Coming from a big, highly diverse and frequently fractious party, Democrats in recent years often have been defined more by causes than ideology, and more by what they stand against than by what they stand for.
That might be changing.
Cognizant of how close the presidential race may be and convinced of an opportunity to defeat President Bush in November, Democrats arrived at their national convention here last week already claiming atypically strong party unity organized around a common theme: Beat Bush.
But, equally atypical and perhaps even more important, many left Boston expressing a sharper sense of clarity about what it means to be a Democrat. They also possessed a firm conviction that the newly minted Democratic ticket of Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards will carry that message persuasively as the candidates campaign across the country during the next two weeks on their “Believe in America” tour.
The tour made stops Sunday in Michigan and Ohio, where Kerry called for stronger actions to prevent steel imports from taking American jobs.
Robert Reich, a professor of social and economic policy at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and a former secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, is among those convinced that the Democrats are on the right track.
“I’m a lot more confident that the Democrats are united and that the issues have been squared. Their identity is far clearer: Democrats stand behind average working people, and Republicans are the party of fat cats and the big corporations. George W. Bush has helped make that contrast very vivid. But now Democrats are making it even more vivid,” said Reich.
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He acknowledges that this assessment of the party contrasts sharply with the views he expressed in an opinion piece in The New York Times last January. Then, he wrote, “Democrats have little or no clear identity except by reference to what conservatives say about them.”
As for his change of heart, he pointed to the speech Kerry gave as he accepted the nomination.
“Certainly John Kerry’s speech . . . drew some clear lines in the sand. He outlined with more clarity than I have heard in years what Democrats stand for in terms of how to get better jobs, health care and how to fight terrorism and regain our credibility among our allies,” he said.
“It was a sharper differentiation than we’ve heard in years, and it wasn’t just that we stand for the opposite of what Republicans stand for, but it was a much clearer vision,” Reich added.
As Republicans move in to attack, which Bush did within hours of Kerry’s acceptance speech, Democrats recognize the danger of being knocked off their message.
However, at a convention more determinedly upbeat in tone and disciplined in content than most Democrats could remember, it was clear that the party already was fighting to prevent any deviation from a carefully crafted script.
Clear idea of tenets
A delegate from Milford, Mich., Jack Schneider, 73, said he appreciated the party’s improved articulation of its tenets. Schneider, who has been teaching English in high school for 45 years, said he was encouraged because Democrats finally have figured out how to “verbalize the values issue.”
“Protecting values means protecting jobs and wages,” he said, adding that Kerry’s message declares that Democrats stand for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness . . . a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.”
Dr. Charles Winkelman, a physician from Philadelphia, said the Democrats stand for “more of the goodies for more of the people.” Winkelman cast his first vote for Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 but has voted for Democrats ever since.
That idea of opportunity for all Americans is part of the campaign’s double-barreled theme of an America that is stronger at home and more respected abroad. It focuses on the idea of uniting a nation that is highly polarized, of bridging the gap between working families and the wealthy and of narrowing the rifts among America and many in the international community.
“As far as I am concerned, the message has jelled, and all we have to do is deliver it, ” said former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, 71, who lost her bid for re-election to George W. Bush in 1994.
Many delegates emphasized that they are going to help deliver that message. They particularly are eager to target the dwindling number of undecided voters, as well as moderate Republicans, who might be anxious about Iraq.
“I’m ready to go home and start working,” said Leigh Anne Dorris, 34, , who described herself as a stay-at-home mom from LeRoy, Ill.
“I’ve got a plan. I’m going door to door on Sunday. I’m ready for this country to have regime change,” she said last week.
Alabama delegate Carolyn Davis, 60, said a clear message from the convention was that Democrats stand up for the common person. “I believe Democrats look out for the people. Not the black people. Not the white people. I think Democrats look out for the people, period.”
A funeral director in Birmingham, Davis, an African-American, said, “Folks are going to die and I’m always going to have a job. But what about the folks who don’t have that, who depend on the government to support them [if they’re laid off]?
“Kerry doesn’t know me from Madam Housecat, but I’m out there trying to get people to vote for him,” said Davis.
Many at the convention said they were happy that Kerry clearly spelled out what the Democratic Party is offering the American people in this election. Particularly, they said they liked Kerry’s aggressive assertion that Democrats are ready to protect America and would not shy from using military action if needed.
Military action if necessary
Michael Reinhardt, a lawyer from Acton, Mass., said the party succeeded in getting across a message that is strong on defense and vigilant in the war against terrorism.
“I think they have to take the offensive. Too often they lay back, let the Republicans attack and they have to respond,” he said.
“Democrats seem to be much more willing to have the courage of their convictions, and again I think that’s in part because Republicans have revealed so clearly what the choices are on their side,” said Reich, while noting that Kerry had been careful to criticize but not demonize Bush.
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“Labels such as `Democrat,’ `Republican,’ `liberal’ or `conservative’ mean less and less. The real question is: Who is responding to the needs of working families on these core issues?”