As John McCain put it, a ‘Republican Breeze’ was felt nationwide in our last election, with the Republicans staging a major upset and winning some key seats in the House and Senate. The Democrats, who had previously held tenuously to a majority in the Senate, have now found themselves in the minority in both legislative bodies.
While The Daily Free Press and The Boston Globe have provided us with the usual gripes, groans and threats to leave the country that come with every Republican victory, very few people have actually pondered why the Democrats have fallen out of our country’s favor.
However, Ray Flynn, former mayor of Boston and one-time ambassador to the Vatican, weighed in on the issue via a freelance column in the Boston Metro.
Flynn, a true ‘old-school’ Massachusetts Democrat if there ever was one, argues the Democratic Party has strayed from its original ideals and has become a shell of its former self: ‘The ‘Great’ Democratic Party once stood for the working class and fought for social justice. Today’s Democratic Party has abandoned family values and caters to powerful and elite special interests.’
Not stopping there, Flynn also suggests that the Democrats have completely lost touch with the voters, arguing, ‘God, country and family are as important today as they were for their parents 40 years ago.’
According to Flynn, the Democratic Party is seriously losing steam, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. That’s why the election of Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Democrats is probably the worst move the party can make at such a crucial time.
Why is Pelosi’s election such a bad idea? Three Words: ‘San Francisco Democrat.’ As the official representative for San Francisco, Pelosi literally screams liberal, which is quickly becoming a dirty word in the minds of many voters.
As the country is steadily moving to the right, the Democrats are forsaking a shift in that direction, preferring to take a serious left turn by putting Pelosi at the wheel of the party. This move alienates the moderate ‘swing’ voters and will undoubtedly hurt the Democrats in the next election.
To put it bluntly, almost everything Pelosi symbolizes within the Democratic Party was flatly rejected three weeks ago, and there is no evidence the country will be warming up to her ideals any time soon.
First off, ‘Red Nancy,’ as she is lovingly referred to by the right, is undeniably a card-carrying member of the liberal elite, as she hails from a rich and powerful political family that is comparable to the Kennedys. Pelosi’s connections to the who’s who of Hollywood are also a little troubling, with ‘Variety’ openly declaring her a friend of liberal blowhards Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty.
And that’s another problem: the liberals love her. Americans for Democratic Action, a group that rates politicians based on their liberal leanings, gives Pelosi a perfect 100 (Bush has a lowly 15), while in her leftist district of San Francisco, Pelosi has been elected for eight straight terms.
Another issue is Pelosi’s vast experience with shady politics. For example, before the nationwide elections even began, Pelosi had been meticulously crafting her rise to power within the House, doling out over $1 million of her own campaign money to various constituents in order to obtain their votes. And as if the legalized bribery wasn’t enough, Pelosi is also currently under scrutiny from several campaign finance watchdog groups for taking in a few extra ‘gifts’ from lobbyists.
Again, while a record like this may be great for the college campuses and San Francisco, I have a feeling the rest of the country isn’t going to be as excited. But what really irks me about Pelosi’s election is that the Democrats have completely ignored an excellent candidate in Harold Ford, a representative from Tennessee.
In sharp contrast to the aging socialite Pelosi, Ford is one of the Democratic Party’s rookie prospects. Young, articulate and moderate leaning, many people within both parties expect big things from Ford in the future. Ford is also the only member of the House in both the Congressional Black Caucus and the ‘Blue Dogs’ (conservative Democrats). Had he been elected, Ford would have been the first African-American to lead a political party.
In the days leading up to the vote, Ford wrote an impassioned essay in the Washington Post entitled ‘Why I Should Be Minority Leader.’ It appears as though Ford, much like Ray Flynn, believes the Democratic Party has lost its vision and is in crisis: ‘Once again, voters made clear that our party needs an infusion of new ideas and fresh leadership. … My opponent in this election, Rep. Nancy Pelosi … is part of a leadership team that has fallen short of the majority.’
Ford is absolutely right in his assessment, and it’s a shame for not only the Democrats, but also for the country, that he wasn’t elected. Being one of the more conservative Democrats, Ford would be the ideal person to form the bipartisan atmosphere both parties keep saying they want to create.
The ascension of Pelosi will be just the opposite, and she will only lead us to more Bush-bashing and gridlock in the Capitol. As shown in the elections, the American people aren’t going to take it anymore.
The Democrats had their chance to be innovative and daring, but they blew it. The Democrats could have tried to connect the voters that they have so grossly abandoned in the past few years, but instead we get more of the same.
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