George Will’s excellent column in the Post this morning discusses exactly why many—myself included—have a harder and harder time paying any attention to the Democratic Party lately (and why the party, unless it drastically changes course, is destined for another electoral flop in 2008). Rather than debating the issues, the ‘Democratic base’ now largely resorts to spewing mindless insults and comes across as a bunch of angry psychos (making Howard Dean the DNC chairman certainly didn’t help).
What is fascinating is that President Bush isn’t very popular right now, and yet the Democrats—for all their hate-spewing and yelling and screaming—have not made significant inroads. The Democrat-supported antics of Howard Dean, Michael Moore, and Cindy Sheehan excite devout liberals and avid Bush-haters, but they make the Democratic Party look childish and petty both to conservatives and to the independent, moderate ‘swing voters’ who usually make the difference in national elections.
- Tone-Deafness Among Democrats (Washington Post, free registration may be required).