Of course democrats as a party are going to have to figure out what those beliefs are first.
But, when they do, the democrats will be able to sleep at night and will not have to worry about what they are saying all of the time because they will be speaking what they believe in. They will not have to have meetings all of the time to figure out what they believe in, they will know it. They will not have to worry about the likes of Dean, Kerry and Pelosi saying stupid things and taking crazy positions because everyone will know what they believe and stand for.
Democrats put themselves in a bad position by being against everything the other side is for, just because. The ones that offer the bazaar-o agenda from the other side will end up with bazaar-o results.
Which brings me to this from D.J. Dionne, Jr. in the Washington Post: Beyond The War Spin
The neat summary of the new Republican home-front offensive was the tag line on a Republican National Committee ad: “Our country is at war. Our soldiers are watching and our enemies are too. Message to Democrats: Retreat and Defeat is not an option.” Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert helpfully explained: “The Democratic Party sides with those who wish to surrender.”
Attacks of this sort on Democrats are effective because Democrats help make them so. Democrats are so obsessed with not looking “weak” on defense that they end up making themselves look weak, period, by the way they respond to Republican attacks on their alleged weakness. Oh my gosh, many Democrats say, we can’t associate ourselves with the likes of Howard Dean or Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader who recently called for a troop withdrawal within six months. Let’s knife them before Karl Rove gets around to knifing us. Talk about a recipe for retreat and defeat.
But the Democrats’ problem is not just one of political tactics. It’s also rooted in a simple reality: Democrats in both houses of Congress have been divided on this war from the very beginning. House Democrats are, on the whole, more dovish than Senate Democrats. And the party’s rank and file are, on the whole, more dovish than its congressional wing.
Democrats just stand up for what you believe and let the chips fall where they may.
Mark A. Kilmer has his own thoughts on this and some additional references.