Thanks, but no thanks George

(Note: I don’t really want a significant proportion of my posts to be me pointing out the various absurdities conservative pundits put forth in their daily columns and op-eds, but some pundits-like Will and Krauthammer-especially get under my skin, and refuting their nonsense is a good excuse to actually talk about issues that I’d like to address anyway.)

George Will is among those among the conservative punditry who have been graciously offering to liberals and Democrats analysis as to why they lost last week's election(and advice on what they can do about it.)

In 2000 Americans were reminded that electoral votes select presidents. In 2004 Democrats were reminded that Bruce Springsteen does not.

As you can tell from the above passage, his “advice” is really little more then disguised gloating over the Democrat’s loss, utilizing the old tried and true practice of picking on the celebrities that support Democratic causes(as if by simply being famous, they’re not allowed to express an opinion about politics.)

Will also has another more insidious aim. His is “advice” is so clearly off the mark that were Democrats to follow it, they could look forward to becoming a party of permanent minority status.

While 44 percent of Hispanics, America's largest and fastest-growing minority, voted for Bush, African Americans continued to marginalize themselves, again voting nearly unanimously (88 percent) for the Democratic nominee. In coming years, while Hispanics are conducting a highly advantageous political auction for their support, African Americans evidently will continue being taken for granted by Democrats.

I think it’s interesting how Will and others characterize African American support of the Democrats as simply “being taken for granted.” Unlike Republicans, Democrats actually express concern about the issues facing the African American community, such as poverty, or the disparity in sentencing, or the advancement of African Americans in all areas of employment. In addition, I don’t think most African Americans forget that the current Republican party descends from those who supported segregation, and opposed voting rights for African Americans. I’m not exactly sure what Will thinks African Americans should hope to receive from the GOP in exchange for their support, except perhaps a hearty thank you to their faces, and snickering behind their backs.

Will is also doing his part to perpetuate the myth that efforts on the part of Gavin Newsom in San Francisco to grant marriage licenses to gay couples provoked the issue of gay marriage nationally, thus leading to the heavy “moral values” turnout.

Newsom's heavily televised grandstanding -- illegally issuing nearly 4,000 same-sex marriage licenses -- underscored what many Americans find really insufferable. It is not so much same-sex marriage that enrages them: Most Americans oppose an anti-same-sex amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which is why it fell 49 votes short of the required two-thirds in the House and 19 short in the Senate. Rather, what provokes people is moral arrogance expressed in disdain for democratic due process.

I suppose one could similarly argue that those who refused to go to the back of the bus, or to politely leave the segregated restaurant when asked, where practicing some sort of “progressive lawlessness”, although for the most part they are regarded as heroes today for standing up for their rights. I suppose there were many segregationists who didn’t so much have a problem with blacks having the same rights, but rather how they were going about about getting them. In addition, I don’t recall anyone mentioning their affront at Mayor Newsom’s actions until after the election, but I’ll let Will off the hook a little for confusing the cause with the effect since some liberals seem to be doing the same thing.

In his last column Will argued that Democrats needed to exorcise the “Michael Moore faction” from the body of the party. Of course he glosses over the fact that it was the likes of Moore and Dean that stirred many of the faithful to action. I suppose only Republicans are allowed to have their motivators and their grand-standers, while the Democrats should only be represented by moderates, wonks and people who in general put other people to sleep with their speeches. And I suppose only Republicans win elections by appealing to their base, whereas Democrats must water down the rhetoric so they can reach every single American.

In short, Will’s advice is a prescription for failure. African Americans can’t vote for a party that doesn’t represent any single one of their interests. Democrats and their liberal allies cannot back down from speaking up for the causes they believe in. To do is to have no beliefs worth fighting for, and no reason for anyone to vote for you. And Democrats cannot shun those who refuse to soft-peddle a moderate message to the American people, in the vain hopes that they may win simply by not offending as many people. So thanks for the advice George, but we’ll figure it out for ourselves.