Triumphing in Pennsylvania, a state often associated with the birth of many American narratives, Senator Clinton proclaimed that “the tide is turning.” She might have envisioned the aptness of her candidacy’s rebirth. But it wasn’t a rebirth. It was the prolonging of a futile process, Democrat’s proportionate delegate system rendering her catching-up in the pledged delegate count impossible.
Yet by choosing to continue, she is damaging her fellow Democrat’s reputation and amplifying her own negatives, all while increasing Senator John McCain’s electoral chances. Should these factors ultimately coalesce to elect McCain to office, liberalism would have lost a monumental opportunity to redefine and reassert itself.
But first let’s examine liberalism’s fall from grace.
Liberalism’s downturn, in many ways, is testament to the Republican Party’s political acumen and their messages’ coherence. Through superior organization and unrelenting discipline, a Republican nominee has occupied the White House for all but 12 out of the last 40 years. This statistic isn’t trivial. It demonstrates the Republican’s uncanny ability to win elections.
The media, as initiators of discourse, furthermore bought into the Republican’s stereotypical construct. By adhering to the contours of “gotcha” journalism, where soundbites proliferate, Republicans’ effectively succeeded in tarring liberals as elitist snobs, caricaturing them as unpatriotic wimps and branding them as coastal-dwellers out of touch with America’s heartland values.
Finally, Clintonism was supposed to usher in a new era of Democratic progressive policies. But it didn’t transpire that way. Instead, as Matt Bai, in his article “The Clinton Referendum,” suggests, “[Bush’s policies] was less a victim of Bush’s radicalism than [Clinton] was its enabler.” In other words, triangulation — the practice of selecting the middle point of you and your opponent’s arguments — dispirited liberals into accepting the credo of the right rather than standing up for their own principles.
Such a submission is fine, even indicative of a healthy democracy, if the ultimate result is concerned solely with winning political warfare. But conservatism’s practitioners, utilizing the dark art of denigration, have essentially torn the electorate. Consequent of the Republican smear tactics is a nation so divided that we can’t summon a national consciousness during times of unparalleled crisis. While external and internal threats continue to manifest, the government is impaired, burdened by ideological adherence.
As such, until the Republican Party reinvents itself and dismisses the divisionary tactics, the only option for all liberals is to unite and to ascend. Liberals need to re-embrace their identity and not be afraid to champion their virtues. Today’s moment demands not triangulation; it mandates the elevation of liberalism. It isn’t the time to yield to right-wing pummeling. It is the time to battle back, and battle hard.
But here’s what makes Obama’s candidacy so ironic and fascinating. He’s conducting a liberal revolution not by aiming to polarize the Red States and Blue States further, but by attempting to unite both. He’s not merely inspiring new voters everywhere, he’s incorporating disenchanted crossover conservatives. Despite being the Senator with the most liberal voting record, he works well with Republicans. All these virtues indicate the possibility of an era of sustained liberalism.
To make this possible, to finally move past the past, Obama first needs to defeat the forces of the past. He needs to bury Rove-style politics of blatant distortion and character assassination — a test Senator Clinton is now administering to him. He needs to stand up to the lunacy of Swiftboating and “who would you rather have a beer with?” Should he triumph, it will deliver the message that the era of Rovism is finally over.
The liberal ideals of social justice and equality have to be refought and relitigated. Clintonism of the yore, of finding common ground, has to be dispensed. Liberals, and liberalism, need to regain their pride.
Liberals need to fight against the kitchen sink and the Republican attack machine. Throw ZACH HAN one at zklhan@ucdavis.edu.
