The tag line on the link on the Wall Street Journal Opinion Page said it all: "Do the Dems really want a San Francisco liberal as leader?"
Apparently they do, and so do the Republicans…
If Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D. CA)--as she appears to be poised to do--becomes the House Minority Leader, Congressional Democrats will be committing partisan seppuku. A brief excerpt of her record as quoted by WSJ:
“She favors a higher minimum-wage and higher CAFE standards but has opposed tax cuts of nearly every kind. She opposed trade promotion authority, though the California economy thrives on exports.
“And she was among that half of House Democrats who opposed welfare reform in 1996, though a Democratic President supported it and even liberals now admit it's been a success. Her social policy views can be summed up in her votes against a ban on partial-birth abortion, putting her to the left of departing leader Dick Gephardt.
More significant after 9/11, she was the champion of those House Democrats who opposed President Bush's Iraq resolution this year.”
Considering the Dems recent losses at the polls signal at the very least a move to the center on the part of the electorate, Ms Pelosi’s views put her to the hard left of the majority of Americans who live in what people of her geographical and ideological ilk refer to as “fly-over country”.
One of the well-deserved critiques of the Democrats following this election cycle has been their lack of ideas. Well, to her credit Ms. Pelosi is not without ideas, but will they lead the Democrats back to the majority and the White House in 2004? Time will tell.
Dean, I think one could argue that the recent showing can just as likely signal a move *away* from the polls by the *former* electorate. The Dems may actually manage to pick up some votes by appealing to those who don't normally vote.
I'm looking forward to a more liberal Democratic party. Then I will feel I have more of a choice than "Lukewarm Republican Wannabe" and "Republican." It'll be nice to see some ideas that are differ from Republican plans in more than just cosmetic details.
The Democrats are making themselves to be the party of the big cities. This fly-over country business constituted the winning Electoral College map of 2000 and the winning combination on election night 2002. Have the Democrats figured this out yet? If the Democrats win the big cities and the Republicans win everything else, as I hope, then the Democrats are doomed.
I suspect that Howard Feinberg has it right: looking for the non-voter vote is like looking for the hole in the donut. It's all too easy to sit around and agree with each other that "we're independent" and so on, but line up all those "independents" and make them discuss what they really want, and they'll start squabbling as much as Democrats and Republicans already do.
I often theorize that many Democrats are so gung-ho to get more people to vote because on generic polling questions, the issues "tend to favor Democrats" -- well why wouldn't they, when it sounds so nice to have tons of "free" bennies? But most in their hearts know that they'll have to pay for it, which is why most either don't bother to show up or are much more thoughtful once they get in the polling booth than they might be to a random pollster on the phone.
I tend to agree with Paul that if the Dems go sharply left, they'll simply lose more seats and more power next time around. But you may be right. Indeed, with Pelosi in place and Gore running like mad to the Left in his effort to recapture the nomination in '04, we may well get to test your theory.
The Democratic Party is in full "self destruct" mode. I think it's wonderful. Not because they are the opposition (although they are), but because something worthwhile should rise from the ashes.
I get the impression the Dems current strategy is aimed squarely at stealing votes away from the Greens. In some quarters Ralph Nader is blamed as much as W. for "stealing" the election from Al Gore. What they fail to realize is the American people want positive ideas and the leadership to reach those goals. The Republicans provided both this time around. As long as they don't squander their lead (as they did following the First Gulf War)I believe we will probably see a second term for W. and larger majorities in both houses.
I have never seen any party so suicidal as the Democratic Party. I hope this Pelosi will do for them what Ralph Nader did in 2000. I suppose every drunk and drug addict has to hit bottom before he realizes he must stop his addiction. It looks as though that will be 2004 for the Dems.