Charles Krauthammer: A Party Without Ideas

Or without a message. This editorial appeared in last week's Washington Post, and while it deals primarily with CAFTA, the first several paragraphs pinpoint the Democratic problem.

What has happened to the Democrats over the past few decades is best captured by the phrase (coined by Kevin Phillips) "reactionary liberalism." Spent of new ideas, their only remaining idea is to hang on to the status quo at all costs.

This is true across the board. On Social Security, which is facing an impending demographic and fiscal crisis, they have put absolutely nothing on the table. On presidential appointments -- first, judges; and now ambassador to the United Nations -- they resort to the classic weapon of Southern obstructionism: the filibuster. And on foreign policy, they have nothing to say on the war on terror, the war in Iraq or the burgeoning Arab Spring (except the refrain: ``Guantanamo'').

A quarter-century ago, Daniel Patrick Moynihan noted how it was the Republicans who had become a party of ideas, while the Democrats' philosophical foundation was ``deeply eroded.'' But even Moynihan would be surprised by the bankruptcy in the Democrats' current intellectual account.

In short, as I have argued before, the Democrats are the "anti" party. They oppose anything supported by the Bush Administration in a completely knee-jerk reaction--even if it runs counter to their own expressed principles.

I think Moynihan is rolling over in his grave. Of course, this makes winning for Republican easier since they run on ideas and Democrats run on anti-ideas--a losing proposition.
Charles Krauthammer: A Party Without Ideas