The Future of the Democratic Party

Posted by Amanda in US Election 2008.

Contrary to popular belief, I am not an enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama. Sure, I like his message. I like where he wants to take the country and the mostly positive message he is trying to convey. My gut tells me to trust him, to give him the chance to prove that a new kind of politics can be more effective than the old school partisanship of the last 20 years. Perhaps it’s the cynic in me, but my head tells me it all seems a bit forced, a bit like he has his head in the clouds and he wants us all to join him in his philosophical musings. That said, he is a far better choice than John McCain. On that, my gut and my head agree.

To be perfectly honest, what sold me on Obama is his support from one man - Howard Dean. As chairman of the DNC (Democratic National Committee), Dean is doing something that many would have thought impossible. He’s shoving out the old guard, the so-called centrists and Reagan Democrats, to make room for a new generation of devoted, progressive public servants. For him, the influence and power are a means to an end, not the end goal itself. He is moulding this new generation, the Democracy for America generation, to push for campaign finance reform, equal pay for equal work, gay rights, workers’ rights, environmental protections, energy independence, and tax reforms.

Howard Dean is turning the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) on its head, rejecting the establishment that forced him out of the 2004 presidential election and tried to bully him out of the DNC Chair position. His fifty-state strategy of setting up a fund-raising and organizational framework in every state is what makes an Obama presidency possible. Rather than follow the DLC primer of ignoring traditionally Republican states and focusing only on the Democratic strongholds and swing states, Dean is making it possible for Democratic candidates to get elected to the House and Senate, state legislatures, county seats, and governor’s mansions of states where 10 years ago that would be nearly impossible. And the best part is, he’s doing it from the ground up. He’s encouraging people from every state to get involved in the political process, to get informed, and to vote.

Some say that this sea change among the Democrats will drive the older, core Democrats out of the party. I say it’s time to confront 21st century problems with 21st century solutions. We cannot continue to play the same game that the baby-boomers have been mucking around with since Vietnam and expect the old rules to apply in a new century. They have bankrupted our country through greed and through apathy. If rejecting their old ways makes them mad, then good. It’s about time they wake up and see what they have done. And it’s time for them to step aside and see what we, the new Democrats, can do.

US Election 2008 |