Protests are good, alternatives are better
By Michael Carr
If politics were like a boxing match, President Bush would be on the ropes. Katrina, Iraq, and other embarrassing mistakes have seemed to cement President Bush's low approval ratings. Indeed, ever since last August when gas prices started to rise, President Bush's approval rating has consistently hovered at 40%.
President Bush's congressional allies aren't doing any better. In fact, they are doing worse with only 25% of Americans approving of their job. Indeed, the corruption and runaway spending that this congress has been responsible for seems to resemble the way things were for the Democrats in 1993, just prior to the Republican takeover.
But those who assume Democrats will reap the same fortunes that the Republicans did in 1993 may be in for a disappointment. What the Republicans had then was a "Contract with America". This contract was a unified set of ideas that showed the nation a clear alternative. The Democrats now need their own version in addition to pointing out the failures of that "contract".
Simply put, the Democrats cannot win by criticizing the Republican's ideas without offering any of their own. Unfortunately, many Democrats live under the false notion that one day the nation will just "wake up" and realize how bad the Republicans are and vote them out of office. What many fail to realize is that nation has woken up and have indicated that they strongly disapprove of the path that the Republican party has led them down. But if no new path is given for people to follow then what are they suppose to do?
The Democratic party must now offer a new set of bold ideas. In other words, the Democratic party must move beyond explaining what they are against and begin to explain what they are for. Without describing what the Democratic party stands for and why they would be a better alternative, their role as a vocal minority party will continue.
Fortunately for the Democrats, the public trusts them to handle more issues than they do Republicans. In addition, most voters seem to side with Democrats in the generic sense. For example, most people wish to see a minimum-wage increase and believe that the tax-cuts should be rolled back in order to reduce the deficit. On many other issues such as the environment and healthcare, people's desires generally match the Democratic platform.
At the least, this should serve as hope that with a new communication strategy, structural reworking and party discipline, the Democratic party could win big in 2006. It is up to Democrats to answer the bell and deliver the knockout blow.
If politics were like a boxing match, President Bush would be on the ropes. Katrina, Iraq, and other embarrassing mistakes have seemed to cement President Bush's low approval ratings. Indeed, ever since last August when gas prices started to rise, President Bush's approval rating has consistently hovered at 40%.
President Bush's congressional allies aren't doing any better. In fact, they are doing worse with only 25% of Americans approving of their job. Indeed, the corruption and runaway spending that this congress has been responsible for seems to resemble the way things were for the Democrats in 1993, just prior to the Republican takeover.
But those who assume Democrats will reap the same fortunes that the Republicans did in 1993 may be in for a disappointment. What the Republicans had then was a "Contract with America". This contract was a unified set of ideas that showed the nation a clear alternative. The Democrats now need their own version in addition to pointing out the failures of that "contract".
Simply put, the Democrats cannot win by criticizing the Republican's ideas without offering any of their own. Unfortunately, many Democrats live under the false notion that one day the nation will just "wake up" and realize how bad the Republicans are and vote them out of office. What many fail to realize is that nation has woken up and have indicated that they strongly disapprove of the path that the Republican party has led them down. But if no new path is given for people to follow then what are they suppose to do?
The Democratic party must now offer a new set of bold ideas. In other words, the Democratic party must move beyond explaining what they are against and begin to explain what they are for. Without describing what the Democratic party stands for and why they would be a better alternative, their role as a vocal minority party will continue.
Fortunately for the Democrats, the public trusts them to handle more issues than they do Republicans. In addition, most voters seem to side with Democrats in the generic sense. For example, most people wish to see a minimum-wage increase and believe that the tax-cuts should be rolled back in order to reduce the deficit. On many other issues such as the environment and healthcare, people's desires generally match the Democratic platform.
At the least, this should serve as hope that with a new communication strategy, structural reworking and party discipline, the Democratic party could win big in 2006. It is up to Democrats to answer the bell and deliver the knockout blow.
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