If history is repeating itself, it's watching itself in a mirror. Listening to the right-wingers weep and wail and gnash their teeth against Barack Obama and his initiatives at the CPAC convention this past weekend, one heard a party that was befuddled and confused. They could not believe that their time in the sun had passed, that their policies resulted in failure, and that the approaches and tactics upon which they had relied for so long and which had brought them many victories simply no longer worked. By reaching deep into their past and invoking the dire threat of socialism -- admittedly, not authoritarian Soviet-style socialism, but a Frenchier, more Euro socialism -- they seemed to be screaming ``Why aren't you people listening?'' And the way they painted Obama as a gifted politician who promised only catastrophe underscored the depth of their panic. In short, they seemed like nothing so much as the Democrats of 1981, when we were blind to our own shortcomings, when we were incapable of recognizing why voters wanted Ronald Reagan.
Well, good. It took us a long time to acknowledge our mistakes, to recognize where Reagan had better ideas, to express our values and policies in positive and appealing ways. As a result, we have lived in Ronald Reagan's world for nearly three decades, for good and for ill, and the best of what he offered is now spent. As Marjorie Connelly reported yesterday in The New York Times , the percentage of people identifying themselves as Democrats now outnumbers those who define themselves as Republicans by ten points (38-28), and the gap is widening; the Republicans seem to have estranged a generation of voters. The hysteria at CPAC offers all the proof anyone needs: we are entering a new era of progressivism. Let's make the most of it.
When and where did Ronald Reagan have "better ideas"? What were they, exactly? And whose ideas were they superior to?
But note it's the bedrock principles of the Democratic party to which so many people are now returning. Rejuvenate unions to empower workers. Health care for all. Greater educational opportunity. Government regulation to prevent corporate greed from wreaking havoc and destroying our environment. Equal rights for everyone.
The plain fact is that the majority of Americans were enjoying a good quality of life from the post-WWII era all the way through the 1990s. And when they were fat and happy and didn't have to worry so much about keeping a roof over their heads and food in their bellies, they were willing to be played by the GOP. To vote based on their prejudices and bigotry instead of their economic and political interests. The GOP Southern Strategy was based on this, and it worked beautifully for the GOP. Not so much for Americans, which is why we are where we are now.
In other words--it was nice knowing ya, GOP, but we must retire you. You've become like WW2 grandpa who thinks every shadow is a German hiding in the corner. Communism collapsed, socialism is not a threat and its time for you to go to the "home", old man.