WYNNEWOOD, Pa. — Let the hand-wringing begin.
Even before President Bush promised Wednesday afternoon to bring America together — where have I heard that one before? — the discussions already were underway here in “blue” America about what went wrong.
Some surely will focus on narrow issues, such as an atrocious performance in Florida or an inability to maintain big margins of victory among Latino voters.
But don’t let the narrow difference in the Electoral College fool you. This wasn’t a close election. When the new Congress convenes in January, the Republicans will have double-digit advantages in the Senate and House of Representatives. Governors’ mansions and state legislatures remain, on the whole, firmly in their grasp.
No, this was a good ol’ fashioned ass whoopin’, the kind that usually ends with one guy in a trash can. That guy was the Democratic Party on Tuesday night, and if we have any sense, those of us who care about it will hold the lid down as it gasps for air.
The Democratic Party is failing, and it’s not because John Kerry called the Green Bay Packers’ stadium “Lambert Field” or because of a handful of voting irregularities or because Americans are stupid or bigoted or ignorant — though sometimes we are.
The party is failing, quite simply, because it is irrelevant and does not speak to those it needs for support.
According to exit polls, at least a fifth of voters rated “moral values” as their top consideration when they cast their ballots. Among those voters, Bush dominated, and it’s a safe bet that most of his Republican brethren did likewise.
Some of these folks — or their parents, at least — used to vote for Democrats. A decade ago, who would have predicted a divisive Republican incumbent winning a state like West Virginia by 13 points?
So what gives?
A lot of things, but I would argue the biggest problem is that most of us Lefties don’t understand people who base their votes on “moral values.” Here in Ivory Tower academia, we like to make fun of these people. With smug self-satisfaction, we mock them as backwards simpletons who can’t read and base their opinions on (gasp!) The Bible.
Well the joke’s on us now, and we need to regroup. Some will argue that we can make our reforms within the Democratic Party, but I don’t buy it. The party has had 10 years to recover from the Republican landslide of 1994, and most signs point to things getting worse.
We need a movement and a party steeped in the rhetoric of Barack Obama’s campaign for Senate. Obama is a liberal black man from a big city, yet he had success in rural and suburban areas because he spoke a language of inclusion, faith and understanding. He talked with people, not at them, and connected the plight of poor whites and poor blacks in a message about moral responsibility.
He rejected being pigeon-holed as just a black candidate, not because he’s ashamed of his background but because no human being is simply a label. It’s about time someone at DNC headquarters got the memo to stop engaging in identity politics and start connecting with people based on their hopes and dreams, beliefs and fears.
But I don’t expect that memo ever to be received. I expect more Nancy Pelosis running our party. I expect more pointless debates about whether the party is too moderate or too liberal. I expect increasing irrelevance in the South, in the Plains, in the Southwest and, possibly, in the Upper Midwest as well.
The Democratic Party will continue to exist for awhile, but it really died Tuesday. Rest in peace.
Jesse Abrams-Morley is a Medill senior and a former Daily Forum Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
