The Power of Populism

The debate rages on about whether to embrace the DLC's Republican-lite policies. My friend Mike Tomasky has an interesting piece in today's Daily Prospect responding to my original cover story in his magazine. I agree with most of what he says, except for the idea that economics is only the Democrats' third tier concern. See this excerpt from the San Jose Mercury News for why I disgagree:

"Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, who advised the Kerry campaign, said his post-election polling showed that a strong economic message could have trumped social issues with many voters who were vacillating between the two candidates in the final 10 days of the campaign. But when Kerry did not deliver the message, focusing instead on Iraq and national security, those voters -- mostly rural whites who were strongly affected by the economic troubles of the past few years -- chose Bush based on 'moral values.' Greenberg's poll found that just 47 percent of voters thought there were big differences between the candidates on the economy, a remarkably low number."

This is exactly what I was talking about in my article, "The Democrats Da Vinci Code." Without a strong, populist economic message, the Democrats are lost. And until the Party confronts that reality - and the forces that have pushed it to embrace a corporate agenda - they could face a very long road through the wilderness.