How and Where the Democrats Went Wrong

Much has been written over where and how the Democrats went wrong. Some people attribute it to moral values, or the "stupid" red state people. Personally, I would have to say it was because they went too far to the left. I mean, regardless their speeches, I think it speaks volumes when someone like Michael Moore is given the seat of honor next to former President Jimmy Carter at the Democratic National Convention. The fact that they chose North Vietnamese shill and rabid multilateralist John Kerry as their candidate is not a good thing either. But that's a subject for a whole separate post.

Today's New York Times has an interesting commentary piece on this exact subject. The writer, Paul Starr concludes that Democrats rely too heavily on litigation when they don't get their way with the electorate:

For decades, many liberals thought they could ignore the elementary demand of politics - winning elections - because they could go to court to achieve these goals on constitutional grounds. The great thing about legal victories like Roe v. Wade is that you don't have to compromise with your opponents, or even win over majority opinion.

Democrats cannot allow their constituencies to draw them into political terrain that can't be defended at election time. Dissatisfied with compromise legislation on civil unions and partner benefits, gay organizations thought they could get from judges, beginning with those on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, what the electorate was not yet ready to give. The result: bans on same-sex marriage passing in 11 states and an energized conservative voting base.

I agree with Starr's assessment. (And I rarely agree with the Times' commentary writers.)

Indeed, this mindset has permeated through our society. For example, lets say you lose boatloads of money gambling in Las Vegas. What do you do? You sue the hotel for preying upon your gambling addiction problem.

Or let's say you're too lazy to work hard in school to improve your grades. You simply sue to avoid having your summer vacation interrupted by homework.

Not good.

Zelda -- The Urban Grind

posted by Ace at 01:57 PM

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