We are at a political crossroads that presents Democrats with an unprecedented political opportunity. The real question is whether the party has sufficient prescience and wisdom to take advantage of it.
Let me explain. The Republican Party is shrinking in size and in inclusiveness. Moderates have been run out of the party at the leadership level and independent voters find less and less room for their beliefs in their own party. Litmus tests are the order of the day as the extreme right of the Republican Party (read Tea Party) demands that their representatives in state houses, state legislatures, and in Congress toe the line as defined by their litmus tests.
I believe that this has left many Republicans and independents who do not identify with the extreme right of the Republican Party in the lurch. They will not abandon their party or their independence for the Democratic Party as it currently defines itself. But they cannot embrace the extreme positions of the so-called “base” of the Republican Party which is driving the party further and further to the extreme right. So what do they do? They keep mostly to themselves and overtly support their party while increasingly feeling alientated from it by the exteme positions taken by the Tea Party and their allies.
Politics is the art of conciliating different political points of view, beliefs, and convictions. But politics has been subverted by the Republican Party which no longer believes in compromise, conciliation, and negociacion. It’s all or nothing at all for the Tea Party. Bipartisanship means for the Republicans in Congress caving on their beliefs and giving in to the Democrats. The Republican leadership operates in fear of backlash from their “base” if they try to govern via concilation and negotiation. Just ask Eric Cantor.
A majority of Americans is disgusted with the performance of our government and Congress owns the lowest ratings of all. Every year Congress passes less and less legislation, solves fewer and fewer problems, and works less and less for the public good, preferring to hue the line dictated by the Republican leadership in Congress. With the current political alignments and the negative do-nothing political dynamic in our government, someone has to do something to turn this around.
What to do? I would like to see the Democratic Party make their tent bigger and more inclusive, opening up new spaces for dialog with moderate Republicans and independents to offer them reasonable alternatives to the extreme and dogmatic positions of the extreme right of the Republican Party. This would certainly pose difficulties for the more progressive and liberal wing of the party, but the alternative is political paralysis and a drift toward mediocrity. This is not the United States I want to be part of.
We face many critical problems as a country and our government as presently constituted does not have the political will (or even the capacity) to address these problems. If the Republicans continue to work to frustrate the President at every turn, if the Republican Party continues to refuse to address the critical need for immigration reform, if it continues to ignore critical social and economic crises, our country will continue on its path downhill to a reduced stature among our own population and reduced relevance in world affairs.
Third parties do not work in our political system so one of our political parties needs to step up and accept the challenge to work towards a better future for our children and grandchildren. So let’s take a very serious look at the idea of opening up the Democratic Party to more of our fellow citizens with moderate (for Republicans) views and independent affiliation.
If we cannot have bipartisanship between the two parties, let’s make the Democratic Party more inclusive. We may have to give up some of our more liberal goals and priorities in the short term, but in the long term we can consolidate our political power and position in our society, enabling us to work towards making this a more inclusive and compassionate nation. That is after all what I think we as Democrats stand for. That is the United States I can fight for and defend against those who would destroy our way of life.
Posted with Blogsy
Reflections on our Times 