Progressive reformists are working hard to change the Colorado Democratic Party. Unfortunately, the old guard is still defending the status quo at every turn and using smokescreen arguments to prevent debate.
New Democrats want to fulfill our party's historic mission - to unite the goals of the middle class with those trying to get there. We stand for economic opportunity and values like work, family, personal responsibility, community, individual liberty, faith, and something not heard much about from Republicans these days, tolerance.
Both President Clinton and Governor Romer are in front of this important movement. If our party wants to politically prosper as much as these two leaders have, we must vigorously advocate expanding NAFTA, practicing fiscal responsibility, fighting crime, curbing teen pregnancy, streamlining government, reforming public education, implementing a fair tax system and introducing a second generation of environmental policies. This agenda will ensure the vitality of the American dream that says to every Colorado citizen - your life and your kids' life will be better than the lives of those who preceded you.
Nonetheless, rather than having a debate on the issues at the state convention earlier this month, those invested in the status quo hid behind "party rules." Protecting an antiquated ideology no longer worth defending, they believe that partisan success will come from continued Republican stumbling. Democrats have tried that before and have paid the price of continual decline.
Traditional activists are using the same failed formula tried by the Democratic Party a century ago: pull together a collection of groups and complaining constituencies with no clear ideology or unifying sense of purpose. Just as those in the late 1800s feared the transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy, too many Democrats today cling to familiar Industrial Age institutions and resist the uncharted territory of the Information Age.
The traditional left argues against having this very needed debate between new and old Democrats for the sake of "party unity." But our problem is not infighting, it is a complacency that thinks the old ways still work. Party renewal requires more than recycling an old ideology that voters reject at every opportunity.
Coloradan dissatisfaction in 1996 will reach new heights if the choices are only between the hard right and old left. While spurning traditional liberalism, voters have also soundly rejected the calls for conservative "trickle down" economics and intolerant social views.
In addition, the public believes in the credo of equal opportunity for all, special privilege for none. Republicans at the federal and state levels are failing on both counts.
The GOP is unwilling to make the basic investments necessary to ensure equal opportunity. While quick to gut upward mobility measures like the Earned Income Tax Credit, the GOP Congress is far too reticent to go after their own special interests - like corporate subsidies that do not contribute to economic opportunity.
As conservatives preach the myth of "every man for himself," they ignore the need for a compact rooted in shared responsibilities between government and the people. This sense of mutual obligation should be based on the idea that government, while not doing everything for everybody, must organize resources so people have a chance to get ahead.
Coloradans deserve a real choice in 1996. Democrats can become the preferred alternative if they learn to be less interested in reactive, special-interest politics and more focused on delivering real solutions that boost stagnating incomes, strengthen families, stop violence in our streets and heal our growing social divisions.
Like other progressive parties around the world realize, Colorado Democrats need to take a fundamental reassessment of what specific policy initiatives we stand for. That requires open debate and not attempts to stifle discussion that may challenge the old orthodoxy.
Ironically, one of the Democratic Party's strengths is its willingness to embrace all segments of society, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. That commitment to inclusion should also embrace welcoming new and diverse ideas.
Jim Gibson is President of the Colorado Democratic Leadership Council, a think tank of elected officials and activists interested in forging a new agenda for the Democratic Party.