FDL Book Salon Welcomes Glenn Hurowitz

(Please welcome Glenn Hurowitz, author of Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party in the comments. As always with Book Salons, please confine the discussion to the book and to our conversation with the author.– jh)

What makes Paul Wellstone a strong leader and Bill Clinton a "weasel?"

By contemporary standards of success, one would imagine that leading the free world may give you a leg up on the most popular Poli Sci professor at Carleton College. But what if the contemporary standards dictate an endless search for the political center, attempting to accommodate those who cannot be accommodated and the sacrifice of personal beliefs for the sake of collegiality?

Enter Glenn Hurowitz. In his new book, "Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party," Hurowitz examines the politics of fear, courage in leadership and, my personal favorite, wimp love in the Democratic Party. Through profiles of three heroes (Paul Wellstone, Moveon.org and Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats of 2006) and two "spineless weasels" (Bill Clinton and Tom Daschle, of course), Hurowitz shows that political survival for Democrats doesn’t have to be prefaced by a policy of continuously shifting to the right. Rather, showing leadership and conviction even with less popular positions will ingratiate elected officials to voters far more than the Politics of Fear.

Since the birth of the DLC Democrats have rooted their electability and ultimately their political survival on a centrist, corporate-friendly agenda that identified its greatest strength as reaching across the aisle, rather than banding together on their own side of it. Systematically moving to the right has become a mainstay in Democratic Politics. For this kind of Democrat, the Politics of Fear is not only Rudy Guiliani’s endless chorus of 9/11 references , it is also fear of your own convictions and of an agenda that stands for something-anything-that public opinion polls tell you people are against.

But it is the shift to the right that has made liberals feel like men without country. In all the attempts to placate the middle, the left and all of our phonebankers, and doorknockers and small dollar contributors have been largely cast aside. Democratic leaders’ lack of conviction leads to a lack of enthusiasm on the left.

Hurowitz has eloquently articulated what most of us liberals have felt for a long time-courage works.

"…courage can produce political success for Democrats and progressives the world over. Despite the lack of any systematic effort at making a political (rather than policy) argument for a progressive agenda, courage in the Democratic Party is on the rise. It’s ascendant because of grassroots and netroots Democrats are using their increasing leverage to persuade and force Democrats to show more backbone."

Hurowitz asserts that the DLC model is predicated on fiction. By analyzing data from the National Election Survey, Hurowitz shows that the greatest factor for voters in an election is not the issues. Issue opinions only account for 6% of an elections outcome! All of that "pandering to the middle" for 6%? In contrast, a candidate’s party affiliation accounts for 38 percent, personal qualities 16 percent and existing economic conditions 15 percent. From the book:

"Right now Democratic campaigns focus their surveys on figuring out what issues people care about-that’s certainly interesting and helpful data, but no where near as interesting as finding out what factors, whether issues or something else, most influence their vote-and focusing their appeals on convincing voters that a candidate has what they’re looking for. It means a candidate can take quite unpopular positions without suffering major negative political consequences. So long as they do it with sincerity, integrity, and passion, they’re unlikely to lose many votes because of it."

Late Senator Paul Wellstone best exemplifies this notion during his tenure as perhaps Minnesota’s most popular elected official. Hurowitz chronicles Wellstone’s rocky start in the Senate that lead to a leadership style that cultivated a strong support network in Minnesota and throughout the country based on the fact that while Wellstone may not have taken the most popular positions, he did what he believed was right. Contrast that with Bill Clinton and Tom Daschle. By fearing confrontation, both Clinton and Daschle capitulated too early and too often to forge a strong support system of elected officials and party faithful. Clinton experienced his highest approval ratings when confronting the Republicans and yet he believed that to ensure electoral success he needed to avoid major fights on core progressive issues like gays in the military, healthcare and protecting the environment.

One of the most interesting anecdotes in the book comes from Hurowitz’s observations regarding the "Wimp Love Myth." Following the advice of James Carville, Paul Begala and 15 or so folks in a Dayton, Ohio focus group, the Democratic Party embarked on an all positive, all the time 2004 Convention strategy because people don’t like negative campaigning. While Georgia "Democrat" Zell Miller and the Bush Family Dynasty threw everything but the kitchen sink at John Kerry, Democrats sang Kum Ba Yah to garner a measly 2 percent bump in the post-convention poll. As Hurowitz notes,

"the Kerry campaign operatives apparently didn’t know that no one likes negative campaigning, but is sure is a great way to persuade people not to vote for the other guy."

The idea that candidates and advocates needed to maintain "upbeat and hopeful messages" is poppycock. Contrary to some elected officials’ popular belief, voters don’t like wimps, we long for leaders.

This isn’t another book about all the ways the Democratic Party has failed liberals. It’s not about starting a conversation; it is a blueprint for changing the conversation. Moveon.org filled a void for progressives who wanted to see some semblance of leadership in our leaders. Nancy Pelosi ushered in a new wave of politicians who were elected not by running on a platform of conciliation but on progressive agenda. The book begs the question, what matters more to voters, what a candidate stands for or the mere fact that the candidate makes a stand? Enough of the polls leading our elected officials-let the principles of those elected to lead us, lead the polls.

"Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party" makes a compelling case for a progressive agenda based on principles, not polling data. With that, I welcome Glenn Hurowitz and your questions and comments.

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2. FDL Book Salon Welcomes Eric Boehlert, Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press
3. FDL Book Salon Welcomes Matthew Kerbel, Netroots: Online Progressives and the Transformation of American Politics
4. FDL Book Salon Welcomes Paul Starobin, After America: Narratives for the Next Global Age
5. FDL Book Salon Welcomes David Swanson, Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union