHOULD SELECT the master-marketer and tactician who can best discredit the alternative brand and sell the product. Although they should probably avoid the Rove model (i.e., someone with the ethical compass of a feral sewer rat), a slightly more ruthless James Carville might be in order to help run the campaign. The chosen leader should be a physically attractive, white male, Midwestern or border-state politician who is able to feel the pain of the American people (or fake it satisfactorily) and talk about Jesus without looking as if he has stumbled, fully clothed, into a nudist colony. He should forget about most of the Old Confederacy, since a clear majority of white Southerners will vote Republican as long as there is a flag to be waved, a homosexual to be pilloried, an abortionist to be consigned to hell, a tax to be cut and a program for the poor to be eviscerated. (Never mind that Republican right-wing economic policies have had a particularly devastating effect on a region that has some of the worst pockets of poverty in the nation.)

As the Iraq body count mounts, it may be advantageous for him to point out--regretfully--the criminal stupidity of the current Administration's foreign policies while swearing to kill more terrorists if he's elected. Personally, if necessary. With his bare hands.

Finally, the ideal candidate should be fuzzy on the social issues but resolute in defending Medicare and Social Security. The youth turnout may have been disappointing in this election, but those post-65 codgers will vote until the Social Security death benefit check is in the mail.

While most of us cringe at such a cynical strategy, we delude ourselves if we believe there is a vast untapped liberal electorate waiting to be unleashed if we could only nominate a photogenic Dennis Kucinich. Support in this country for a Western European style social democracy has been withering for thirty-five years. We should not underestimate the importance of the presidency as a megaphone for shaping public opinion and redirecting political priorities, but electing a pragmatic Democrat will do little to reverse this long march to the right.

And that's the good news. The "Christian" right is simply reactionary politics with gospel lip gloss, but its fearmongering message has touched a responsive nerve among millions of Americans in and outside the Bible Belt and the movement shows little signs of abating. Add the Republican lock on most of the electoral votes of the Old Confederacy and the Rocky Mountain states, a sclerotic political system, a campaign financing system run amok, a ruthlessly efficient right-wing political and propaganda apparatus and an electorate befuddled by a lap-dog media. It's enough to make a Nation reader check out the Canadian immigration website.

We now face a generation-long campaign to reconnect our liberal traditions and policies to the day-to-day struggles--and best aspirations--of working Americans. As for me and my house, we will continue to struggle against racism, sexism and homophobia. While there are many battles to be fought in the years to come, however, nothing is more important than attacking the dog-eat-dog ideological assumptions of the new corporate state that now dominate American politics. With our bare hands.

Dan Carter is the Educational Foundation University Professor, University of South Carolina.

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