Casualties of War - DJ

DJ Tice of the Pioneer Press has an excellent analysis of the DFL (and national Democrats') troubles.

What might this reveal? While not ignoring the powerful personal appeal of Clinton, there is a more important common characteristic about the elections from 1992 to 2000, when Democrat presidential candidates did well. Those elections came between the end of the Cold War and Sept. 11, 2001 — a period when issues of national security, for the first time in memory, were not preoccupying Americans' minds.

In this month's election — the first since national security came back as a critical concern — Americans turned decisively back toward the GOP and George W. Bush.

Democrats must fearlessly consider the implication of this pattern. Whatever other problems they face, it simply seems that too many ordinary Americans lack confidence that modern liberals will boldly defend the nation and its interests. It's a long-term problem, born with the anti-Vietnam War movement's declaration that America was the villain in Southeast Asia and continuing today in suggestions among progressives that America's enemies have legitimate reasons to hate us. It's not a problem old-style liberals like Truman or Kennedy had.

In other words, "All You Need is Love" is a fine sentiment when nobody is challenging that assumption; when that happens, the American peoples' motto changes to "Peace Through Superior Firepower".

And I like Tice's closing comment; the notion that bashing American achievement, place and safety was part and parcel of being a big-government, tax 'n spend Liberal is a product of the sixties. Nobody could accuse Truman, JFK, Adlai Stevenson, LBJ, Ed Muskie or Hubert Humphrey of being America-Last-ers. And that generation was shown the door in '72...

...by the likes of Paul Wellstone, Sandy Pappas, Sarah Jane Olson, Andy Dawkins...

Worth a read.

(Via Powerline)

Posted by Mitch at November 20, 2002 10:03 AM