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Published: Sep 16, 2005 01:41 PM
Mon - November 8, 2004
Two Roads Diverged In A Yellow Wood
Is he out of his mind—or did hell recently freeze over?
Because I like Dean's passion, his commitment, and his drive. I liked the creative uses his campaign made of the internet. I even liked his rebel yell in the Iowa caucus and the many musical mixes it inspired. But Howard Dean represents the best of the left of the Democratic Party. And right now, that perspective is so far to the left of mainstream America that it abuts the Sea of Japan.
In the soul-searching that follows November 2, the Party can either swing to the middle or swing to the fences. A swing to left field is seductive and expedient. It would reaffirm hopes dashed last week and cater to many Democrats' longings for radical change. It would help preserve the coalition of disparate interests that comprises the Party's base.
A swing to the center, on the other hand, would mean making hard choices: What causes to champion, which issues to define the Party by, and which matters to abandon entirely or shelve for a rainy day. A swing to the center means reorienting the Party, rebirthing the Party. A swing to the center means rethinking what the Party stands for and who it represents. It means re-marketing the Party as the voice of reason, rather than the voice of radicalism.
One of these options has political future. One of them does not.
If the Democratic Party selects Howard Dean to lead it, if the far left comes to dominate its leadership, then the Party is toast. Democrats may go to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. They may even go to North Dakota and new Mexico, to California and Texas and New York. But they're not going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House. Not any time soon.
They're going to the political Doghouse instead.