The Democratic Party is in trouble. Sen. John Kerry has
collected more votes than Howard Dean in every primary so far,
including his latest victories in Nevada and Washington, D.C. These
two candidates reflect the two sides of the Democratic Party, with
one on the side of strong, ideological beliefs and the other
tending toward convenient practicality. With the likely nomination
of Kerry, it looks like the people have made up their minds. They
are willing to sacrifice ideology for electability.
Based on his record, Kerry reads more like a President Bush
supporter than the great white Democratic hopeful. He is a typical
politician. His distinguishing feature as a Vietnam war hero is
overshadowed by the fact that he voted for the war in Iraq. If his
credentials and Silver Stars still only match him about evenly in
the polls with a president with a questionable National Guard
record, how much is his experience really worth? He has also
publicly denounced gay marriages, even as his state’s Supreme
Judicial Court ruled for their constitutionality. Furthermore, he
voted for the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind and other Bush
initiatives.
Dean, on the other hand, has consistently rallied against
Bush’s war. He was one of the few outspoken Democrats daring
to vote against the war and maintained his position even when it
was not popular.
Dean is the answer to the Democrats’ weak backbone, so why
is he so far behind in the polls?
According to the Washington Times, while 70 percent of Dean
supporters said they voted for him based on the issues, only 40
percent could say the same about Kerry. Fifty percent of his
supporters voted for Kerry because he seemed like he could beat
Bush. So while most Democrats would tend to support Dean, they
voted for an ideologically inferior candidate. Democrats will not
win this election because they are too afraid to vote with their
convictions. Real Democrats have been replaced by centrists who
would look at poll numbers before deciding where they stand on an
issue.
But the situation was not always like this. Just a few months
ago, the Democrats were strong. They were united behind Dean and
his passionate defiance of Bush. As the anti-Bush he addressed the
concerns of a growing number of Americans who felt Bush was a
dangerous president.
Then came what has come to be known as the “crazy
Dean” slip. Coming off of an unexpected loss in the Iowa
caucus, Dean was seen by millions screaming at the top of his
lungs. Image defeated the only candidate different enough from Bush
to afford him a challenge. Late-night comics had their new clip,
and Kerry became the candidate of choice.
Moreover, this incident reinforced support for a safe president.
People did not want someone who might lose to Bush because he
crossed the line. They wanted someone who the “general
public” could find little fault in, at the same time ensuring
he would not be a true Democratic candidate.
The most unfortunate part of the entire debacle was the fact
that Dean himself backed down after the incident. His image was
toned down, and he admitted to the terrible fault of “leading
with his heart.” The watering down of Democratic politics had
claimed another victim.
The way to defeat an incumbent president is not to give the
people a watered-down version of him. As Dean himself said after
Iowa, “I say what I believe. I think it’s time that
somebody in this party stood up for what we believe in and wasn’t
so careful about what they were saying. If we’re willing to
say anything we have to say to get elected, then we’re going
to lose.”
If Dean wants to show his party why he would have made a good
president, he will stay in the running until the very end. Either
way, it looks to be a bleak November for the Democrats.
Moon is a second-year psychology student. E-mail him at
jmoon@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.