[Mb-civic] Learning from the Winners

Wed Nov 17 17:24:47 PST 2004

Learning from the Winners

By John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, AlterNet
 Posted on November 15, 2004, Printed on November 17, 2004
 http://www.alternet.org/story/20503/

One of the biggest mistakes made by the Democratic Party during the recent
election is that, once again, it "misunderestimated" George W. Bush.

Rather than focusing on the big picture  the growing power of the
conservative movement in the United States  much of the liberal rhetoric
during the campaign focused on Bush's incompetence, his character flaws and
the failings of his administration. These themes found expression in books
with titles such as "The Lies of George W. Bush," the "I Hate Bush Reader"
and the "Bush Hater's Handbook." In "Fahrenheit: 9/11," Michael Moore dwelt
on Bush's rich-kid background, his frequent vacations, his Saudi connections
and the frozen, deer-in-the-headlights way he continued reading "My Pet
Goat" to schoolchildren after he first heard about the attacks on the World
Trade Center towers.

The implicit message was that Bush was a uniquely flawed individual and that
literally "anybody but Bush" would be an improvement. The flaw in this
argument is that it really isn't true. The problem with George W. Bush is
that he isn't unique. He sits atop a political movement that has been
building for 30 years. In 2002, the Republican Party won majority control of
every branch of the federal government for the first time since 1932: both
houses of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Presidency  not to mention
most state legislatures and governor's offices. The 2004 elections didn't
just give Bush four more years. It also consolidated Republican majorities
in every other branch of government.

Our own contribution to the sea of election-year books was titled "Banana
Republicans: How the Right Wing is Turning America into a One Party State."
Rather than Bush-bashing, we looked at how conservatives have succeeded in
building a dominant political juggernaut. The reality, which progressives
need to face if they wish to turn the tide, is that the right wing has
simply done a better job than anyone else of organizing from the grassroots
up. This isn't because their ideas are more popular or palatable  they
aren't  but because the right has been serious and strategic in its
commitment to winning and wielding power.

Republican successes have not come quickly or easily. For more than four
decades, conservatives have worked to build a network of grassroots
organizations and think tanks that formulate and promote their ideas. They
are now enjoying the fruits of this long-term investment. Unhappy with what
they regard as the "liberal bias" of the news media, they have attacked from
both the outside and the inside, building their own, unabashedly
conservative media such as Fox News and talk radio at the same time that
they have systematically set about promoting the careers of conservatives
within the mainstream media. They have built ideological alliances between
industry, government and regulatory agencies. And although entertainers like
Barbra Streisand or Martin Sheen may be more liberal than the leading
figures in, say, the tobacco or construction industries, Republicans have
been more effective than Democrats at capitalizing on the ways entertainment
has transformed politics  last year's election of Arnold Schwarzenegger
being a case in point.

Conservatives have also understood that politics involves more than
dominating the news cycle or influencing public opinion, and they have not
hesitated to use hardball tactics in pursuit of power. Blacks and other
minorities consistently vote Democratics, so conservatives have developed
techniques for suppressing voter turnout or have used old-fashioned
gerrymandering to effectively marginalize minority votes.

What progressives are facing, in short, is a sophisticated, many-faceted
strategy.

The good news for progressives during the 2004 election is that they showed
more vigor than we have seen in a long time. During the Democratic primary,
the Howard Dean campaign pioneered successful new methods of grassroots
fundraising. Air America proved that liberal talk radio could compete with
conservative talk radio, while the MoveOn.org Voter Education Fund and other
527 organizations showed that Democrats could use the internet successfully
to raise funds, disseminate their message, and mobilize grassroots activism.

The outstanding question, however, is whether this flurry of election-year
activism will translate into a longer-term commitment to building
institutions and movements that can successfully challenge the right's
dominance. Conservatives understand very well that elections are only one
aspect of a successful organizing strategy. They are already hard at work
planning campaigns for the 2006 elections and beyond. Before progressives
can seriously hope to turn the tide, they will need to show similar
foresight and discipline.

And what should that foresight be? Share your views with AlterNet.