[OldManMac]

From this morning's New York Times;

Who Gets It?
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: January 16, 2004

Earlier this week, Wesley Clark had some strong words about the state of the nation. "I think we're at risk with our democracy," he said. "I think we're dealing with the most closed, imperialistic, nastiest administration in living memory. They even put Richard Nixon to shame."

In other words, the general gets it: he understands that America is facing what Kevin Phillips, in his remarkable new book, "American Dynasty," calls a "Machiavellian moment." Among other things, this tells us that General Clark andHoward Dean, whatever they may say in the heat of the nomination fight, are on the same side of the great Democratic divide.

Most political reporting on the Democratic race, it seems to me, has gotten it wrong. Some journalists do, of course, insist on trivializing the whole thing: what I dread most, in the event of an upset in Iowa, is the return of reporting about the political significance of John Kerry's hair.

But even those who refrain from turning political reporting into gossip have used the wrong categories. Again and again, one reads that it's about the left wing of the Democratic party versus the centrists; but Mr. Dean was a very centrist governor, and his policy proposals are not obviously more liberal than those of his rivals.

The real division in the race for the Democratic nomination is between those who are willing to question not just the policies but also the honesty and the motives of the people running our country, and those who aren't.

What makes Mr. Dean seem radical aren't his policy positions but his willingness — shared, we now know, by General Clark — to take a hard line against the Bush administration. This horrifies some veterans of the Clinton years, who have nostalgic memories of elections that were won by emphasizing the positive. Indeed, George Bush's handlers have already made it clear that they intend to make his "optimism" — as opposed to the negativism of his angry opponents — a campaign theme. (Money-saving suggestion: let's cut directly to the scene where Mr. Bush dresses up as an astronaut, and skip the rest of his expensive, pointless — but optimistic! — Moon-base program.)

But even Bill Clinton couldn't run a successful Clinton-style campaign this year, for several reasons.

One is that the Democratic candidate, no matter how business-friendly, will not be able to get lots of corporate contributions, as Clinton did. In the Clinton era, a Democrat could still raise a lot of money from business, partly because there really are liberal businessmen, partly because donors wanted to hedge their bets. But these days the Republicans control all three branches of government and exercise that control ruthlessly. Even corporate types who have grave misgivings about the Bush administration — a much larger group than you might think — are afraid to give money to Democrats.

Another is that the Bush people really are Nixonian. The bogus security investigation over Ron Suskind's "The Price of Loyalty," like the outing of Valerie Plame, shows the lengths they're willing to go to in intimidating their critics. (In the case of Paul O'Neill, alas, the intimidation seems to be working.) A mild-mannered, upbeat candidate would get eaten alive.

Finally, any Democrat has to expect not just severely slanted coverage from the fair and balanced Republican media, but asymmetric treatment even from the mainstream media. For example, some have said that the intense scrutiny of Mr. Dean's Vermont record is what every governor who runs for president faces. No, it isn't. I've looked at press coverage of questions surrounding Mr. Bush's tenure in Austin, like the investment of state university funds with Republican donors; he got a free pass during the 2000 campaign.

So what's the answer? A Democratic candidate will have a chance of winning only if he has an energized base, willing to contribute money in many small donations, willing to contribute their own time, willing to stand up for the candidate in the face of smear tactics and unfair coverage.

That doesn't mean that the Democratic candidate has to be a radical — which is a good thing for the party, since all of the candidates are actually quite moderate. In fact, what the party needs is a candidate who inspires the base enough to get out the message that he isn't a radical — and that Mr. Bush is.__

[boots]

Well, Based on that, I think a lot of people here DO get it. TF, BG, Lerk (infamous "prongs" aside)....just to name a few.


Interesting piece, though.

[chris v]

I get it. And I vote.

CV

[DeathToWindows]

I get it.

Considering I see bush as an insult to the ideals of this nation. I have no respect for the man. But I still respect his office.

And I will be 18 in June - so I'll vote in December!

[BlackGriffen]

Originally posted by DeathToWindows:
I get it.

Considering I see bush as an insult to the ideals of this nation. I have no respect for the man. But I still respect his office.

And I will be 18 in June - so I'll vote in December!

Please vote earlier than that. November would be good...


BG

[Krusty]

Originally posted by BlackGriffen:
Please vote earlier than that. November would be good...


BG

Nah, he'll be fine. From what I gathered in 2000, they don't really "call" an election 'til sometime in December anyway

[kindbud]

I must not get it because I'm voting for Bush.

[davesimondotcom]

I don't "get it" anymore. I'm married.

[Lerkfish]

Originally posted by kindbud:
I must not get it because I'm voting for Bush.

true.

[macvillage.net]

Bush is by far the most anti-freedom, anti-democracy regime to be in the whitehouse.


I'd like to see proof otherwise:

- Patriots Act
- The admin made clear very early it wouldn't pass amber alert bill unless it allowed for police discression, rather than "mandatory alert" for all children.
- Intentionally makes racially sensitive statements/proposals on MLK day (every single year)... even waits to make a statement so he can do it on that day. According to insiders against the advice of his press secretary

I could go on for ages. That's just the most recent stuff. He doesn't believe in DNA testing for criminals on death row (proved himself as govenor). Doesn't believe condoms can reduce the transmission of AIDS, despite much research. Wanted priests accused of molestation to settle out of court.


Doesn't exactly sound like an "all American".



Sounds a lot like Joe Stalin unless American history books completely lied about the communist russian state during that time. Who also used key holidays to make statements to contradict. Had a similar plan to the "patriots act", discressionary police policies, wants those close to avoid legal consequence, while holding others accountable (Martha Stewart vs. old buddy Ken Lay... whose more of a problem?)

[deedar]

Originally posted by kindbud:
I must not get it because I'm voting for Bush.

At least you admit it.