Jewish World Review Jan. 4, 2002 / 20 Teves, 5762

Lewis A. Fein

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Dead and buried: New Democratic politics


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- THERE is an entity more elusive than Osama bin Laden and more mythological than the Loch Ness Monster: conservative Democrats. Remember this political oddity? A sideshow attraction, threatening to liberals and ignored by Republicans. And, in this moment of military drama, conservative Democrats - or, to borrow the language of Madison Avenue if not the sloganeering of Bill Clinton, "New" Democrats - are now scarcer than a Taliban refugee, sequestered in a cave with a Torah.

Extending this metaphor further (and mixing images even more), New Democrats are the political equivalent of a recalled product: deemed politically dangerous, attendants summarily remove the offensive item - lest the allure of lower taxes, crime control and patriotism transform liberalism. ("Ted, Maxine and Barney, cleanup on aisle 5; one spilt canister of flat taxes, two strewn boxes of capital punishment and four open packets of school choice.")

Yet the very notion of Democratic conservatism - that liberalism cannot succeed without first acknowledging, and thereafter disowning, its own sordid legacy of mildly anti-American nonsense - originates with a particularly curious soul - Bill Clinton. For Clinton himself represents (and perhaps still privately maintains) a period of liberal cliche, facial hair and marijuana smoke originally included, where one must first establish his radicalism before maturing: tortured period of anti-American protest, climaxed by flag burning and free love; denial phase, measured by spent pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Barbra Streisand's image; recovery stage, evidenced by renewal of marriage vows and consumption of high-protein food.

Still, the whole purpose of New Democratic politics requires the existence of an actual social movement. But, notwithstanding Bill Clinton's example (mixing metaphors again, political marketing's version of Ford's Pinto) and Joe Lieberman's record (conveniently airbrushed by Al Gore), the Democratic Party remains the same: a moderately suspicious collection of liberal extremists that wince before Old Glory, and screech beside the mention of G-d.

That liberals believe the current Democratic Party constitutes a mainstream organization is itself frightening. For, once the celebratory confetti of America's war against terrorism settles and the ash from Ground Zero disappears, liberals will resume their behavior, albeit more cleverly - questioning the "tolerance" of conservatives, while attacking the "racism" of Republicans. Again, this dispute is not a debate over the relative size of government - as if the fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives is the efficiency of the post office or the success of America's space program. This dispute is a battle about behavior.

On one side, liberals use accusatory language as political weaponry. Thus, one's opposition to Roe v. Wade, questionable constitutional law at best, is not merely wrong; it is sexist. Or, one's criticism of Jesse Jackson is not simply unnecessary; it is racist. But the behavior of liberals themselves, particularly Jackson's adultery or Bill Clinton's hypocrisy, is somehow off-limits.

It is this brand of liberal nonsense that infuriates most Americans. The kind of hypocrisy that encourages integration (education of, for and by the children of black and white cardiologists'), but shuns school choice - relative squalor of, for and by the children of black and white carpenters', cops' and conductors'. The kind of hypocrisy that makes liberalism dishonorable.

Yes, the Democratic Party is liberal and strange. History records that years before, when military service was considered obligatory and patriotism common, Democrats battled evil behavior - communist behavior - with a vengeance, and American self-hatred with a passion. History also records a more obvious fact: New Democratic politics is dead.



JWR contributor Lewis A. Fein is a writer and Internet entrepreneur in Los Angeles.Comment by clicking here.

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© 2002, Lewis A. Fein