The unipolar Democratic world . . .
The race for DNC chair is getting ugly. Now, one front runner, Tim Roemer, is being excoriated for being *gasp* pro-life.

It seems that the Democrats are eating their own over this (and several other) social questions.

One pol says it this way:

Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, a group that advocates for abortion rights, said she considered running for the job after Roemer entered the race, but opted against it.

"I will spend the next month leading a vigorous effort to ensure that when the DNC elects its new leader, it selects someone who stands forthrightly for a woman's right to choose," Michelman said.

"I will also urge DNC members to make an unequivocal statement that choice is both a fundamental value of the Democratic Party and an essential component of our winning message."

In other words, if she has her way, pro-life folks won't be welcome in the Democratic party (except, of course, to cast their votes for folks who will promptly ignore their views on that issue after the polls close).

I remember the Democrats claiming to be the "big tent" party full of a variety of ideas and values when I was growing up. Republicans, it was said, were all either religious fanatics or rich.

Things have changed. Now, the Republican party is much more accepting of divergent views than the Democrats. Look at the speaker's lists for the 2004 political conventions. Which party had a wider divergence of views and people?

I think this is one aspect of modern liberalism that is most distressing: the tendency to desire suppression of any speech with which the modern liberal disagrees. From hiring practices at colleges and universities to the classroom itself; from big media outlets to the Congress; liberals seem to have far less toleration for divergent views than classical liberalism would suggest is desirable.

It is tragic in that it leaves the Republicans without a truly national party / ideology with whom to compete. Competition in politics, as in other human endeavors, generally results in a better final product.

For example, were the Democrats competitive on the Congressional level, Republicans might be much less inclined to suffer ethical lapses, spend profligality, etc., etc. Republicans, in other words, might have some reason to stick to traditional Republican principles rather than becoming professional politicians interested only in being re-elected.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 18:10