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Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the Politics of Revenge
Simon and Schuster
May 2004
256 pages
ISBN: 0743258584
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
One of our most visible, trenchant, and witty political
commentators, the author of the bestselling Why
Americans Hate Politics, offers a tough critique of President George W. Bush and the
Democratic
opposition on the eve of a landmark presidential election --
and points
to a way out of cynicism and defeatism. With passion,
clarity,
and humor, E. J. Dionne describes today's political
atmosphere as the
bitterest he can remember. Never have Democrats been as
frustrated by
their inability to move the debate. The party of Roosevelt,
Kennedy,
and Clinton, Dionne says, is lost in pointless feuds,
outdated
strategies, and old arguments. Democrats have lost track of
what they
stand for so they don't know what they're fighting for and
besides,
they've forgotten how to fight back. In describing
how Democrats,
moderates, and liberals have failed to match Republicans and
conservatives in commitment, resourcefulness, and clarity,
Dionne
invents what is likely to become a popular parlor game
among the
politically committed. In "The Wrong Stuff," he lists ten
futile
arguments -- big versus small government, for example --
that Democrats
keep having with themselves. "The Right Stuff" focuses on
ten arguments
they should start making about taxes, business, and the
role of
government. Dionne zeroes in on how a floundering Bush
administration used September 11 to politicize national
security issues
for partisan advantage. Enraged but intimidated by ruthless
opponents,
the Democratic party failed to find its voice on security
issues and
was soundly beaten in 2002. Drawing on some lessons
from the 2004
primary campaigns, Dionne argues that anger and frustration
have in
fact awakened progressives to the need for
innovation in
organizing, in approaching an increasingly conservative
media, and in
formulating politically useful and plainly stated ideas.
Learning from
the conservative movement's successes, liberals have begun
the work of
reconstruction. The politics of revenge, Dionne argues
persuasively, can give way to something better: a
progressive
patriotism built on hope and optimism about America's role
in the world
and its capacity to renew social justice at home.
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