About Democrats

Blogger Conference Calls

I came across this note by Steve Clemons on bloggers on conference calls with Democratic politicians. At least for now, I'm not interested in the fight in the political trenches so much as the larger themes that need to be developed.

Satin on Lakoff

Mark Satin has a nice critique of the Lakoff framing approach that some Democrats have been seduced by. Like Satin, I believe the Democrats' problem is not just form but substance. I further reject Lakoff's notion that the mothering approach is better than the fathering approach. Like yin and yang, we need both, in balance.

Moreover, Lakoff’s frames are hardly scientifically drawn. The counterpart of the strict father model is not nurturant parent. It’s what you could call the “anything goes” model, from which millions of youth are suffering today.

The nurturant parent model (and how’s about plural -- nurturant parents) is the golden mean, with appropriate discipline and freedom both built in. Some dare call it the radical middle model.

Losing Momentum

Are the Democrats falling short in their 2006 campaign?

The Moderate Voice has an excellent rundown on their problems. Fundamentally, the Democrats are much more split than the Republicans, and this prevents them from coming up with coherent positions that they all really believe in and can communicate.

John Kerry Comes To The Caucus

When I arrived at town hall in Arlington, Mass. to cover today's Massachusetts Democratic Party caucuses, I spotted an unexpected attendee, Sen. John Kerry. Caucuses are held every four years in which Democrats select delegates to a state convention. Candidates must be supported by at least 15 percent of the delegates at the convention in order to get on the primary ballot. It's also a way for candidates to show strength and build momentum.

John Kerry lives in Boston, but he was in Arlington to meet what turned out to be 347 caucus votes, who voted overwhelmingly for a slate of delegates to support Deval Patrick as the gubernatorial nominee, over Tom Reilly, the presumed frontrunner, who had a bad week last week.

I spoke to Kerry for a couple of minutes. I asked him if there was a disconnect between bloggers and other grassroots activists and Democratic elected officials--that it sometimes seemed like Democratic officials would take one position, and that opposition would percolate in the activist community until it came to a boil. He said that communication was instantaneous these days, but if Democrats were not proactive, it was because they did not control any branches of the federal government, and cannot not set the agenda of what gets taken up. "If we can win one house, we will be co-partners in the agenda," Kerry said.

Now that Kerry is blogging, I asked him how he was as a typist. Kerry said, "I'm good. Two fingers, but I can do it pretty fast."

Kerry spoke to the assembled caucus for about ten minutes, and received a standing ovation at the end. He thanked the Arlington Democrats for going up to New Hampshire during the fall of 2004 and contributing to New Hampshire going for Kerry on election day. He said, "You did everything possible except move to Ohio." Responding to President Bush's State of the Union address, Kerry said, "Mr. President, America isn't addicated to oil. You're addicted to oil." Striking a note of optimism for 2006, he said, "It's possible with our energy, we could win the House. We could win the Senate."

I also spoke to Worcester Mayor Tim Murray, who is a candidate for Lt. Governor, and whom I spoke to last month when I covered the BlogLeft conference for the Nashua Telegraph. Last week, it was reported that Murray was upset at Reilly for reneging on a committment to remain neutral in the Lt. Governor's race. I asked Murray if he was neutral in the Governor's race. He replied with a chuckle, "I'm focusing on my race, and everyone should focus on his."

About This Blog

This blog will focus on the Democratic Party from a centrist perspective. To the extent there is a model, it is The New Republic, a centrist magazine which combines opinion with reporting.

It will maintain a certain journalistic distance from its subject matter. As a graduate student in journalism at Boston University, I'm trying to figure out how to do good political writing at a distance from the nation's capital. As I happen to live in navy-blue state, I mostly have access to Democrats--liberal ones at that. Thus, I expect to interview many more liberals than either centrists or conservatives. I'm not a hardball interviewer, but I do plan to challenge those I interview with centrist perspectives, and report their reactions.