The way out for the Democrats - An Opinion

I have been reading the opinions from a lot of news and opinion outlets getting a feel for the democratic opinion after the defeat. The initial gut reaction seems to have been that the election was lost on the issues of God, guns and gays. However, my own opinion is that it is inherently difficult to dislodge an incumbent in the middle of a real or perceived war. It is to the Democratic party's great credit that they were able to even come so close. In their despondency, the Democrats are unable to see the long term benefits of this election. The energy generated on the Democratic side in this election will be carried forward to the next. The energy on the Republican side, created largely due to some combination of social issues and the war, will not outlast this administration.

The Democrats sure need to be reflect and mourn this loss. However, they cannot do this for long. A lot of work needs to be done.

Many commentators have suggested that the Democrats adopt a policy of Republicanism-Lite. While this line of argument seeks to address the issue of winnability, it loses sight of the issue of what we stand for. The party's position on the "moral issues" is not exactly a counter point to the Republican point of view. The Democratic party is already centrist. It is already Republican-Lite.
Guns: Democratic party stands of control of assault weapons, but pretends to be shocked at the very mention of the words "gun control".
Gays: Democratic party is against legislation banning gay marriage. It is also against legislation legalizing it.
Abortion: Democratic party is for a women's right to choose, but not totally.
Moving from what is already a centrist position to a position on the right will put the party in a serious identity crisis from which it cannot recover for a very long time.

It is, however, not all gloom. It must be remembered that Reagan's Republican party is also Lincoln's party. The Republican party was the force for social progressiveness during a time when the Democrats were implicitly supporting slavery in the south. Parties change, and when they do, the opposition gets a window of opportunity. When Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights bill, he mentioned that he had just signed away the South to the Republicans. Within 15 years, his apprehension was proven to be justified. The Republicans moved into a position that was vacated.

So what how do we get out of this? The way out is to recognize a massive but under-reported irony of this election. Many conservatives (the original republican base, not religious right), were rooting against Bush. There are many conservative values that have been internalized and adopted by the Democratic party since Clinton's time. During the debates we have ourselves seen the sights of Kerry talking about fiscal responsibility while Bush brushed it away as irrelevant. The future of the Democratic party depends on its amplifying and appealing to this key constituency (socially ambivalent, fiscally conservative voters), who have always voted Republican, but have now been abandoned by that party.

Only time will tell what strategy will be adopted. In the mean time, I wait. And I hope.

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