The results of the election on November 2 brought out the worst in the Bush-hating faction of the "Left." While many Democrats were gracious in defeat (including the College Democrats), many put their misguided hatred on full display. The Daily Mirror in London screamed, "How Can 59 Million People Be So Dumb?" Slate columnist Jane Smiley said that "the election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry." Hollywood celebrities are threatening to leave in droves?if their agents say it is okay.
The Left has every right to be befuddled. George W. Bush has won two elections he probably should not have. In 2000 he triumphed despite the record of peace and prosperity of the Clinton/Gore era. This year, he won despite a sagging (but recovering) economy and a controversial war. However, the Left should not be angry with Bush and his supporters, but with their own party. The Democratic Party has replaced its strong, traditional values with a jumbled mess of vague Hollywood "beliefs."
The irony is that the Democratic Party does not need to be out of touch with the middle of the country, "moral values" voters, or even overwhelmingly red states. Democrats used to believe in personal responsibility. Even Bill Clinton campaigned for those who "worked hard and played by the rules." He idolized JFK, whose famous battle cry was "it's not what your country can do for you, it's what you can do for your country." Did Gore or Kerry use this language? No. In fact, I doubt they even believe it.
Democrats used to take responsibility for foreign policy. They did not look at the military as a necessary evil, but as a source of American pride. Woodrow Wilson said that the "world must be made safe for democracy." Was this the Kerry-Edwards approach?
Instead, as Zell Miller pointed out in the RNC, the trend among Democrats is to call our troops "occupiers" instead of "liberators." John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Teddy Roosevelt would never have used this language, or been so bitterly critical during wartime.
In addressing education, the emphasis for Democrats used to be on parents to rear their children correctly. FDR once said, "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future." Education was not about under funding No Child Left Behind, fighting against the right to pray in school, and blaming the government for futility; it was about holding teachers and parents responsible for teaching children to be virtuous and civic-minded. The Democrats of old understood that Americans are more concerned with hard work than pointing fingers.
These Democratic presidents could appeal to a broad swath of Americans. Were Christians back then more liberal than they are now? Were Southerners more sympathetic to wealthy New England elites? Of course not. People simply voted for strong leaders that held the same American values that they did.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party today has very little in common with the JFKs, FDRs, Trumans, and Teddy Roosevelts. Michael Moore is given a front row seat next to Jimmy Carter at the Democratic National Convention, and Hollywood stars are spokespeople for the party. Great leaders would not rely on star appeal from a Whoopi Goldberg or an Eminem to get votes. It is no surprise that so many voters in former Democratic strongholds are flocking to the Republican Party.
The Republican Party is not perfect, but it is appealing more and more to voters that would be JFK Democrats. It is tapping into populations that used to be Democratic strongholds. The Democratic Party would be wise to abandon its current path, look back at the history of the party, and rededicate itself to the values that it used to stand for.