I’m tired of this hawk-dove paradigm. And we all know how tired left and right are as useful labels. (Yes, I know I use them, but sometimes, you gotta.) More revealing, perhaps, is the fiscal-conservative-social-liberal category, in which I think I’d probably be counted. (The roster of categories is therefore: social and fiscal libs; social and fiscal conservatives; socially liberal but fiscally conservative independents; and socially conservative and fiscally liberal independents.) But the war changes the matrix again, I think. There’s a new group of people out there who are socially liberal but also foreign policy realists, especially among those who have been awakened to political engagement by September 11. Some of these used to be Scoop Jackson Democrats, but today’s breed doesn’t buy into the big government liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s either. Some are neocons who don’t love the social right. Others are just Generation X and Y, who simply accept the social diversity of modern culture and want to see it defended against theocratic barbarians. These people are not comfortable with the Republicans’ flirtation with the religious right, or their prosecution of the drug war or mixing of church and state; and they’re not impressed by the Democrats’ lack of seriousness in foreign policy or enmeshment with public sector interest groups. They’re politically homeless, these people – but were probably key swing voters in the last election. Instead of hawks and doves, call these people “eagles.” I think they’ll play a key part in shaping the politics and culture of the next few years. Are you one?
FORGET THE DEMOGRAPHICS: The Judis-Teixera thesis about the future strength of the Democrats makes a simple error. What if the Republicans succeed in winning over exactly those groups that until now have been trending Democrat? Or rather: what if the Democrats lose them? David Broder today sees the short-term future of the Dems – and it’s clearly leftward. Who, after all, is going to pull the party to the center? The general loathing of Bush, Gore’s disavowal of Clintonian centrism, Edwards’ reliance on Bob Shrum, Pelosi’s ascension to House leadership – all these play into Republicans’ hands. (How, I wonder, can the Democrats elect a House leader who voted against war against Iraq? Are they serious?) The liberal intelligentsia – epitomized by the New York Times editorial page – shows no sign of rethinking and is actually urging more strenuous leftism, not accommodation or new directions. If the war goes well, and if the economy revives, it’s therefore hard to see anything but Democratic collapse under this new leadership. (And it’s never good for a political party to be pinning its hopes on military failure or recession.) I guess I’d vote for Harold Ford.
NEPOTISM WATCH: More evidence that America is as much an aristocracy as a democracy. Forget the Bush dynasty. Both candidates for the Democratic House Minority leadership post are essentially scions of well-established political dynasties. A reader points out:
Pelosi’s father was a Congressman for a decade, then mayor of Baltimore for a dozen years while she was growing up. Her brother later was elected mayor of Baltimore. She graduated from Trinity College in Washington, DC, which was established as a finishing school for Catholic girls. Ford’s father, Harold Ford, Sr., was elected to Congress from Memphis in 1974 and the youngster spent most of his time in Washington. He attended the tony St. Albans prep school on the grounds of the Episcopal National Cathedral, then went on to the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan Law School. He took over his father’s seat when the elder decided not to seek reelection.
Not exactly a populist alternative, eh?
A PALESTINIAN AGAINST BIGOTRY: An Arab resident of Ramallah bemoans the Arab satellite television mini-series based on the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Hope springs eternal.
THE NEXT ‘DIVERSITY’ PUSH: It’s no longer enough to admit students on the basis of their skin color to American colleges and universities. The students now have to socialize with other individuals of different races. The New York Times, in breathlessly uncritical tones, hails the move. One quote truly gave me the creeps:
Theodore R. Mitchell, president of Occidental College in Los Angeles, said, “It is our job as educators to construct conscious communities in which students and others spend time, work and play with people unlike themselves – ethnically, ideologically, politically.”
“Conscious communities”? Blech. How about letting people get into college on the basis of their academic achievements? How about letting students interact privately with whomever they want in a free society? And how about some real diversity – i.e. intellectual diversity – among college faculty? Yeah, I know the chances are next to zero. But every now and again, you have to ask the bleeding obvious, don’t you?
BLACK AND WHITE: It’s a good sign when I get loads of emails complaining about the website colors. (It often means new readers.) If you hate the white on dark blue, you can change it. There’s a button at the top of the Dish that says: “Black and White.” Click on it and the colors are reversed. And if you click on the “INFO” button on the top left, you’ll also get a rundown of what the various awards mean. Cheers.
AS.COM GETS RESULTS: Well, I wasn’t the only one to complain. But that Tom Paulin lecture at Harvard has apparently been canceled. Inviting a man who wished American Jewish settlers in Israel and the West Bank would be shot dead caused “widespread consternation.” I wonder why.
ANTI-WAR ANTI-SEMITISM WATCH: Read what happened when a pro-Israel group on its weekly demo on a Los Angeles street had to share the street with an anti-war rally. Some highlights:
When they saw us they started cursing. Without first saying hello, or anything, a young Latino man told us to “f– off.” He began yelling at one of our older Russian Jewish supporters, Isaac, “You are Zionist Nazi pigs. You are Nazis!” It was surreal… One woman who videotaped me yelled that she could do what she wanted to because she had First Amendment rights. I told her that she lacked grace. She turned around and said, “Well you lacked grace when you slaughtered my people.” She was referring to Native Americans. Again, I thought this was about President Bush and Iraq.
Well, it is about President Bush and Iraq. But it’s about a lot of other things as well.
A QUESTION FOR THE AGES: In losing the Minnesota Senate race, Walter Mondale succeeded in losing an election in every single state in the country. I wonder: is he really the first? Has anyone else been such a stellar loser?
AMENDMENT: I wrote in “Boy Emperor Wins!” that “No sitting Republican governor lost.” I should have said “No sitting elected Republican governor lost.” Scott McCallum, the Republican governor of Wisconsin, lost to D
emocrat Jim Doyle. McCallum was not elected governor; rather, he was lieutenant governor when Tommy Thompson became HHS Secretary.
The Dish 