Mercury Rising

GOP falling in polls, but Dems falling faster David Sirota blogged a very important observation. Even though 56% of Americans feel that the country is headed in the wrong direction, more voters like the Republicans than like the Democrats. Their reason: the Democrats don't seem to have any core convictions. Now the irony is that if you know the careers of most Democrats, you know there are some real stars and heroes among them. John Lewis, who lost a kidney in the cause of civil rights probably leads the list, but there are a lot who have sacrificed a great deal and endured a lot. Even people of whom I am not particularly fond have shown courage under fire, e.g.: * Hillary, who endured perhaps the nastiest smear campaign directed against any public figure in the nation's history not to mention national humiliation over her husband's indiscretion. * John Kerry, who not only earned his medals, but doggedly investigated and exposed the wrongs of Iran-Contra and BCCI in the face of endless harassment by the Kool Kids. * Edward Kennedy, who saw two brothers gunned down in cold blood and lapsed into a self-indulgent period of self-destruction for 20 years, cleaned up his act and became one of the few Senators to articulate (however inarticulately) a vision for the country. I can't think of more than one or two Republicans whose lives, ideology aside, I admire. John McCain, who endured torture by the North Vietnamese, is someone who has suffered for his beliefs. But then why is he all but silent on torture by Americans? Some of the reported cases are worse than even the extreme torture he suffered. He seems even more hollow than MBNA Democrats. I do feel that the Democratic Party as a whole, with very few exceptions, is suffering moral confusion. They don't want to go back to bashing business, a reliable means of rousing the base. That's a good instinct, but bad when it ends up protecting criminals who operate businesses. They want to appeal to middle class voters. That's a good instinct, but not when it leads one to neglect the poor. They want to avoid becoming a party that represents only minorities, difficult in a nation where so many whites (and even a number of minorities) think that discrimination doesn't exist. That's a good instinct, but not when it comes to letting discrimination continue. They want to appeal to religious (in this context, Christian) voters. I think that's a great instinct, but both Howard Dean and John Kerry made serious bloopers in the execution, making them look like frauds to serious Christians. (This is such an important issue, I have devoted a website to non-toxic Christianity so that Christians and non-Christians alike can better appreciate what the Bible is about.) Democrats talk too much about legislation and issue bullet points. Too few of them have taken the time to reflect on why they seek public office. Too few have thought through their positions on issues. I was shocked by John Kerry's weak response to the questions on abortion. There are theologically sound bases for being "pro-choice," ones that even the Catholic conservatives would have to accept. The fact that a presidential candidate had not thought this through speaks volumes on what the problem with the Democrats is. The Dems for the most part aren't bad people. But they are sheep gone astray.