What do Democrats say to each other to psych themselves up 18 days before an election? This was the question I had as I prepared for my first political fundraiser of 2002 last Friday, the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner held by the New Hampshire Democratic Party in Manchester every fall. The four Democrats running for either national or major statewide office were in attendance to give speeches but the main attraction, at least for your humble columnist, was presidential aspirant and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (D).
The dinner was a great experience because it gave me a chance to listen first-hand to what sorts of things politicians say to their party faithful. Politicians always tailor their speeches to the audience, and they save their most energetic and partisan comments for friendly crowds. However, because of the prominence of the event there were at least half a dozen news cameras in the back of the room. The presence of the media probably mitigated the rhetoric a bit, but I actually learned more from the audience reactions than I did from the candidates.
Despite what Republicans and many in the media say, Democrats do have a clear national message that they are taking to the people to prepare for this year's election. Their message is that President George W. Bush has abandoned virtually every domestic issue and focused exclusively on fighting wars. Most Americans are worried about their retirement savings and the cost of their prescription drugs, but Bush only listens to big oil and big business. In addition, Republicans in Congress want to privatize social security and will not commit to meaningful health care reforms because they are dependent on the big drug companies for campaign donations.
To varying degrees, all of these claims are true. After all, when was the last time we heard anything meaningful from the White House on the economy or social programs? The only "domestic" issue being talked about today is homeland security, which is stalled in the Senate because of a bitter disagreement over union protections.
Republicans have a legitimate retort, however. Do they favor a cheaper, less-comprehensive prescription drug benefit? Yes. Do they favor private accounts as a way of saving the future of social security? Yes. Do they favor more targeted tax cuts for businesses to stimulate the economy? Yes. Although they may prefer to talk about foreign policy, most likely for political reasons, the GOP has clear stances on every major domestic issue in the book.
The same cannot be said for Democrats. On the crucial issues of how to protect social security into the second half of the century, what our policy on rogue states with nuclear weapons should be and what the government needs to do to boost our economy, they are silent. Most Democrats vilify the Bush tax cut but few have the courage to call for its repeal (to his credit, Edwards called for the delay of the part that goes to the wealthiest one percent of taxpayers and received a standing ovation). On Social Security, Democrats rail against private accounts but offer no alternative solution to the impending bankruptcy of the program.
Perhaps most glaring is the party's refusal to address foreign policy matters. I heard three federal candidates (two for the House, one for the Senate) give speeches, and none of them had a single word to say about terrorism or international affairs. Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, running for Senate, made a passing remark about the need to strengthen our intelligence capabilities. Not a single person in the room applauded. Her next remark, a pledge to vote against any judge that might let states decide whether a woman can end an unwanted pregnancy, received a standing ovation. Ladies and gentlemen, this is America's Democratic Party.
For his part, Edwards gave the audience what amounted to an apology (or at least a sheepish explanation) for his vote with the president on Iraq. As he made his case to the unreceptive audience I had to feel sorry for the man. To bail himself out, Edwards ended his remarks on national security with a hasty transition to civil rights and bashed Attorney General John Ashcroft. Needless to say, the crowd was on its feet.
It would be nice if both the Democrats and Republicans could talk about both international and domestic issues, but don't count on seeing it happen any time soon. Democrats are either not interested in foreign policy or are wary of seeming weak when their policies are compared to Bush's. Republicans know that their stances on many social issues are less popular than their opponents' are, so they're sticking with the war message. Difficult times call for political courage. Forgive me if I'm not getting teary-eyed.
