AAfter losing two back-to-back national elections, there is nearly complete disarray in the party. Rejected twice after running national campaigns focused on the issue which voters said they cared most about – an issue which, in the abstract, should have been in their wheelhouse – political and opinion leaders are recommending sweeping reforms to ensure past mistakes will never be made again. This is the Republican Party in 2013, but it was also the Democratic Party of 40 years ago. In the early 1970s, after losing two straight presidential elections, Democrats pursued a series of reforms dedicated to reducing the...