May 20, 2005
Political Poker
Culture note: Am I the last guy who doesn't get the poker craze? I watched a little on TV last night, and I'm not sure I understand the fascination.
Dan Henninger of the WSJ Ed Page does, and he pens a nice riff on the Democrats' hand after the past few elections:
If the nation's most popular sport now is poker, then the Democrats have become the party of the constant inside straight. They hold a politically competitive hand, but not a winning hand. They've got public-sector labor unions and a re-energized left that is young, willing and wealthy. But as luck would have it, we've entered the post-public era.The public-sector ascendancy ran from the New Deal to 1981, when Ronald Reagan fired the striking flight controllers to popular applause. The workaday world for most people now is defined by markets without borders. This unstoppable reality is the Republican margin of victory, and it leaves the Democrats leaderless in a strange land. Bill Clinton is now a sainted Democratic figure, but no one seems to quite recall what he stood for. The party knows that any future victory lies with the wagon train of voters moving to the outer suburbs, but so far it has no competitive message for these folks other than, call home.
Balloon Juice provides a list of principles abandoned by the current Republican Party. But I don't see much in the list that the Democrats can use to their advantage.
There are large rifts in the GOP these days, and a smart opposition party could exploit them. But I think that the Ds are so tightly-coupled to their constituency groups, that they are unable to make a serious play for any disaffected Rs.
I tell people that "Republicans promise more liberty and frequently fail; Democrats promise less and frequently succeed." They cannot become the party of liberty and keep the progressives and the public sector members, they cannot be the social conservatives, cannot become the party that is tough on immigration.
They can play the separation of church and state angle, but it is hard to see them parlaying that into a plurality. That would be like drawing an inside straight.
Yes, you're the last guy. But I think the thing has kind of run it's course. We play in the neighborhood, and it's at the church fair...
The Dems could go after immigration. It's the Republican's weakness. Though the Dems big "special interests" are minorities, particularly hispanics, so I doubt that they'll go after it.
The Dems won't be anything until they get away from the "anti-Bush" party. Maybe in 4 years.
Posted by: AlexC at May 20, 2005 5:02 PMI understand the friendly game. I don't understand watching it on TV.
I saw a commercial "learn how to gamble like the pros!" and wondered if that were really desirable. Makes one go "hmmmm."
Posted by: jk at May 23, 2005 12:13 PM | What do you think? [2]