Get This Party Started

If you're dismayed by the direction the U.S. is heading (wretched economy, global aggressor, increasingly imperiled domestic social programs, skyrocketing budget deficits exacerbated by obscene tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, etc.), and especially if you like to think of yourself as "liberal" or "progressive," then you definitely have reason to care about who wins the Democratic presidential nomination. However, because of the way the primary system works, most of us don't have much say in which candidates rise to the top of the pack in order to be serious contenders for that nomination. Not only that, but with so many candidates running, it's going to be pretty difficult for any one of them to gain the momentum he/she is going to need to defeat Yubbledew. Now, MoveOn.org is trying to change all that by holding a virtual democratic primary. Anyone can vote (you just have to register), so get to it! If the primary produces a clear front-runner, MoveOn plans to support him/her for the Democratic nomination and then for President. That could change the face of presidential elections forever. Don't you want to be a part of history? (Of course, if no front-runner emerges, MoveOn's virtual primary might have about zero effect, but, well, it's still worth a minute of your time to vote, I think.) And even if you don't want to vote, MoveOn is a good starting point for learning about the candidates at this relatively early stage. MoveOn has compiled a complete survey of most of the Democratic candidates' responses to seven questions MoveOn members voted most important for Democratic nominees to answer. (Lieberman refused to answer the questions; not surprising, since Lieberman is the leading contender for the title of "Bush-Lite.")

For more on the virtual primary, see "Progressive Popularity Contest" by Michelle Goldberg. She summarizes the event nicely when she writes:

Whether the MoveOn primary yields a meaningful measure of progressive support, Democratic aspirants are certainly taking it seriously -- some with grace, some with grumbling. The front-runners in the online race -- Howard Dean, John Kerry and Dennis Kucinich -- are trying to get out the vote while praising MoveOn for enhancing the democratic process. Those expected to fare poorly in the primary are attacking a process they say is skewed against their candidates, even as they urge their people to participate.

MoveOn's critics aren't wrong -- the process is tilted toward candidates favored by the group's progressive base. But MoveOn has never claimed to be a disinterested party, which is part of what makes the primary unique. It's less a survey of Democrats than a contest for the endorsement of American progressives, a group MoveOn aims to organize to balance the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

Apparently, Gephardt is among those who expects to do poorly, while Dean expects to do well. (I can't find the statement that Dean is supposedly rebutting, but Goldberg mentions in her article that it came from a Gephardt "staffer.") While it's not surprising to see the candidates sniping at each other (they're competing against each other, after all), it is dismaying. If the Democratic candidates throw mud all over each other, that will just leave less work for Yubbledew when the race is finally narrowed to two.

And on the subject of divisiveness, it's anyone's guess what's going to happen w/the Green party this election. L. and I actually went to a Dean rally last night in Arlington to watch him officially announce his candidacy, and although his speech was good, it was hard to pay attention because a Green Party supporter stood behind him throughout the majority of the speech waving a giant "Vote Green Party" sign. So here you have Dean saying "Let's take our country back!", while "Vote Green Party" is bobing over his shoulder the whole time. Halfway through the speech, Dean supporters tried various antics (climbing on a large stepladder, taping together multiple Dean for America signs) to obscure the Green Party sign, but that only escalated the whole spectacle into a foreboding symbol of what could happen in the upcoming election: The conflict between Democrats and Greens will become a colorful sideshow spectacle that dominates the media coverage of the Democratic campaign. Meanwhile, Yubbledew will get a free pass on everything (like he did in 2000) and we'll end up with 4 more years of Bush—but this time, he won't be restrained by the need to run for election again. I'd call that a nightmare scenario, which only makes it more crucial that the Democratic nominee be far enough to the left to bring some of those who voted for Nader in 2000 back into the Democratic tent. The MoveOn primary could do a lot to push things in that direction. Results will be published Friday...

Posted June 24, 2003 09:49 AM | election 2004