Why Don't They Fight?

Brazen Hussy and I took a much-needed respite and spent the weekend at a bed and breakfast out of town. One morning we were gathered around a big table with the other guests, and the discussion inevitably turned to politics. I didn't start it - I rarely do - but it went there anyway. Once again I heard the familiar Mantra of Frustration from the left: why don't Democrats fight? Why won't they say what they stand for?

The depth of disillusionment with our elected party leaders is such that I can't get into a political conversation with a civilian without hearing these complaints. I've tried to explain why it's difficult to organize a coherent message when you're in the absolute minority, how there are Democrats saying all the things they want to hear but who can't get media coverage. I've described how a collective action problem is at work - elected officials are concerned not with stopping conservatives but with getting re-elected. They have thus far managed to do this, and therefore see no reason to change. And I have also wondered how many of these emotions were continuing disillusionment due to our defeat in 2004.

None of these statements really seems to satisfy. And I suppose that they shouldn't. Because they're just excuses. I suppose it's time to admit that the Democratic party is very poorly led, and that we have been for quite a long time. It doesn't go back just a few years - I don't think Clinton was a very effective party steward either. The party was demonstrably weaker when he left office than when he arrived.

So what do we do to fix the problem? It's hard to say. I can identify to what aren't answers, like some Quixotic attempt to create a new party. I suppose the best thing we can do is promote those leaders who we like (like Feingold) and hold accountable those we don't (like Lieberman). Beyond this, I think it is time for those of us who have spent a number of years in the peanut gallery to become leaders ourselves. We are not immune from responsibility for our present mess. After all, we elected these people in the first place.