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March 7, 2004
Another Sign of Party Unity
A month ago, I remarked on how Kerry's candidacy seemed to have the potential to unite all wings of the party, including its traditionally feuding New Democrat and liberal wings. Since then we have indeed seen much closing of the ranks among Democrats, including in the polls, where Kerry is losing very few Democrats to Bush. Here's another sign of that emerging Democratic unity: two op-eds in The New York Times today, one by Stan Greenberg, associated with the liberal wing of the party and one by Bruce Reed, president of the DLC.
And here's the shocker: they didn't attack each other or their respective wings of the party in any way! Instead, Greenberg recommends that Kerry not counter the Republicans' narrow culture war strategy with an equally narrow class war strategy of his own, but rather with an expansive John F. Kennedy-style vision of an opportunity society that works for all Americans. I agree! And Reed recommends that Kerry swipe Bush's "reformer with results" label, since Bush has compiled an abysmal record as a reformer (from education to domestic security), while Kerry has shown a solid commitment to reform throughout his Senate career. I agree!
Of course, putting these insights together presents some problems--"reformer with results for the opportunity society" seems a bit long for a bumper sticker. But it's nice to see Democrats from formerly warring factions of the party concentrating on strategy against the Republicans rather than why the other side of their own party is wrong.
Posted by Ruy Teixeira at 11:59 PM | link
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