30
Jul
Dude, Where’s My Party?
The Democrats finished their product launch last night, and the networks even covered it in primetime this time. As with the detergents that first gave television’s soap operas their name, the packaging colors were bold reds, blues, and whites, and sheer repetition made it impossible not to get the message.
New. Improved. Stronger than Strong.
Was it a triumph of modern marketing? That depends, as ever, on whether the public is buying or not.
I’m not.
I think the framing is all wrong, and that the relentless Democratic drumbeat of militaristic jingoism is precisely the wrong framework for contesting George Bush in November.
Of course the Democrats have suffered for decades from GOP attacks on their party as being “soft”on defense, and their collective decision to fight fire with fire by appropriating Republican issues, imagery and language has never been more apparent than at this week’s tightly controlled and carefully scripted convention.
From the moment the delegates were called to order on Monday, the leadership drilled the message of strength, strength, and more strength into their (and our) brains so fiercely that at times it became absurd. Case in point: Rep. Louise Slaughter, on stage with 41 other members of the House Congressional Democratic Women’s Caucus announcing, “Senator Kerry, your troops have reported for duty!” Or General Wesley Clark’s weirdly cadenced “War. I’ve been there. Heard the thump of enemy mortars. Seen the tracers fly. Bled on the battlefield. Recovered in hospitals…”
So it came as no surprise when the presidential-product-of-the hour strode forcefully onto the stage at long last last night, promptly saluted, and announced that he too was ‘reporting for duty.” Nor that he immediately promised to ‘make America stronger at home,” soon proclaimed “We are a nation at war,” (I must have missed the constitutionally-required Congressional declaration?) and promised once again “I will never hesitate to use force when it is required.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being at war– particularly an ill-defined one and supposedly unending war, a ‘clash of civilizations” dating back to the Crusades and going forward, I’m told, for decades at least, if not centuries.
I’d prefer to be a “nation at peace” again, like we were one (Democrat) president and a mere four years ago — when we had few enemies, engaged for the right reasons in a limited police actions like Kosovo, had a booming economy, were actually talking about eliminating the entire federal deficit — and the worst thing anyone worried about was Monica Freakin’ Lewinsky!
And what I expect to hear from Democrats is a plan to wage peace, not war without end. At least, that’s what I expect to hear from the “Democratic wing of the Democratic Party,” as Howard Dean once admirably phrased it. Now even Dean seems to wish he had enlisted and fought in Vietnam, instead of dodging the battles to go skiing… Now it’s all upside down and standing in its head, and the Baby Boomers want to play boom-boom and transmogrify themselves into the “Greatest Generation, Part Deux.”
Dude, Where’s My Party?
How did it come to pass that thirty years on we’re still on Vietnam– only this time “our guy” is the one who volunteered to go over and kill Cong, and ‘their guy” is the one who did his best to duck out?
Marketing. Money. Mad Ave.
But the Democrats are trying to sell us a pig in a poke by trying to come off as something they’re not, something even they don’t believe in — and it will inevitably show. People aren’t stupid, the camera doesn’t lie (even when the politicians do) and sooner rather than later enough undecided ’swing voters in the battleground (here we go again!) states’ will figure out that the message is phony and the detergent isn’t new or improved in any way. So why switch brands? By focusing on war, the Democrats (Republicrats?) will play right into the hands of their opponents, because when Americans think war, they think Republican.
Bottom line (politics being, like detergent sales, nothing if not a bottom line business) this whole week-long sales effort, this new-improved-red-white-and-blue-flag-waving-allegiance-pledging-stronger-than-strong product launch, may have been a huge and very expensive mistake. And, unless ‘externalities’ like the economy and Iraq go even further south in the next three months, it may well portend another Republican victory in November.
Correct me if I’m wrong — but wasn’t it Harry Truman who once said, “Given a choice between a Republican and a Republican, people will choose a Republican every time?”
I think you didn’t get the Truman quote quite right.
He was urging Democrats not to ape Republicans.
It should be something like ‘Given a choice between a real Republican and an imitation, people will choose the real Republican every time.’
August 1st, 2004 at 8:29 amYou’re already a Dem. It wasn’t aimed at snagging your vote.
August 4th, 2004 at 9:13 amTelling the truth prematurely is a mortal political sin. Just ask Howard Dean.
Pig poke it may be, but no Kerry voter will feel betrayed if, a year from now, we withdraw from Iraq, declaring it a nice try. Saying it now would allow a Republican frame: vote for Bush, who wants to win, or Kerry, who wants to lose.
But I do agree with you that there should be a movement to declare the “war” on terrorism a “constant vigilance,” or some such…and concentrate on building peace in the world, not more war.
August 4th, 2004 at 12:26 pmRory:
August 4th, 2004 at 2:10 pmAfter you’ve won an election yourself — even state congress — then I’ll listen to your campaign advice. Until then, you’re just bloviating. I love PBS Frontline, I show it in my grad school courses. I, too, speak out against the corporate dominated system and celebrate lightning rods like Howard Dean who help reestore equibrilium to the US political landscape. (I have given a lot to Dean.) But this posting on your blog highlights your ignorance of American democracy and your elitist arrogance. “Politics is the long boring of hard boards,” wrote Weber. The perfect is the enemy of the good. This is not the time for such comments. Vote your brain, not your Oedipal animus.
ignorance? elitist arrogance? my my, those are loaded words! it’s actually pretty funny for a grad teacher throwing ‘animus’ and ‘bloviating’ around to accuse someone else of elitism. but that joke wasn’t intentional, right?
after all is said, i’m unclear with what the criticism is here. rory expressed dismay with the ‘republicrat’ qualities of Kerry’s speech — his uncharacteristic militarism, his self-serving characterization of his service is Vietnam as “defending America” (um excuse my 31-year-old naivete, but isn’t the tragic legacy of Vietnam that the whole thing was not only based on lies but was fundamentally unjust, unwarranted? isn’t this what the ‘old Kerry’ fought to express after returning?)…
“The perfect is not the enemy of the good. Now is not the time for such comments” you wrote. Our friend Emphyrio claims “no Kerry voter will feel betrayed if, a year from now, we withdraw from Iraq, declaring it a nice try.”
Huh? How is standing firm in opposition to unjust wars too “idealistic”? Kerry (and sensible Democrats) have no choice but to endorse further military involvement (read: occupation) in Iraq?
Are peace and justice ‘unrealistic’ concepts for you? If so, there may be a place for you in government;>)
August 4th, 2004 at 11:52 pmA few responses to your responses above:
Bellyflop, you shouldn’t assume I’m a Democrat! But even if Kerry can assume a vote from people ‘like me,” my argument still obtains. The mythical ’six swing voters from Ohio and Pennsylvania” that Kerry and Bush are fighting over will be turned away from the Democrats by the constant drumbeat of war — when Americans get frightened, and fear for their security, they think ‘Republicans.” My thesis is that the ’strength, war and terror’ rhetoric and imagery being employed by the Democrats merely plays intot he Republicans hands.
Also, Emphyrio says ‘no Kerry voter will feel betrayed if, a year from now, we withdraw from Iraq.” My question, will Kerry voters feel betrayed if we DON’T withdraw from Iraq–if instead we INCREASE our occupation forces there, as I suspect will happen.
Since the anti-war Kerry voters are keepingtheir mouths shut for ‘unity’s sake’ and in their ABB zeal — they will have only themselves to feel betrayed by!
Being against Bush –and for ‘anybody’ else–is not an ideology–it’s barely an idea!
And to ‘Iagreewithyou’ I say–of course I’m bloviating! Although I guess it’s called ‘blogging’ now…as far as my running for office, I gave them up after running for Student Government President years ago on the Surprise Party ticket, so don’t hold your breath. Finally, your comment that “now is not the time for such comments” is reminisecent of remarks made by Ari Fleischer tot hat effect in the wake of 9/11. My pesonal opinion is that “now” is precisely the time for such comments–in fact “always” is the right time for such comments!
August 6th, 2004 at 8:03 am“People aren’t stupid, the camera doesn’t lie.” — Rory
5 words: Ronald Reagan; George Walker Bush.
If what you said was true, neither of these fools would have had a chance.
Maybe Kerry’s strategy is a bad one and maybe it isn’t, but people are stupid and the camera does lie.
August 7th, 2004 at 5:08 amKerry told about security but he also talked about the respect US will treat the over countries with a democratic president.
Come on, it’s time to win against Bush.
August 8th, 2004 at 5:29 pm