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Why the Democrats Lose

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Message Robert Richardson
But in the midst of this pervasive instability television shows us the Good Life (read: conspicuous consumption) that to many of the struggling lower middle class is completely unreachable and unrealistic but also is, for many, very desirable. Television and Las Vegas trumpet the importance of being rich, slender and sexy. We are told to Strive for More, and that is in many ways a compelling argument, especially for the young, because increasingly there is no place left for the less affluent classes to find sanctuary and they do see the cruel struggle and insecurity that hard times have inflicted on their parents.

The irony of this is that although they recognize that Bush has hurt them economically, and they are angry about that, in their hearts they know that they cannot return to the simple values and security of the past. So when you can't go back you must go forward. The situation by the way, is analogous to that of Russian soldiers in WW II. They could not retreat because disciplinary units stationed behind them would shoot them if they yielded or ran. So they had to advance, even if the attack was hopeless.

So many young people who once would have voted Democratic, as their parents did, and aspired to a lifetime job at GM, hope that somehow they can have what now passes for success if not security: a Beemer and a $500,000 home in the suburbs, because lifetime jobs anywhere are a thing of the past. These folks are not comfortable being traditional Democrats because they are hip, savvy and very competitive. They intuitively sense that there is no security or personal advantage in social reform, and the great social issues of the past are incomprehensible to them (even though they might be forced to relive them). The young are reluctant to vote Democratic because they really don't want to identify themselves with the champions of the impoverished. They want to identify with the winners. And in this economy the Republicans clearly are the winners. How they got there is less important. These lapsed younger Democrats might be struggling, and be only one rung above dirt poor, but they will play the game and follow wherever the competitive dream seems to lead. What the older people so bitterly resent is that they now have measurably less than they used to have, and little confidence that they ever will get back to where they once were: the comfortable little house, the drug-free kids, and a stable job. The only security nowadays, they all reason, is in having Big Bucks. And to so many that spells the winning the lottery or voting Republican.

Kafka redux. In this surreal environment the putative Democratic constituency does not have a common identity, as in 1932. The Depression was the Great Unifier. Today we have nothing of the sort, if one sets aside the issue of militant Islam, which in a delicious irony affects the Bushies and the poor alike, and might be the Great Unifier of the 21st century. Other than economic insecurity, frustration and fear, there is little commonality

So the Democrats face two possibly insurmountable obstacles: First, a fragmented, undefined constituency in an increasingly divided nation (socially, ethnically, and religiously) that lacks a unifying sense of community and common cause, or even common aspirations. This makes shaping a compelling political platform almost impossible. Second, and much more intractable, is the diffuse nature of the modern technology-driven social and economic world. There is no simple villain. With our cell phones glued to our ears, and our laptops cradled under our arms, we increasingly are driven to compete 24/7. But we are not certain who our adversaries are. There is no respite, there is no peace. And there seem to be few alternatives. We all are complicit villains .... and victims.

The Democrats cannot control the foreign debt (I don't mean the balance of trade, I mean servicing the horrific national debt). The Democrats cannot control the Saudis, or Middle eastern oil sheiks, or militant Muslim mullahs, or the Arab street. The Republicans can't either, but they can, and do, strike bargains with the devil and at least in the near term profit greatly from it. And I believe that many voters, sensing this, opt for at least the opportunity to sell their futures, if not their souls, for a little immediate relief and the illusion of a profitable tomorrow. A terrible illusion, but seductive nevertheless. Of course they leave the wreckage as a burden for future generations, but as the man said: "Posterity? What has posterity ever done for me?"

Why did so many swing voters support Republican candidates, even though it clearly was to their economic disadvantage? Are the electorate really that stupid, or that blind? Not at all. I believe that they followed the Pied Piper of Texas because they desperately craved some sense of certainty - - the simplistic, specific assurances that the Democrats failed to give them and, sadly for our nation, still cannot give them. They sought a beacon in the darkness of their distress, and Bush offered one, even though his beacon would lead them onto the rocks and shoals of social, economic and international disaster. The game was crooked but it was the only game in town.

Given this climate, the Republicans are in a perfect position to prevail indefinitely. Rather than attempting to fight multinationalism, downsizing, illegal immigration and outsourcing, they embrace it. Rather than attempting to stem the tide, they float their boats on it. They are embracing the system, not trying to fight it. Of course in making this Faustian compact with the Devil they do give up a few trifling constraints, such as compassion, integrity, kindness, the health of the American economy, and a true Christian ethic. Their goals are straightforward and relatively free of ethical encumbrances. The Republican problem is not one of ethical or intellectual conflict. It is one of implementation. The simplicity and directness of that is quite seductive and very much easier to achieve. Their only risk, and they just might fall into this abyss, is hubris and overreaching, both domestically and internationally. There is some compelling evidence that this is happening, and if the voters' pain finally exceeds their delusional ambitions, perhaps therein lies the Democrats' only real hope of resurrection.

Unfortunately for the Democrats and the great mass of American social and economic victims they seek to represent, the zeitgeist has been on the Republican side. And there lie the seeds of the Republican victory.

And, barring a holocaust that compels change, this might spell the effective demise of the traditional Democratic party.

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Bob Richardson is a retired electrical engineer and information specialist. He lives in New England.
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