"Note that almost all of the policy proposals that excite the American public are exactly the sort of old-fashioned, 'paleoliberal' spending programs or systems of government regulation that are supposed to be obsolete in this era of privatization, deregulation and free-market globalization, according to neoliberals and libertarians. Bill Clinton to the contrary, the public clearly does not think that 'the era of big government is over.' Nor does the public show any interest in the laundry lists of teeny-weeny tax credits for this and that that neoliberals love to propose, to appear compassionate without spending real money. The public wants the middle-class welfare state to be rounded out by a few major additions--chiefly, healthcare and childcare--and the public also wants the government to grow the economy by investing in public works and favoring companies that locate their production facilities inside the U.S. There, in a sentence, is a program for a neo-Rooseveltian party that could effect an epochal realignment in American politics."
Michael Lind in Salon offers a way forward for an emerging Democratic majority.
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Michael Lind's advice for Democrats is sound. It makes sense for Democrats to focus on being the party of working families and put the exotic social issues on the back burner. We need a party that will fight to protect American jobs and restore a broad-based prosperity.
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