Today's Hotline gives us some highly interesting commentary on faith, family, and a winning strategy for Progressives. First, the Hotline sites a piece in yesterday's Virginian-Pilot article by Christina Nuckols as follows (bolding added for emphasis):
VA Gov.-elect Tim Kaine "made the decision early in his campaign to talk about his spirituality in stump speeches and media ads" and apparently, the plan worked. Kaine spokesperson Mo Elleithee pointed out that early Christian radio ads were a key part of the campaign strategy, helping him "withstand some of the attacks that came later. ... People understood who he is and the central role faith plays in his life." Kaine's strategy is attracting the attention of national Dems, including [DNC Chairman Howard] Dean. On 10/13's "Meet The Press" Dean attributed Kaine's emphasis on faith as a reason behind his win.
Then, it quotes Will Marshall, President of the Progressive Policy Institute, from yesterday's Dallas Morning News (bolding added for emphasis):
"The politics of religion has changed dramatically in the South. Now, the cleavage isn't between Protestants and Catholics. It's between secular and religious people. Being Catholic worked in Tim Kaine's favor. Thirty years ago, it may have counted against him. ... Both parties could end up with 2008 nominees from the Northeast or Midwest. They'll need to know how religion and politics fuse -- or don't fuse -- together, if they're going to have legs in the South and Southwest. No question about it. There are two great challenges for the Democratic nominee. One is to offer a credible national security message. The other is to close the culture gap so evident in the last two electoral cycles."On what the Dems really need: "We need to offer a cultural agenda of or own. ... We need to have a progrssive pro-family agenda of our own"
The three key points are:
1) Howard Dean, who I believe has been unfairly characterized by the media, is actually an extremely astute political analyst (when he's not screaming - ha ha, just kidding!). And, as Dean has been saying -- sometimes awkwardly -- for a while now, Democrats will never be able to compete in vast parts of "red" America, first and foremost the South, until they are able to speak coherently and respectfully to "values voters." By the way, what Dean is saying is not very different from what Thomas Frank is saying in his best-seller, "What' s the Matter with Kansas?" Namely, that tens of millions of Americans have chosen (or been persuaded) to vote against their OWN ECONOMIC SELF INTEREST because they feel completely alienated, put off, or disrespected by the Democratic Party on social/cultural/religious matters. In particular, I would argue that many "heartland" voters feel alienated by the highly educated, highly secular, socially liberal Democratic left, with whom they do not share the same cultural worldview. That's not to say that there's anything WRONG with the Democratic left, it's simply a statement of fact that there's a cultural disconnect. Luckily, more and more Democrats are starting to "get it." Tim Kaine gets it. Mark Warner gets it. Bill Clinton gets it. Paul Hackett gets it. Barack Obama gets it. And Howard Dean gets it.
2) Democrats need to be the REAL "faith and family values" party. Ask yourself this: are health care and education for you and your kids a "family value?" How about freedom and privacy? The right to make medical life-or-death decisions for yourself and your loved ones without the State trying to tell you what to do (e.g., the Terry Schiavo case)? Are those values consistent with Christian beliefs? If the answer to these questions is "yes," then the next obvious question is why one earth do right-wing Republicans have a monopoly on family values? Why shouldn't Progressives - who best represent the aforementioned values -- be the REAL "faith and family values" people in this country?
3) Finally, Democrats need to have a strong national security message, one that emphasizes the INTELLIGENT use of ALL means of U.S. power to defend America. That means use of "soft" power -- diplomacy, economic leverage, moral suasion. It also means use of "hard" power -- military force -- when absolutely necessary and when consistent with American values and interests. That's where George W. Bush and the so-called "neocons" have completely failed us, in wildly overemphasizing "hard" power at the expense of all the other kinds AND in applying that "hard" power unintelligently. Worst of all, the Bush Administration has applied "hard" power without any apparent regard for American values, let alone Progressive ones, as evidenced by Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
The bottom line is that Democrats have a HUGE opportunity here, with the national Republicans in free fall as a result of constant scandals, abuses of power, and demonstrated gross incompetence. However, Democrats won't be able to seize this opportunity on a consistent basis unless they offer a real alternative to Conservativism, and that means a strong Progressive message, linked to the values taught by Jesus in the Gospels, Moses in the Torah, Buddha in the Tripitaka, etc. (Please note, I am NOT personally religious but I used to be, and I certainly know how important religion is to people. I also know how important religion is politically).
As Tim Kaine has showed here in Virginia, there is absolutely no reason why Democrats cannot and should not be the "faith and family values" party. And there is absolutely no reason why Republicans SHOULD be the "faith and family values" party, because they're clearly not.