Not Loud Enough or The Wrong Message?

Two articles appearing today from Democratic sources, substantiate an idea that has been festering with me since the Election of ’04. In the first,

Carville: Dems need stronger narrative to win
By Elizabeth Gibson
October 07, 2005

James Carville, a political humorist, in a speech to Democratic students at Northwestern University, explained

…that Democratic candidates can’t succeed by shouting out to every group in a crowd. Instead candidates should tell stories with the three elements of any good story — setup, conflict and resolution.

“No Kumbayah crap,” Carville said.

Another article from the Washington Post,

Report Warns Democrats Not to Tilt Too Far Left
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 7, 2005; A07

quotes two former Clinton advisors, William A. Galston and Elaine C. Kamarck. They complained that the Democrats must change their philosophies to run more down the center of the political spectrum rather than relying on either leftist-liberals or trying to capture the swing voters.

...Galston and Kamarck, both of whom served in the Clinton White House, said there are simply not enough left-leaning voters to make this a workable strategy. In one of their more potentially controversial findings, the authors argue that the rising numbers and influence of well-educated, socially liberal voters in the Democratic Party are pulling the party further from most Americans.

Howard Dean, when elected as the Democratic Party Chairman this past summer, declared that the reason the Republicans defeated the Democrats in 04 was that the Republicans had a better defined message and a more succinct way of expressing it. If the Demos wanted to win in the future, they would need to better articulate their stance so the American People could embrace it.

The problem with the Democratic platform has nothing to do with clarity, definition or volume, it has everything to do with substance and character.

When my grandfather was a Democrat, it was the party of the working man with a goal of "a chicken in every pot." The leaders believed in God, resisting communism and protecting America. We had just spent six long years of World War II defending these principles.

Today, the party has been over-run by leftists, extremists and special interests that are not only of little concern to the majority of Americans, but quite scary. Everyone finds comfort in those who look, act and believe as they do. When the fringe of the nation demands that religious middle-class heterosexuals greet with a kiss hedonist yuppie homosexuals and that lower income blacks should be embraced by upper income white executives, all the parties involved have just a little trepidation.

The relocation of the poorer black families from Hurricane Katrina highlighted some of this attitude as the refugees expressed concern about living in other “cultures” and most have chosen to return to their “home” as soon as possible.

Demos have tried too hard to make a collalition of all the fringe groups and in so doing, have alienated the core electorate of the nation. Whether we like smaller or larger government, involvement in international affairs or prefer isolationism, most people want security in their homes, their jobs and in their community. The electrate has learned that policies change, storms arise and the world moves on. Because of this, they will always lean toward leaders they feel have character, integrity and the charisma to lead in a crisis regardless of the party.

This is what the Democrats need to learn to internalize in order to win. If they could do that, I would likely vote along with them since they would have become a viable alternative.