Harold Ford Crusades to Save the Democrats
Nancy Pelosi is being challenged by the black New Democrat Harold Ford for leadership of the House Minority. Ford is pretty damn new to the House and is very young (32), but who knows? The Liberalism of Pelosi is probably not what the party needs right now. I don't care what the Left screeches, the midterms are not a refutation of DLC-style centrism. What we need is muscular centrism, welfare reform is ok, but with more money for the Earned Income Tax Credit, war with Iraq, but with Allies, tax cuts, but for the middle class, free markets, but not crony capitalism. Most Americans agree with the Democrats on these issues, but the Democrats have failed to be stress them and have failed to put them together into a coherent national message. So onwards, toward muscular centrism. We must be moderate to the extreme! Scream our sensible proposals at the top of our lungs! Advance our moderate (and popular) ends with immoderate means and we need national party leaders that are capable of doing this. Is Ford the one? Possibly. He's better than a Liberal like Pelosi, someone that appeals to readers of the Nation, but will probably turn of must Americans and no matter how strident they are may never help the Party. Ummmm. Oh yes, perhaps a black party leader like Ford will help energize minority voters, which may not have been less involved in this election. If Ford really is strident centrist black democrat, he might be just what the party needs.