When New Democrats decided to gather this summer for our annual National
Conversation, we offered a plan for challenging George W. Bush. Presented
in Philadelphia -- where the Founders crafted our republic and where
President Bush made a litany of false promises in 2000 -- our plan is
outlined in this Blueprint. It includes a detailed critique of
the Bush administration, a political strategy for 2004, and a New Democrats' Declaration of the principles that will guide our politics -- and
dramatically differentiate us from Bush's party -- in the coming battles.
Taken together, they are an agenda for the 21st century.
Clearly the nation needs one. As Ed Kilgore and Bruce Reed report in
our lead article, Bush has, since his lofty acceptance speech, presided
over unprecedented fiscal irresponsibility, rampant corporate cronyism,
and inadequate homeland security. He has also squandered our prosperity while paying little more than lip service to urgent social needs like health care, education reform, and work-family issues. The president promised
"a responsibility era," but has ducked responsibility for the
nation's economic strength, domestic security, and fiscal future.
Indeed, apart from the U.S. military's twin triumphs abroad, the Bush
presidency is a failure. The economy is in shambles -- see Jeff Lemieux's economic analysis and Robert D. Atkinson's jobs report -- and our lives
are not safer. The president's actions -- such as promising tax relief
while in fact increasing the tax burden on the middle class -- put the
lie to his promises and rhetoric.
Democrats can offer something better. As Al From and Bruce Reed note
in their political battle plan, the next election will decide whether
we move forward into a prosperous, modern, and secure 21st century or
continue the slide back into 19th-century privilege and exploitation.
If Democratic candidates make President Bush run on his record, voters
won't like what they see. But, for a winning formula in 2004, Democrats
must be able to show strength abroad to be strong at home.
Democrats will not win by waging a protest campaign aimed simply at stirring
up the base, writes Randolph Court. Yet the Internet is encouraging activists
to do just that. It's a strategy for failure like the dot-com implosion.
Ultimately, a New Democrat plan for America's future, as summed up in
our Declaration at Philadelphia, is about the kind of nation our
children will inherit. Do we want them to grow up in a country that rewards
wealth and privilege, not work and family? Or do we want to give them
a country that provides security, offers opportunity, demands responsibility,
and promises reform? We choose the latter.
