My wife told me that I was recently compared by some relatives to Rush Limbaugh! I hope this is in reference to my ability to entertain with intelligence as opposed to his humility or lack thereof . I can only hope some high executive from Infinity Broadcasting feels the same way!
This comment made me consider the political changes that have occurred in my family. I came from a truly Democrat household. My parents were both blue collar Irish Democrats.
When my parents moved to the white collar suburbs in Whippany, it did not take long for me to figure out we were no longer lived among our Irish-Scottish ethnic kin and the blue collar neighborhood of Kearney. It was 2nd grade in Mrs. Lockmen’s class, She asked who would vote for George McGovern. I was shocked when only my hand and the lone black child in my grade went up. The rest of the hands went up with Richard Nixon. In my household any association with Richard Nixon was a slur. Later, I can remember in particular our visit to Bill Bradley’s senate office in DC to express our family support for Ted Kennedy against Jimmy Carter in the race for the Democratic nomination in 1980. 
No one in my family is now a Democrat. So what happened? I talked to my parents recently about this fact. They said it wasn’t their choice to leave the Democratic party but the Democratic party choice to no longer represent them. Folks like my parents were labeled “Reagan Democrats” in the 1980s because the term described the divide Ronald Reagan produced in the Democratic party between the blue collar union members and the socially liberal wing of the party. I think this term is quite accurate. If the Old Democratic party still existed many of us may have continued our allegiance. In the '80s, Ronald Reagan rides this division to win his two terms in office, in the '90s the Republican take over of the House & Senate and now the Judiciary by the Republicans. The Democrats can certainly win a national election with a popular candidate like Bill Clinton, but this is a long way from when close elections went to the Democrats like Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960 or Carter in 1976.
Just take a look at how electoral votes were distributed in 1960. The biggest surprise when you look at the map is how many Southern states went to Kennedy: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and North & South Carolina. Both Clinton and Carter (in ’76) were able to repeat this phenomenon for their election. After their elections, they both struggled durig their terms to hold the coalition together. Even though the Democratic party was desperate for a victory in 2004, they could not moderate their left wing enought to put together the old coalition.
Here are some areas where I still have some confidence in the Democratic Party:
1) Consumer Rights – The Republicans are almost always on the side of corporate interest. Unfortunately, the Democrats have moved far closer to the Republicans on this issue as evidenced by the Bankruptcy Law just passed with the support of such Democratic notables like Senator Hillary Clinton..
2) Environment – In general many of the environmental pushes like more fuel efficient cars, lower pollutants, etc. have been very beneficial and there is still more to do. Again, the Republican support for big businesses, such as power companies who are the cause of most of the mercury poisoning, is against the interest and health of the nation.
3) Health Care Reform – There is a real need to reform Health care in the US. The Republicans don’t seem able to find any new ideas which do not conflict with their corporate donor base. This is an improvement over what would happen if the Republicans tried to solve Health care in the same fashion used with the Senior Citizen prescription drug fiasco currently under way. Making sure the entire Republican donor base makes money in a bill is an expensive proposition!
Here are a few areas where I think the Democrats could do much much better.
1) Fiscal Responsibility – The average US citizen loves debt and to borrow. The Democrats have a way of taking this spirit to a national government level.
2) K-12 Education – Our schools put out an inferior educational experience especially towards the poor. Please see the Trends in International Math and Science Studies (TIMSS) -Link-. The US math ability goes down by 14 points from 4th grade to 8th grade. This is almost benign compared to the 70 point difference between “white” and “black” students. If anyone is truly interested in the plight of poor minorities in the US, this is the area that needs to be addressed. Without a good education at all levels of our society, many “black” children will be stuck at the bottom of the US society. In the same way as Republicans are held back by corporate issue on consumer issues, the Democrats are held back from action by the Teachers Union. To understand how deregulation could help the US schools, please read Milton Friedman economic analysis of the government in US education -Link-.
3) Morality – I remember a poll when I attended Rutgers University in the ‘80s which said that 50% of the males on campus would rape a girl if they could get away with it. I was really shocked. What kind of society have we created? It is especially ironic that in a society that is trying to teach the society to treat woman with respect, the society is drowning in pornography. Many of the groups who theoretically support woman rights are in league with the biggest supporters of pornography. Can the Democrats disassociate themselves from another of their interest groups like the ACLU long enough to take a stand on sexual morality? We can’t even have pornography filtered at public library internet kiosks.
4) Security – The Democrats have never really recovered from Vietnam. The party is still split between the anti-war doves like Howard Dean and the more pragmatic officials like John Kerry who understand the need of the military as a tool to protect the interest of the United States. In an era where security will rank very high on the minds of the American people, the Democrats will have to have a strong security platform to earn the trust of the people.
In Ireland, the more socially conservative party, Fianna Fail, is also the party the supports the rights of the poor. The social liberals are allied with the rich within Fine Gail. I think these coalitions are a little more natural than the current ones within the US. The coalition of social conservatives and poor has allowed Fianna Fail to dominate Irish politics through the entire history of the Republic of Ireland. A similar coalition might be able dominate US politics, but it hard to see the Republicans ever being disassociated from its money base or the Democrats from their very vocal far left constituency. Maybe Rush would like to help me form a new party?
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