The New Democrats

Al From, former head of the Democratic Leadership Council, tells the story of the rise and fall of them Dems, through their triumphs, setbacks (that bordered on roasts) and precarious resurgences. It’s not exactly news; the 1980’s were a major move to the right in White House policies, especially with regard to labor, ecology, and social supports. However, we didn’t exactly “lose” any freedoms. Abortion remained legal, the right to privacy was respected, and in sharp contrast to present-day Capitol Hill bickering, Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill, stalwarts on opposite ends, actually worked together.

From the get go, Al From makes it clear that the Democrats had little chance in the 1980’s. Jimmy Carter failed against Reagan, Mondale was a weak candidate, Dukakis faired no better against Bush, and then there’s Gary Hart, Ed Muskie, Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, all of whom had too many slip-ups in their campaigns. I also wonder if the Mondale-Ferraro campaign would’ve succeeded if Geraldine Ferraro had been the presidential candidate? Did sexism in the Democratic party put her on second chair? As for the Dukakis-Bush campaign, the comedians had a field day. Forget the thing with the tank, that was obvious. I’m talking about Dukakis criticizing Bush’s environmental record, only to have Bush say “look at your home state, governor, Boston’s harbor is a disaster zone!” There’s no way the Democrats could’ve recovered.

The best part of this book is the chapter called The Road Block, where he stresses a realistic view of the Dem-GOP debate. Bush would’ve won regardless in 1988, because Dukakis messed up and Jesse Jackson scared off a lot of people with his divisive speeches on the “haves” and “have-nots,” making it look like he wanted to punish those that “had.” As for Bill Clinton, he was a new breed-Rhodes scholarship, born dirt poor in Arkansas-he knew how to play both sides. As comedian D.L. Hughley says in his book I Want You to Shut the Fuck Up, Clinton was “the blackest president ever, a big fat junk food loving redneck.” Clinton was book smart, but he was also street smart.

I would’ve liked to see more about the “tough liberals” who were still in power during the conservative 80’s. You still had Tip O’Neill, Hugh Carey, Daniel Moynihan, Thurgood Marshal, Albert Shanker, and Bella Abzug. You also had Republicans, who despite their conservativism, respected personal rights. Al D’Amato believed in the right to privacy, Giuliani was pro-choice, pro-gay, and anti-gun, and Reagan and Bush didn’t exactly roll back civil rights. Even Strom Thurmond, the notorious segregationist, didn’t make any strides in banning abortions or pushing the death penalty.

I also fault this book for ending with Bill Clinton. What about the George W. Bush era? Rights were definitely being rolled back in the last decade. What does the author think about Obama’s platform, and what about the more conservative states today? Regardless, let’s keep in mind that when it came to foreign policy, Reagan kept us out of costly wars. Grenada lasted a week; Libya was bombed but not invaded; the Marines were pulled out of Lebanon after the barracks were blown up. Reagan was advised not to “cut and run,” but he refused, on the grounds of “we don’t babysit a civil war.”

Read the book Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked. There was a time when American knew the value of compromise. Today our politicians have become like the Zax from the Dr. Suess book!