This week the Democrats elected Howard Dean as their new party chair. Yeeeehaaaaa.
There are those who say it's only a matter of time before the Democrats slide into total irrelevancy, at which point the GOP will split into a libertarian and a social conservative party. But an alternative future is proposed in this op-ed from Washington's newest paper, the Examiner.
Former Democratic National Committee press secretary Terry
Michael argues that the Democrats can succeed if they return to
their "Jeffersonian liberalism" roots. He writes:
But in a post-industrial, information economy, the little guys, who Democrats have always claimed to represent, are again more self-sufficient, empowered to make - tailor-make, in fact - choices for themselves.... The "Central Authority Solutions" story offered by Democrats, from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, lost luster. That's especially true with regard to economic issues. On the other hand, when it comes to lifestyle and personal choices - the social-cultural issue frame - the party still has some juice left from that original Jeffersonian story, which made individual liberty central to party ID....
The new desktop-empowered generation, turned on by Republican economic choice, but turned off by the social-cultural intolerance of the GOP Taliban wing, could embrace Democrats if we return to our founder's philosophy - a back-to-the-future Jeffersonian liberalism. Jefferson, who said the government that governs least governs best, knew the era of big government was over before Bill Clinton proclaimed it.
It's a nice thought, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
--Stephen H. Miller