November 5, 2006

Voting for Delusion

Justin Katz

I was so perplexed by Froma Harrop's column about the Democrat Party's 50-State Strategy that I thought for a moment that I'd missed something that would be, politically, on the order of magnitude of the Earth's poles moving to the equator:

Imagine Democrats in Washington who don't all sound like Henry Waxman, Charlie Rangel or Ted Kennedy. That's about to happen, as party Chairman Howard Dean's 50-state strategy bears fruit. The plan involves running strong candidates on Republican turf and letting them speak the native tongue. Some worry that a socially varied Democratic Party would lead to chaos. California liberals would clash with Colorado libertarians, who would spar with Bible Belt Carolinians.

Doesn't have to happen. A more diverse Democratic delegation could avoid geo-cultural warfare by sending many socially contentious issues back to the states, where they belong. Then Democrats in Washington could concentrate on their lunch-pail issues, above all, economic justice.

The "some worry" phrase makes it sound as if there's a debate currently ongoing over a revolutionary plan by the Man Who Said "Aaarrgghh," so I thought I'd see what this 50-State Strategy might entail. Well, according to the official Democrat Web page, the 50-State Strategy is essentially an organizational, get-out-the-vote kind of thing, not a grand statement of principle. Indeed, nowhere on the Web site was I able to find a single indication that the Democrats have any intention of changing their platform or political approach, let alone so much as a hint that Roe v. Wade might be on the Democrats' internal negotiation table.

In other words, Harrop's appeal to Democrat federalism is wishful thinking to the point of delusion and, therefore, could be wished for either party... or both. Personally, I do wish for both parties to incorporate stronger federalist principles in their platforms. It would be folly, however, to suggest that any particular strategy from either party is likely to further that end — much less make it "about to happen."

If only Harrop had provided citations for the discussion that led her to indulge in daydreams, perhaps readers could figure out who is playing whom. As it is, one gets the impression that Harrop is merely exploiting a promise of federalism to badmouth President Bush for the anti-federalist sins of which both parties are perhaps unsalvageably guilty.

ADDENDUM:
As a footnote, I'd like to mention that Harrop's apparent understanding of the mechanisms of society in a federalist framework makes it a much less appealing notion than it ought to be:

But when the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that its state constitution guarantees same-sex couples the legal benefits of marriage, President Bush immediately stuck his nose in. At a campaign stop in Indiana, he denounced New Jersey's "activist" judges. Whether these state judges are activist or not should be the concern of New Jerseyans and no one else.

Unless we are to be a balkanized nation without its own character, what happens in each state ought to concern us all, and public statements are perhaps the most undeniably appropriate means of exerting influence across state borders. The question federalism seeks to answer is who gets the final say for each area and at what level of government.

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Here we are, the weekend before the election, and I haven't heard idea 1 from the Dems. All I've heard is 'Vote for me, I'm running against President Bush'.

I'll be truly surprised if they take over a house of Congress on Tuesday. That would indicate that the majority of the American People, for the first time since the 1990 mid-term elections, are supporting the Democratic Party. And I can't see that happening.

Posted by: Greg at November 5, 2006 3:13 PM

Dear Greg,

You may have missed this, but due to the number of GOP members who have resigned for a sundry of reasons, we almost have the House now.

Posted by: Bobby Oliveira at November 5, 2006 4:04 PM

Then you are not listening Greg. The Democratic party platform has been stated over and over again.

But of course anything but "stay the course" is not a 'plan'.

Posted by: Joel at November 5, 2006 4:33 PM

Yes, we know the Democrats aren't big fans of President Bush -- and want us to surrender to the terrorists in Iraq. Then what? The only reason people might vote for them, is to vote against us nationally.

Anyway, I think there's probably a 60-40 chance of the House going Democratic, but I'm feeling a lot better about the Senate. There will probably be a net loss of 2-3 seats there, but we'll still retain the majority, regardless of the outcome in RI. For once, Linc might be right. The Dems might pick up the seat locally, but end up having a guy in the minority party as a result.

Posted by: Will at November 5, 2006 7:09 PM

"The Democratic party platform has been stated over and over again."

Please state for me the Democratic Party platform for the following, because I've yet to hear it:

1. Truly and seriously improving education

2. Illegal aliens

3. North Korea

4. Iran

5. Syria

6. National Energy

7. National Defence

8. Social Security

9. Global Warming

10. Rebuilding New Orleans

Thanks.

Posted by: Greg at November 5, 2006 9:06 PM
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