Reclaiming the Heartland; David Van Os

Reclaiming the Heartland

We Democrats can recapture the South.

The problem is not ideology, "left" or "right." We need to stop thinking in terms of "left" and "right." They are an artificial dichotomy that lazy journalism and lazy political operatives have imposed on the nation's political discourse. Most working people and farming people do not think in terms of a left-right spectrum. It is not real to them, nor should it be, because it is not real. What is real is whether one is on the side of the people or against the people. And if one is going to win the people's trust that one is on their side, actions speak louder than words.

The Democratic Party needs to stop giving the people an academic issues symposium as its political "message." That is all just words. The Democratic Party needs to show the people through action that it exists to fight for them.

For example, nominating for President a hugely wealthy man who lives in a gilded mansion and who crafts his political communications based on what he thinks will win an election rather than based on the convictions of his heart is not the action of a party that exists to fight for the people.

What I will for the sake of language call "heartland" voters--rural and blue-collar voters--are not dumb. To the contrary, they are very smart. They have to be smart to survive in the face of a ruthlessly exploitive economy. The Democratic Party's use of patrician elitists of the political aristocracy has been transparent to them. The Democratic Party's failure to give them distinct choices in opposition to what the Republicans offered them was the main thing that prompted them to vote Republican.

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Our Governor, Kathleen Blanco, publicly stated that she couldn't "take John Kerry around Louisiana" because his views were far "too liberal" for most Democrats in Louisiana. What kind of crap is that? Every day we had Democrats in leadership positions here saying that Kerry was not in touch with Louisiana voters. State party leaders need to "put up or shut up", and if they can't support the party candidate, they should be forced to resign from the Democratic party and switch to the Republicans. I'm sick of wasting my dollars on candidates that are Democrats in name only.