New Democrat Update - February 2004
THE VISION THING
The 2004 elections are rapidly approaching. While raising money and getting endorsements always help, nothing is more important than a candidate articulating a clear and compelling vision.
For two years now, Democrats have had too little to say and been too timid to say it. Rather than make our own case, our party has only argued against the GOP’s plans - and as a result we have done worse than the mood of the country would indicate. We have forgotten the cardinal rule of politics - you cannot win an argument unless you make one.
The key to building majority coalitions is articulating a clear and forceful positive vision that will win the support of the middle class and those trying to become part of it. Voters want to know that their leaders are for real. They want answers, to be sure, but more than anything, they want someone they can trust to deliver on promises, not just make them.
For some good but different reasons, the middle class is disenchanted with both parties. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have any kind of lock on them.
A disingenuous presidential campaign that appealed to suburban families and "waitress moms," helped the GOP in 2000. However, once in power, Republicans hurt themselves with the middle class by going back to doling out favors and subsidies to corporate interests and squandering the nation's nest egg on windfalls for the rich.
At the same time, the absence of clear Democratic messages in the 2000 and 2002 elections has caused the middle class to return to its pre-1990s perceptions of our party. The doubts Democrats worked so hard to dispel in the 1990s - that they loved government and taxes too much, and cared about security and values too little - have returned. Just as many Democratic leaders in the 1980s tried to pretend the party did not have a problem, the single most dangerous Democratic delusion today is pretending that voters' doubts about them have gone away for good.
Democrats are still seen as falling short on the “tough” governing issues like terrorism, economic growth, fiscal responsibility and crime. Such doubts play right into the opposition’s entire political agenda - on taxes, national security, and values - to put Democrats back in the mold that New Democrats have worked so hard to break.
Democrats must be about giving the middle class hope again by championing their values and economic interests. Our message should allay their fears and assure them that their future can be better than the past.
Voters want to know what you will do for them, what you will ask of them, and whether you have what it takes to make your vision come true for them. They are seeking leadership that articulates a clear, optimistic, forward-looking vision, speaks with a clear sense of common purpose, and advocates innovative, practical solutions, rooted in mainstream values. They want a new kind of public activism that equips citizens, families, and communities with the tools they need to solve their own problems.
Successful candidacies must have a clear and understandable mainstream message that addresses voters’ broad concerns and communicates a strong unifying sense of public purpose. In other words, voters gravitate to those who frame their ideas into a provocative, coherent vision. This year, all of that becomes even more important for Democrats if the economy continues to improve.
The public intuitively knows that the battle is between those clinging to the familiar past and those willing to embrace an uncertain future with new, bold ideas. It is always easier to criticize the present than embrace a new path for the future. It takes political courage to be a true reformer and to outline new ways of doing things instead of simply protecting old arrangements.
A vision is a road map of where a country, state and locality should head. When defined and articulated effectively, it will unite people behind a cause that is larger than any political campaign. Candidates with positive and coherent visions set the terms of the debate and define the meta-themes of an election. Democrats should embrace the following:
The purpose of America is to give everyone the chance to get ahead, not to narrow the gates of privilege. Our nation serves a higher purpose - to make sure all our citizens have the chance to rise as far and as high as their hard work and God-given potential will take them. We must save and expand America's middle class, and those less fortunate, because the country’s spirit and our future depend on it.
What is important is expanding opportunity, not bureaucracy, and economic growth, not redistribution. From education to health care to national service, America must offer every citizen a new bargain of more opportunity in return for more responsibility, not a return to the extremes of something for nothing, on the one hand, or every man for himself, on the other. We must put our economy in line with our values, so that the middle class and those who want to become part of it have the chance to prosper, not sacrifice their dreams so that America can become the world's largest tax shelter for the rich.
In this new age of terrorism, we need a strong American role in the world that earns respect, not enmity. We will win the war on terror and the causes of terror, and earn America the respect and allies we need to succeed.
It is just as important to define what a vision is not. It is not an attitude, a summary of grievances or a collection of positions taken in response to interest-group demands. It is not an explanation for why Democrats dislike Republicans. Nor is it where someone stands on a particular issue.
Of course, to be meaningful, visions require specific strategies and plans. Future New Democrat Updates will provide more details on issues including terrorism, economic opportunity, fiscal responsibility, health care, public education, “common purpose,” and values.
CONSUMERS GETTING BREAK
Last year, the legislature changed a no-fault auto insurance system into one that is now tort or “fault-based.” Under the old system, each driver involved in an accident paid their own medical expenses from their insurance. Now, the insurance plans of motorists, who cause the accidents, pay the bills.
As a result of very high legally mandated coverages which included unnecessary medical treatments, Colorado was among the most expensive in the country. In 2001, the state had the 10th highest auto insurance premiums in the nation. Rates were climbing at a pace nearly double the national average. Not surprisingly, an estimated one-fifth of drivers were uninsured.
The new system works better because individuals are empowered to reduce their annual premiums through more choices. No longer required to purchase personal injury protection coverage (which had accounted for a large percentage of the old system’s auto insurance premium), motorists can now make choices based on what they need, want and can afford. As a result, 75 percent of Colorado drivers are saving money. On average, an individual’s savings are a little over 25 percent, compared to last year’s premiums.
Lower auto insurance costs are important because the middle class can use the extra cash and those less fortunate need the protection. Over time, more lower-income citizens will be induced into the system - another force that will decrease rates for everyone else. Lower premiums also help senior citizens on fixed-incomes and encourage former welfare recipients in cities to take jobs in the employment-rich suburbs. Personal mobility is the key to upward mobility.
Some want to revert back to the costly mandates of the old system because of the inevitable confusion that would result from any transition of this magnitude. At the very least, legislators should wait and see if the good news continues.