In order to be reborn, of course, but I'm ready these days to just abandon the Democratic Party altogether, as it appears to be run entirely by incompetent, spineless idiots. My anger was already primed by the embarrassing spectacles last week over Alberto Gonzales (how many of our senators will vote for torture?), and by the Ohio business, and by the prospect of Tim Roemer as DNC chair.
But now my head is about to explode after reading about Democrat Christine Gregoire, the new sorta-kinda governor of Washington State, where I live. First, one of the alt weeklies out here published a smart smackdown of both the Republican, Dino Rossi, and Gregoire. The article was titled "Wimp vs. Demagogue," which could pretty much describe the state of Democrats vs. Republicans throughout the land.
Now comes one of the dailies, the Seattle Times, with a reflective piece including interviews with Gregoire herself as well as lots of insiders. If four more years of Shrub don't make me want to move to Canada, this surely does.
Even the headline makes you want to throw the paper across the room: "Gov.-elect says the voters never got to know her." You see, Gregoire only had twelve years as attorney general (an elected statewide office) and six million dollars during the governor's race to introduce herself, but apparently that wasn't enough. Actually, this is the one area where Gregoire is taking some responsibility: she acknowledges that her advertising focused on policy and competence and not at all on biography. In the article, she says, "I'm a mom. I'm a spouse." Now she tells us!
But honestly, is it some news flash that Americans vote based in large measure on personality? How many professional Democrats (Gregoire and all of her staff, the whole Kerry crew) have simply failed to notice that politicians who run strictly on policy and competence wind up as roadkill? Seriously, Democrats still approach elections as if the capacity to connect with voters on a personal level were a nice bonus in a candidate. Republicans understand that it's the one and only thing that matters. Rossi simply blew Gregoire away on this score: he was personable, handsome, upbeat, appealing; he always had his wife and kids hanging from his arms.
Another major difference between Rs and Ds is how they treat their base. Like everyone else in the Democratic Party establishment, Gregoire knows she has to publicly piss on the left. This is particularly galling because of the history here. Although she has never done anything for liberals, we voted for her in droves and -- more importantly -- liberal activist groups went all out in helping to pay for the critical hand recount. In other words, she absolutely would not be governor if it were not for the left wing of the party (which is pretty far left here in Seattle, let me tell ya), yet Gregoire has this to say today: "There's no one cashing in any debt. Everyone has to come to the realization that the voters have sent a message, which is we are more in the center." Actually, no Chris: the centrists voted for your opponent. That's why your margin was only 129 votes in this otherwise very blue state. And maybe, Chris, you can explain why the hundreds of thousands of extremely liberal Seattleites (you know, your "base") should show up to give you money and time four years from now.
The self-delusion crests when the reporter asks Gregoire to distinguish herself from milquetoast outgoing Gov. Gary Locke (a good guy by all accounts, but a mushy moderate who accomplished little in office). Gregoire claims that, unlike Locke, she's "a more direct, decisive individual. I'm one who is willing to take risks." So says the woman who ran the most risk-averse campaign in history, nearly losing to a right-wing extremist in a solidly Democratic state. Even the reporter can't stomach that one, and he quotes several local Dems contradicting her. Again, Gregoire's approach mirrors the play-it-safe stance of Democrats everywhere. When will they learn?
So what will Gregoire do now that she's taking the reins? Well that, of course, is the other problem with Democrats in general and Gregoire in particular: who the hell knows what she stands for? She's going to be a centrist, she says over and over. Whatever that means. Do you know what that means? No, I don't either. As for specifics, she mentions audits of state agencies. And she wants the authority to sign new regulations! And she wants to implement a DLC-created accountability database program! Bold, visionary ways to use SQL Server! Jeez, now that's inspirational. Maybe Gregoire wants to spend some time thinking about her lack of vision and how that may have led to her near-loss.
I think it's important not to badmouth Dem candidates before an election. It emboldens the enemy and depresses your friends. But the election is over. It's time to tell these politicians what we think of them. I'm writing my letter to Gregoire. You?