British Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, campaigning with Finance Minister Gordon Brown, won a third term despite the unpopularity of the war in Iraq. (By Stephen Hird -- Associated Press)
Posted on 05/07/2005 8:55:36 PM PDT by Libloather
Democrats Could Profit From Blair's Labor
Prime Minister Shows Value in Hewing to Center
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 8, 2005; Page A05
LONDON, May 7 -- Can the British Labor Party help the Democrats in the United States find their way back to power?
**SNIP**
Blair has been left weakened by Thursday's election, rebuked by voters for his alliance with President Bush as America's staunchest ally in the Iraq war.
**SNIP**
Politicians and the press here are focused on what went wrong for Blair. For Democrats, the significance of the election may lie as much in the ability of Labor to win an election at a time when its leader was so personally unpopular.
**SNIP**
"Blair has left the right with no openings," said Bruce Reed, president of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council in Washington.
**SNIP**
Blairism, as it is called here, may not be the perfect model for the Democrats.
**SNIP**
Few strategists believe a simple return to Clinton's centrist New Democrat formulation of the 1990s by itself will get the Democrats out of the doldrums. The world today is different, and the politics of the country have shifted.
**SNIP**
In 2000, Democrats surrendered their advantage on the economy when Al Gore decided not to make the economic record of the Clinton administration the central theme of his campaign for president.
**SNIP**
The resurgence of the liberal wing of the party in 2004, born of anger at Bush over Iraq and other issues, has led some Democratic leaders to conclude that the route back may be through an energized, progressive, grass-roots army.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
What performance? Al Gore has been dead for 20 years...Its just that he and the democrats haven't figured it out yet...
Blairism, as it is called here, may not be the perfect model for the Democrats. It may no longer even by the perfect model for the Labor Party, given dissatisfaction here with some of Blair's efforts at triangulation between the old Labor Party and the Conservatives. The public distrusted Blair on more than the war. Labor's spin-doctoring was seen as government by insincerity and took its toll.
Few strategists believe a simple return to Clinton's centrist New Democrat formulation of the 1990s by itself will get the Democrats out of the doldrums. The world today is different, and the politics of the country have shifted. But the records of Blair and Clinton suggest that an opposition party must recognize its weaknesses and do something about them and know its strengths and never abandon them.
In 2000, Democrats surrendered their advantage on the economy when Al Gore decided not to make the economic record of the Clinton administration the central theme of his campaign for president. Democratic strategists believe that Bush's economic record, particularly on fiscal matters, provides an opening to make the Democrats once again the party of stability, growth and fiscal discipline. But party leaders have yet to do so.
The resurgence of the liberal wing of the party in 2004, born of anger at Bush over Iraq and other issues, has led some Democratic leaders to conclude that the route back may be through an energized, progressive, grass-roots army. A number of strategists rightly see this as one of the party's great strengths. But the U.S. and British elections suggest that is only a partial answer. Labor won this week with a divided base; the Conservatives lost with a united base, just as the Democrats lost last fall with their base united.
"Democrats can take a lesson from [the campaign run by Conservative leader Michael] Howard -- not to isolate yourself and not just motivate your base," said Mark Penn, a Democratic pollster who was an adviser to Blair during the campaign here.
Where Blair, Brown and Labor cannot help the Democrats is on the social issues or the intersection of religion and politics. There is nothing comparable in British politics. Howard tried to make abortion an issue at one point but quickly abandoned it under pressure from all parts of the spectrum. When Blair proposed using the words "God bless" in a speech before the Iraq war, his advisers hooted him down, according to Peter Stothard's book "Thirty Days." Democrats will have to find their own way in these areas.
The same may be true for national security, a debate that continues to rage among Democrats. It is not clear what lesson Democrats can or should draw from Blair, given the firestorm over Iraq here. One Democratic strategist, after watching what Blair went through, said he believes that those who suggested the Democrats would have been better off in 2004 by being unreservedly in favor of the war are plain wrong. Others say Democrats could benefit by studying the conviction Blair demonstrated in the face of rebellion in his own ranks.
With this week's British elections, Democrats have been reminded that politics is a process of renewal and rejuvenation, even for a party in power. The task is even more urgent for a party out of power. The process requires strong leadership, clear principles, tough decisions and some compromises, all with a clear goal in mind. As King put it, "The aim of this exercise is to win elections."
Trippi was hired by Labor to build the grassroots army. They took lower proportion of the vote, and gains were far and few between. Dean as head of the DNC, already using the strategy that Labor decided to import by way of Trippi, came up seriously short in fundraising as of last report.
Chalk this theory up to disjointed fantasies of Dan "Trippin'" Balz.
It is pieces like this that most clearly reveal the deep reservoir of partisan bias in the MSM. They care only for the prospects of the Democrats.
Trippi also reported that the wedge issue which cost Labor its predominance was "immigration", not "Bush" and "Iraq".
That, however, is not what our MSM wanted to hear. So, they ignore him...
As I've posted before, Blair is the President of the Socialist Interntionale. That is separate from Prime Minister. Americans see through much of the socialst disguise these days. Note the US Chapter of the Socialist Internationale is the Democratic Socialists of America.
The US is not going to merrily stagger down the road to communism like some Thorazined zombies as the Democrats had hoped. Nor are we going to do the same for globalism as president Bush had hoped.
THIS IS AMERICA, AND WE ARE AMERICANS. COME AND "GET SOME" - IF YOU DARE. We've got 225 years experience at adjusting the attitudes of politicians. I feel another one in the making, along our borders.
"Trippi also reported that the wedge issue which cost Labor its predominance was "immigration", not "Bush" and "Iraq". That, however, is not what our MSM wanted to hear. So, they ignore him..."
Bush seems to be ignoring the same issue here, unfortunately.
I am extremely grateful for Mr. Blair’s steadfast friendship with America and resent more than I can say false news like this and still post on FR.
It is pieces like this that most clearly reveal the deep reservoir of partisan bias in the MSM. They care only for the prospects of the Democrats.
Nicely put.But it's not that the journalists are Democrats (tho they are), it's that the Democrats are toadies to journalism. Democrats have no principle other than power, and that power comes from a printing press and a broadcast studio.
Whereas the paleowhig (old Whig) principles of the Constitution depend on people who will aggressively work to obtain political power for the purpose of limiting its use.
" Trippi also reported that the wedge issue which cost Labor its predominance was "immigration", not "Bush" and "Iraq"
I disagree with that analysis. The swing in the election was from Labour to the Liberal Democrats. That's hardly likely to be on the basis of immigration given the policies of the two parties.
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