Posted on 08/22/2006 10:17:06 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
In both of our political parties, activists talk about fighting for the "soul of the party." Do parties have a soul? Political parties are messy things -- coalitions, fueled by people of great ambition, scarred by the corrupt and the petty, lifted by those with vision. How could they possibly be said to have a "soul"?
In the fall elections, candidates will run in different ways. Some Republicans will line up with President Bush; others -- many after voting his way nearly 100 percent of the time -- will run away from him, now that his poll numbers are down. Democrats have presented a unified front behind a six-point program -- "six for 2006." But in fact, the candidates vary on where they are on a range of issues.
Yet, over time, there is a distinction between the parties -- one of philosophy, if not of soul; of historic arguments. In this country, there were two big ideas, ideas so powerful that they finally divided our country into a civil war, and threatened to tear us apart at the seams. It's a battle between the idea of a MORE PERFECT UNION where all are included; and the idea of STATES' RIGHTS, where states are free to do as they choose and the union cannot interfere.
Even slavery was a subset in this battle of ideas. One group engaged in secession, sedition, slavery and segregation. They pledged allegiance to the Confederacy. The other group fought for the Union. In the Civil War, the Union was saved, and the Constitution was altered for the better -- with the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, which ended slavery and guaranteed equal protection under the law.
These two competing ideas are at the heart of America's political debate today. Republicans believe in states' rights. They support right-to-work laws, maximum profit with no minimum wage, aggressive action to oppose unions. They believe in the free market without government oversight or a safety net. Jefferson Davis is the patriarch of this body of thought. Highways and buildings are named for him across the South. The South is the bastion of GOP strength.
Lincoln was the patriarch of the other big idea: a more perfect union. Although Lincoln formed the Republican Party, Democrats became his advocates in the 20th century. At their best, Democrats stand for a more perfect union, one big tent, equal opportunity, equal protection under the law. Democrats want government to act to provide the basis for equal opportunity -- not equal results, but a fair start: high-quality public education and health care for all.
Certainly there are Republicans who support federal action for equal rights and Democrats who champion CEO stock options and corporate free trade. But the thrust is clear. The great hero of Republicans is Ronald Reagan, who cut taxes on the wealthy, hiked payroll taxes on workers, doubled the military budget in peacetime, declared open war on unions and rolled back support for civil rights, for cities, for the poor and for the environment. Reagan launched his first presidential campaign talking about states' rights in Philadelphia, Miss., distinguished only for the murder of civil rights activists Schwerner, Goodwin and Chaney.
Democrats are -- inescapably -- the party of Franklin Roosevelt, of Lyndon Johnson, of the New Deal and the Great Society, the party that gave us the minimum wage, the 40-hour week, Social Security, Medicare, the Voting Rights Act. Across the country, Democrats are trying to register people to vote. Republicans are acting in states from Georgia to Ohio to try to keep minorities and the poor from voting. Democrats are screaming for enforcement of the Voting Rights Act at the federal level, while the Bush administration continues to support the rights of states to do as they wish.
These fundamental differences can get lost in the daily partisan politics of Washington, where it seems partisans are prepared to say almost anything to score points against the other party. But listen to the arguments of candidates in the races in your state or locality. In many cases, you'll hear the echoes of the fundamental debate between the party of states' rights and the party of a more perfect union.
mailto:jjackson@rainbowpush.org
Do states have soul? I don't know. But Don Cornelius does!!!!!
Peace, love and soul!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The term "soul" is politically incorrect nowadays, isn't it? I think if you refer to all that great rock'n'roll coming out of Motown in the 60s as "soul music", you will be admonished.
No form of government has "rights", only powers. People have rights and powers.
Yo, Jesse! Tell me, my boy, is there any poll out there that suggests that you have higher numbers than the President? Or are you stuck down there with your fellow liberal rats in the 20% range, where you've been for most of your life?
I don't think the Great Society has turned out so great.
It makes sense -- white racists are good for his fundraising.
( No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)
Lincoln was the patriarch of the other big idea: a more perfect union. Although Lincoln formed the Republican Party, Democrats became his advocates in the 20th century. At their best, Democrats stand for a more perfect union, one big tent, equal opportunity, equal protection under the law. Democrats want government to act to provide the basis for equal opportunity -- not equal results, but a fair start: high-quality public education and health care for all.
Jesse is right and that's why I'm a republican.
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