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February 15, 2004
Name That Theme!
Jim VandeHei had a useful article in The Washington Post today on how the Democrats intend to run in 2004. The article's title is "Democrats will try a hybrid of old, new themes", which seems fairly accurate. Kerry and congressional Democrats will run on keeping Bush's tax cuts for the middle class, but repealing Bush's tax cuts for the rich; keeping the No Child Left Behind Act, but making it more flexible and better-funded; keeping the Medicare prescription drugs bill but using government purchasing power to drive down drug prices; expanding health care coverage but gradually by building on existing programs; and so on.
This all seems pretty sensible and fits in with a strategy of both motivating the virulently anti-Bush Democratic base and reaching out to more moderate swing voters. It seems a little challenged in the Big Ideas department, though. Who, after all, can get excited about voting for a "hybrid", to use VandeHei's term? Voters are interested in where you intend to take the country, not that you have thoughtfully synthesized the old and the new, however sensible that synthesis may be.
So there's definitely more work to be done here. Otherwise, as Ron Brownstein explains in his article today in The Los Angeles Times, the Democrats are likely to simply sprinkle economic populism on top of whatever hybrid program they have and hope that voters are in the right kind of mood on election day.
DR thinks the Democrats can do better. So the floor's open: what should the Democrats' grand theme(s) be this campaign season? Kerry may still be wrapping up the nomination, but the sooner we all start thinking about this, the better.
Posted by Ruy Teixeira at 09:55 PM | link
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