Proof That Split the Difference Politics Fails

Earlier today, I argued that Democrats cannot hope to make the culture of corruption a major issue in the 2006 campaign by making the debate between the details of their ethics/lobbying reform package and the GOP's ethics/lobbying reform package. That's just too easily blurred by the GOP. As proof of that truism, just look at Knight Ridder's piece about the situation.

Here is the key excerpt:

"The Democratic plan resembles the reform agenda unveiled by Republicans the day before, tougher in some parts, more lax in others. Democrats would ban more gifts to lawmakers, for example, but Republicans would ban more junkets. Both plans would leave unchanged the flow of money to political campaigns, which government reform groups say remains a bigger problem than lavish meals, tickets to luxury skyboxes and junkets."

This is truly incredible. Democratic "strategists" - the people who are supposed to understand winning politics - apparently believe that such nuanced contrasts can actually make a campaign message. They somehow don't seem to understand how, in taking such a half-assed positions, the GOP is once again able to blur the distinctions between the two parties. These Democrats think they can split the difference all the way to the majority, even though they've been trying that for the last decade only to lose election after election after election. Seriously - how totally out of touch can these people be?

As I've said before and will say again - Democrats have to create a real contrast and push a serious reform that the GOP can never support - namely, public financing of elections. That's a reform that not only cuts to the real heart of the corruption problem, but is a clean money message that is easily communicable to the public.

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