MICHAEL CARMICHAEL

archived: 21 Nov - 3 Dec, 2005         Back                 Next

UPDATED:  November 29, 2005 

                        PHOENIX RISING 

I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the Fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will take a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign.   

            -- Harry Truman, 1952 

Next week, the members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will assemble in a red city, Phoenix, in a red state, Arizona.  This meeting of the DNC is crucial.  A strategy for the midterm elections will take centre stage. 

Governor Howard Dean is the Chairman of the DNC.  When Governor Dean announced his candidacy for the Chairmanship of the DNC one year ago, he was considered an outsider, but by the time the ballots were counted, all of his opponents had dropped out and endorsed him.   

Since taking office, Governor Dean has begun the reorganization that he promised.  He has shifted the strategy of fundraising from a handful of heavyweight individual contributors to the grassroots with many small contributors.  As a direct result of this important innovation, some of the corporate heavyweights have left the DNC and more may follow which is a very positive development.   

More important from the strategic standpoint, Governor Dean has rejected the old and discredited strategy of running solely to the blue states and adopted a bold and aggressive fifty state plan of attack.  Governor Dean is building up the activist base of the party by focussing on progressive Democratic candidates and putting the bulk of effort and time into electing a new generation of leadership at the grassroots level.   

Concomitantly, Governor Dean’s reformist strategy is brilliantly simple:  launch appeals to the grassroots and reject the failed politics of incremental marginalisation through appeals to smaller and smaller slices of the voters inhabiting the imaginary centre of the political spectrum.  The politics of centrism was the overarching vision of the old wave of Democratic consultants led by a corps of conservative pollsters and strategists including but not limited to:  James Carville, Stanley Greenberg and Robert Shrum.  This outmoded strategy has never won even one presidential election, not 1992, nor 1996, nor 2000, nor 2004.  It is a failed paradigm, and it is being displaced by the progressive politics of grassroots activation through powerful and focused messaging.

Governor Howard Dean is leading the political reorganization
 of the Democratic National Committee. 

Facing the reformist movement led by Governor Dean, we see the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).  The DLC has held powerful sway over the DNC for the past fifteen years.  Bill Clinton and others founded the DLC in a conscientious effort to wrest control of the party from the activist base to move toward an elusive and imaginary centre in American politics.   

Touting Clinton’s two victories in 1992 and 1996, the DLC is frequently taunted with the pejorative accusation that they are Republican-lite.  The two Clinton victories had absolutely nothing to do with his ideological positioning in the center-right of the American political spectrum.  Clinton’s two victories were the direct results of his personal magnetism, charisma and his sophisticated understanding of public relations.  Clinton was fortunate in many respects.  James Carville, George Stephanapoulos and his formidable wife, Hillary Clinton, brilliantly spearheaded his first campaign.  His twin victories had literally nothing whatsoever to do with his political positioning and everything to do with his personal political aptitude. 

Since the Clinton Era, the DLC have moved firmly to the right.  The DLC openly advocates:  a hardline unilateralist foreign policy; frequent military interventions in the place of diplomacy; corporate globalization instead of debt relief to aid the third world and spiralling military budgets as the only valid means of strengthening America’s security from the threat of international terrorism.  It should not be surprising that the DLC is the strongest critic of the United Nations outside of the confines of the extremist right wing of the Republican Party.  Inspired by the truly dreadful legacy of the hawkish Senator “Scoop” Jackson who was nothing more than a glove-puppet for the defense industry and the military-industrial complex that controlled his home state of Washington in combination with that embarrassing hold-over from the McCarthy Era, the Committee on the Present Danger, the DLC is the proponent, author and open source for the very serious and concerted neoconservative infiltration of the Democratic Party.

The late Senator Henry “Scoop”
Jackson is the founding father of
neoconservativism and the
principal inspiration for the now largely
discredited political strategies of
the Democratic Leadership Council.

During the supremacy of the DLC which peaked in 2000 and 2002, they urged the facile compliance with the radical policies of the Bush-Cheney administration such as their unilateralist foreign policy and Rumsfeld’s massive arms build-up replete with record breaking deficits caused by deep tax cuts for the richest Americans.  The DLC have generally supported the Bush-Cheney administration on some of their most outrageous policies:  the Patriot Act; the War in Iraq and their ongoing attempts to roll back women’s rights to abortion.  In addition, far too many DLC-Democrats have acquiesced to the radical Republican appeals for the dismantling of social security, medicare and medicaid.   

The DLC and its members have eagerly opened their doors to those purported Democrats who oppose Roe versus Wade and object to the policies of NARAL Pro-Choice America.  The DLC have built a cosy home for those Democrats who believe that America should launch wars of aggression in order to establish our vision of democracy in other regions.  The DLC is a safe haven for those Democrats who support the open-ended US military occupation of Iraq.  The DLC is the place to find Democrats who would countenance the fundamental overhauling of the social welfare system founded by FDR and Harry Truman.  With positions like these, no distinct message can be crafted to differentiate Democrats from Republicans.  Harry Truman’s truism quoted above has been proven true over the past five years. 

Unquestionably, the most explosive issue facing the DNC in Phoenix is the war in Iraq.  Recently, the Senate passed a vote of “No-Confidence” in the Bush-Cheney administration’s war policy.  The motion passed with 41 Republicans and 38 Democrats voting in “Aye,” and 19 voting, “Nay.”  It makes you wonder who on our side of the aisle voted in support of the Bush-Cheney war, and the answers reveal a startling dimension to this crucial vote. 

Robert Byrd, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy and Kent Conrad all voted against the compromise amendment that has been labelled as a “No Confidence” vote against the Bush-Cheney administration.  John Kerry, Patrick Leahy and Ted Kennedy have advocated much more progressive formulas for ending the war than that contained in the language of the so-called “No Confidence” vote, which was actually an amendment to a military appropriations bill.  While Robert Byrd and Kent Conrad have voted with the DLC on certain cultural issues, they have both boldly opposed the war in Iraq.  Byrd has made the most eloquent speeches against the war in Iraq of any US Senator, and Conrad voted against the original bill authorizing the war.  What we have here is palpable progressive pressure at the vanguard of the Party that is urging a more confrontational approach with the Bush-Cheney White House over Iraq than proposed by the current leadership provided by Senator Harry Reid.  This is a very healthy position for the Party, and it is growing healthier with every passing day. 

A Democratic supporter for the war, John Murtha, recently called for an end to the US occupation.  Murtha’s about-face on the war hit Washington like a thunderbolt.  He unleashed a flood of energy that blasted the Bush-Cheney White House with magnum force.  The “No Confidence” vote took place on the 15^th of November, and there is now momentum for sustained pressure on the full spectrum of Bush-Cheney legislation. 

With the mood of the Party shifting away from the DLC position that favoured an open-ended US military occupation of Iraq, there is now an across-the-board hardening into a generalized progressive opposition to the Bush-Cheney White House across the board. 

Next week, the meeting in Phoenix will be crucial.  Not only because of the issues at stake, but also because of the location.  Arizona is a red state, but it harbours an explosive political dynamism that is bursting to break into the blue. 

For starters, Arizona is bedevilled by some of the worst Republicans in America.  Clearly one of the worst is Congressman Rick Renzi, a member of the House Intelligence Committee.   

While the White House is under investigation for its mishandling of pre-war intelligence and the CIA-leak which is focussing on the role of Karl Rove who has confirmed that he discussed Valerie Plame’s identity with Matthew Cooper of Time Magazine, Rove organized a campaign fundraiser for Rick Renzi at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale that produced $100,000 in political contributions.  This untimely fundraiser appears to be tantamount to a hefty political bribe, because this close alliance between Renzi, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Rove, a target of the Special Prosecutor’s probe into the CIA-leak, is totally inappropriate at the very least, and it might be construed as an attempt to obstruct justice in this crucial case.   

It gets worse.  Rick Renzi is an extremist neoconservative who is rated 0% by NARAL.  Renzi only has a 17% rating on education.  Renzi gets a solid “A” rating from the NRA, while he is an implacable opponent of organized labor.  Monitors of Renzi’s voting record classify him as one of the worst members of Congress on the environment and social security, while he is a staunch supporter of increasingly higher levels of military spending and ballooning deficits.

After charges of military appropriations
scandals hit his campaign, Rick Renzi (right)
received a vote of confidence from his
Commander-in-Chief

Rick Renzi’s father is Major General Eugene Renzi.  A retired two star general, Renzi, Sr. is the President of ManTech Telecommunications and Information Systems Corporation, a company with hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with the Department of Defense.  ManTech is involved in a project to expand the military base at Fort Huachuca, Arizona that would destroy the San Pedro River.  These contracts are worth well over one billion dollars in income to ManTech.  

In 2003, Rick Renzi sponsored a controversial amendment to a military appropriations bill that appeared to be a conflict of interest since it favoured his father’s company who would benefit from construction at the sprawling military base with its 8,000 personnel.  Renzi’s amendment permitted the suspension of environmental regulations at Fort Huachuca making it unique among military installations in America.  A member of the Congressional Accountability Project sharply criticized Renzi for damaging his credibility with other members of congress.  Some believe that Renzi’s father is poised to gain millions in income because of his son’s amendment to the appropriations bill.  This is the sort of outrageous quid pro quo arrangement common in Republican politics that has led to the scandals now engulfing Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff.  

Ex-Major General Renzi stands
to gain millions from his son,
Congressman Rick Renzi’s
amendments to military
appropriations bills.

And worse.  Nathan Sproul is a former Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party.  While it might seem mindboggling, Nathan Sproul is leading the Republican campaign to cripple the Arizona Clean Elections law.

Wealthy Republican political operative,
Nathan Sproul proudly displays boxes
of signed petitions he engineered to
repeal Arizona’s Clean Elections system.

Worse.  Until 1999, Sproul was a prominent and leading member of the Christian Coalition.   A professional political operative, Sproul became the center of a national scandal last year when he was exposed as the architect of a voter registration scam that extended from Oregon to Nevada, Arizona, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Sproul received $8 million from the Republican National Committee to set up fake voter registration projects.  Newly registered voters were asked for whom they intended to cast their votes in last year’s presidential election.  If they answered, “George Bush,” their documents were sent straight to the state registrar, but if they answered, “John Kerry,” their documents were trashed.  Sproul’s operation disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of new voters from coast to coast.  Here is the mystery.  Even though he is charged with a federal crime, the case against Nathan Sproul has never resulted in a prosecution.  Sproul was last seen in public rubbing shoulders with high-ranking officials in the Bush-Cheney White House while attending the pre-inauguration parties in Washington. 

A moderately conservative Democrat, Janet Napolitano, is the governor of Arizona.  While she is generally admired, Governor Napolitano is facing potentially stiff opposition in her re-election campaign next year. Marilyn Quayle, the wife of Dan Quayle, is frequently mentioned as a potential opponent to Governor Napolitano.  Richard Carmona, the charismatic Surgeon General of the United States, is another potential opponent of Governor Napolitano.  Based on polling results, Nathan Sproul has boldly predicted that either of them could wage successful campaigns against Governor Napolitano.

Governor Janet Napolitano will be running for re-election
in 2006. 

Janet Napolitano is frequently described as a DLC Democrat.  While she supports abortion rights, she is opposed to gun control and favours the death penalty.  With the DNC meeting in Phoenix, the challenge of moving the Party’s centre to a more progressive and potentially much stronger and more popular position is a challenge that is sitting in the middle of Governor Janet Napolitano’s desk at this very moment.  To maintain her office and to build a more viable Democratic Party in her state, she must lead boldly.  She must lead her state toward more progressive policies in order to defeat the Republicans and their neoconservative message.  In the latest polls, support for Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq in Arizona is well below 50% and trending lower.  If Governor Napolitano were to adopt the DLC position in support of Bush’s handling of the war, she would seriously endanger her chances for re-election next year.   Governor Napolitano is merely one of many Democrats who will have to cope with the political realignment that is now taking across America as it shifts away from all things neoconservative and moves decisively toward a more progressive political center. 

For Democrats, all eyes are on Phoenix.  We hope that we shall soon see a progressive Phoenix rising from the flames in the form of a reinvigorated Democratic opposition to the concatenation of atrocities, crimes and misdemeanours streaming out of the Bush-Cheney White House. 

Sources 

Progressive Internationalism: A Democratic National Security Strategy
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=450004&subid=900020&contentid=252144 

Intelligence Committee Member Renzi: Rove Held $100,000 Lunch For Renzi.
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/08/stonewall_day_4.php 

Rick Renzi on the issues
http://www.issues2000.org/House/Rick_Renzi.htm 

Rick Renzi's hoping people buy his line that an amendment he's sponsoring has nothing to do with his father's defense business
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2003-09-18/news/news2.html 

NAPOLITANO on the issues
http://www.issues2000.org/Janet_Napolitano.htm 

The smoking gun on voter registration fraud: Nathan Sproul
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/13/32821/029 

Team Bush Paid Millions to Nathan Sproul—and Tried to Hide It
http://baltimorechronicle.com/070505Miller-Irmus.shtml 

(Sproul files petition opposing Clean Elections law in Arizona)
http://www.azcapitoltimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&subsectionID=2&articleID=1036 

Nathan Sproul is Back
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/18/31930/638 

Who will face Napolitano?
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special12/articles/0422governor-analysis22.html