December 18, 2002
YEAH, THAT'S THE TICKET:
Blair for President: Maybe the Democrats should give the British prime minister, Tony Blair, a green card. (THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, 12/18/02, NY Times)Never put yourself in a position where you succeed only if your country fails. The Democrats can't just wait for Mr. Bush to fail in Iraq, or hope the economy collapses, and assume they will benefit. People want to hear a positive alternative agenda. There can be a hard-nosed Democratic alternative. It is one that would say, "Yes, let's win the war on terrorism, but that requires a multi-pronged approach that addresses all our vulnerabilities and levels with the American people."Right now the Bush bumper sticker reads: "You Can Have It All: Guns, Butter, War With Iraq, Tax Cuts & Humvees." This is nonsense. America has never won a war without the public's being enlisted and summoned to sacrifice. Is there a Democrat ready to push for a crash oil conservation program and development of renewable energy alternatives--that would also respond to European anger over Kyoto? Is there a Democrat ready to take on our absurd farm subsidies and textile tariffs that help keep countries like Pakistan poor by keeping them hooked on aid, not trade? Is there a Democrat ready to take on the far-right Bush forces, which are now trying to undermine all U.S. support for global population controls? (Just what we need: more failed states with exploding populations.)
Is there a Democrat ready to say we don't need more long-term tax cuts, which will only produce chronic large deficits that will reduce resources for both homeland security and Head Start? And our economy doesn't need more short-term tax stimulus either--it needs a successful war on terrorism. The economy is recovering slowly on its own. What's holding it back now are fears about terrorism and war with Iraq, which keep oil prices high and investment low. The minute those are resolved, you will see consumers ready to spend and companies ready to invest.
We'll give Mr. Friedman a pass on the Blair bit and assume he knows that the Prime Minister is constitutionally barred from the American presidency. But look at the agenda he just laid out for the Democrats:
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 18, 2002 9:41 AM
I support vigorously pursuing the war, and cutting tariffs unilaterally, and I'm a non-Democrat. I think a lot of non-Democrats would support those two items. The chief opponents of war and supporters of tariffs are Democrats.
The important point is that the Democrats are so built around appeals to greed of parochial special interests that they have no way of altering their policy mix. All they can do is attack their opponents and hope greed and fear can carry them through. That's why Democratic primaries are so boring.
Greed and Fear...the first two planks of the 2004 Democratic platform have been laid...or is that the ONLY two planks?
Posted by: Bart Rhodes at December 18, 2002 2:49 PMMr. Judd;
I'm with PJ on this. (1) and (3) are excellent policies.
I think I must have misparsed that post while reading it. Policy (1) "(doesn't appeal) to any non-Democrat voter"? Funny thing, I thought most Republicans were in favor of vigorously prosecuting the war.
Posted by: Joe at December 18, 2002 6:21 PMSorry, I'm an idiot. That should obviously be an "either".
Posted by: oj at December 18, 2002 7:49 PM