The Trivialization of the Democratic Party

May 13th 2003 – Robert K. Byrd’s recent speech attacking the President for his visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln is symptomatic of a broader problem within the Democratic Party. They’ve got no issues! It’s not that there aren’t any issues to discuss. There are. It’s just that the Left can’t seem to engage them in any meaningful way.

Against a President willing to assume enormous political risks, with the war in Iraq, and the difficult rebuilding efforts underway, as well as bold tax proposals here at home, the Left has devoted untold time and effort to taking cheap shots at his carrier landing and Bill Bennett’s gambling.

Is this all they have to talk about?

First of all, I’ll gladly concede that the carrier landing was political theater. So what? Everything a President does has some element of political theater to it. That’s as it should be. Good theater can inspire. It can enervate and uplift. When a President does these things, it’s good. A President is both an elected executive, with real management responsibilities, and a potent symbol of the nation, at peace and at war. He embodies the character of the country, for better, in the case of George W. Bush, or for worse, in the case of Bill Clinton. So, this era will forever be linked with the image of a virile, confident George Bush, helmet in hand, standing proudly with the troops, following a stunning military victory.

Pretty scary, huh? Well, yeah, if you’re Robert K. Byrd and the empty-handed Democratic Left. Mr. Byrd engaged in a little theater of his own, but of a lower sort; more of a farcical Commedia del Arte, with a doddering old actor stumbling through his lines, to Bush’s inspirational Shakespearean entrance.

Apparently the Democrats would much rather that a chief executive molesting female stewards on Air Force One; lying to grand juries; handing out pardons to his criminal friends, for a price; and demeaning the nation rather than glorifying it, occupy the Presidency. Sorry fellas, Bill Clinton’s already served his two terms. You’ll have to look for another walking libido to do your dirty work.

The Left’s transparent desperation for an issue, any issue, with legs, was even more apparent when they jumped on Bill Bennett for his gambling. Now, here’s a guy that engaged in a perfectly legal activity, didn’t risk more than he could afford, and owned up when called on it. He didn’t hem and haw. He didn’t engage in semantic tongue twisters trying to explain that he wasn’t really gambling; or that it was someone that looked like him; or he just accidentally left chips from his brother’s trip to Vegas on the table and didn’t realize it might be construed as participating in the game. If you asked him “Was that gambling you engaged in?” he wouldn’t answer with “That depends on what your definition of ‘was’ was”. To top it all off, Bill Bennett isn’t even in the government.

Still, this became the Democratic attack point of the week. A lot of time, effort and newsprint went into excoriating the man, yes it did. And it didn’t have anything to do with anything of any real importance to the country.

Is that all they’ve got?

The Republicans, under Team George Bush, are taking on real, substantive issues like the war against global terrorism; restructuring our military for the new century; eliminating real racial prejudice and the ethnic spoils system; serious, concrete tax reform; rebuilding the Federal judiciary; encouraging freedom around the globe; and defining our role as the world’s only superpower.

The Right has offered serious proposals on each of these issues. There ought to be an equally serious set of alternatives from the Left around which to frame a debate. Clearly, they have none to offer. Instead, all we get is obstruction, misdirection and invective. In contrast, this administration has set clear objectives then acted with boldness and resolve, remaining true to their President’s promises.

So, when push comes to shove, the Democrats aren’t willing to engage in a fair fight over substance.

They’re trivializing themselves and they’re trivializing their party, and here’s why: because they’re on the wrong side and know it. If they put up the old, intellectually tired, tried-and-true arguments of the Left, the American people are going to see right through them. The Democratic Party is floundering. They’re losing votes. There isn’t a single issue where they can be true to their beliefs and win over anything more than a die-hard liberal base and those remaining adherents to the Jesse-esque politics of victimization.

That is all they’ve got!

The Left has been trivialized, marginalized and, come 2004, will surely be downsized.