Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Gerontocracy II: The New, Old Left

Of course, it is not just the return of old players, but "old" left ideas. Even Maureen Dowd, in between her rants about Rumsfeld, has noted the change:

Even though the Congressional leadership went along with the White House on the Iraq war, the Democrats have still been painted as the wimpy McGovernite party.

And now, with Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter back at center stage, and with the Democrats beatifying the far-left Paul Wellstone as a way of holding on to the Senate, the ghosts of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.-E.R.A. are supposed to save the party?

The real Reagan made mincemeat of Mr. Carter and Mr. Mondale, casting them as girly-boys who lacked the swagger necessary to lead the world.

But Dowd mistakes when the tranformation occurred. As a particularly perceptive reader of noleftturns pointed out in an email, the shift in Democratic politics began with Gore’s disavowing the "New Democrat" policies and labels of Clinton in favor of a decidedly more populist message.

Dowd is right though: the Democrats took a beating when they espoused these policies before. In a world where people are again concerned with national security, the shift to the old line appeasement is likely to lead to similar results for the Democrats. Oh well, out with the new, in with the old.

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