Posted on 02/07/2004 6:52:53 AM PST by Valin
Can I ask a favor of the Democratic Party? Could you guys please drop the whole populist rant? It's starting to get embarrassing.
There are seven men vying to be your party's candidate to replace President Bush as the leader of the most powerful country on the planet, and every one of them is trying to win that nomination by proving they're the most like the "average American."
It seems that every time I turn on the TV, a Democratic candidate is decrying the special interests, demanding that we "take our country back," and basically doing everything short of declaring class warfare.
Further, every candidate seems to be doing whatever he can to distance himself from the political elite and appear as much a "man of the people" as possible. John Kerry even goes so far as to take every opportunity to rebuke the label of front-runner - while his opponents simultaneously do their best to create just that image - because every candidate's campaign strategy depends on not appearing above the crowd.
Democrats seem to think that the only way to beat Bush at the polls is to foster a nationwide hatred of him in the middle and lower classes, and then pretend that they're just like all those angry people.
"Who me? Oh, well, I'm running for President and am backed by the multimillion dollar Democratic campaign machine, but really, I'm just like all you folks - average Americans - and boy do I hate that Bush guy, don't you?"
Since when has it been en vogue for candidates seeking leadership of the free world to stress how run-of-the-mill they are? Admittedly, it's always been en vogue, at least since 1789, but isn't that a little foolish?
To begin with, the phrase "average American" is absurd. Would anyone like to tell me who exactly the average American is? A farmer in Iowa? A suburbanite in California? An inner-city kid from Harlem? There's no such thing as an average American. In fact, there's really nothing average about being an American at all, so why are we looking for one to be President?
I realize our country has some serious problems with special interests and poverty, but I don't want the most average guy I can find to be running the country. I want someone smart enough to fix the problems.
In their haste to arouse the ire of the teeming masses, however, the Democrats seem to have forfeited any intellectual high ground they might have held by trading a focus on issues for populist appeal.
This will make for a rather unappealing campaign between whichever outstandingly ordinary candidate the Democrats pick and President Bush, who proved equally capable of getting out the everyman vote in 2000. Can you imagine two candidates trading barbs over who's less extraordinary?
Politicians and leaders should be able to connect with people of all backgrounds, but you would think that voters would want their leaders to be as intelligent, well-spoken and qualified as possible. Perhaps people like the idea of a candidate who reminds them of themselves. It's a fine idea, but why can't a candidate remind us of our ideals instead of our cynicism?
The bad news for the Democrats is that the populist bent has never been very successful. Trying to help the middle class by promising to topple the upper class didn't work for William Jennings Bryan in 1896, and it really didn't work out for everyone in the USSR who didn't belong to the KGB. Ultimately it's a campaign tactic built on fostering distrust and dislike for one group of people. It might carry a candidate to victory, but it will only come back to bite him once he's in office.
People interested in solving problems of poverty and pay-offs should be talking about ways to revitalize inner cities, rural areas and campaign finance reform - not fostering anger over the fact that some people have lots of money and some people don't.
If the Democrats field a candidate based on his ability to be the common man, then he'll be no better than a Bush in sheep's clothing. If they want to actually reverse Bush's abysmal environmental record and loyalty to his modern-day oil barons, then they should pick the candidate who's willing to say he has big ideas and the abilities to make them work.
PATRICK BOCASH can be reached at patrickbocash@yahoo.com.
Definitely.
And it's not like a lot of Americans don't have at least one wealthy relative, anyway...
Ya missed one (a BIGGIT too) . . . STOPPING THE MIGRANT INVASION FROM MEXICO.
Even their own see it.
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