Left needs improvement before victory
Democrats attack Ashcroft’s religion, hindering the success of a once worthy party

The past few weeks have served as a terrible reminder of just how politically incompetent the left has become.
The John Ashcroft confirmation hearings have highlighted this.

Here is a man with a terrible Civil Rights record (he fought against school desegregation in St. Louis as Missouri’s attorney general) and is so far to the right that he is, on most issues, out of touch with the mainstream. The left shouldn’t have any trouble blocking his nomination. But then they go off and attack his deep religious beliefs.

Not smart.

The left should know by now that attacking religion doesn’t work. Not in a country as religious as the United States. Not only is it wrong, but it’s not smart politically. It makes people believe the left is anti-religious and thus anti-moral. Now people who ordinarily wouldn’t support a wacko like Ashcroft are defending him because they think they are defending Christianity.

Republicans, for their part, have done a masterful job of making it seem as though this is all about Ashcroft’s religion. Ashcroft will probably be confirmed now, and it is because, once again, the left has dropped the ball.

Liberals are not even directing the argument to those they would actually have a good chance of swaying. As attorney general, Ashcroft will have a lot of say in who President George W. Bush (it still gives me shudders when I say that) nominates to the courts. Ashcroft is likely to recommend staunch social conservatives like himself. Most people are socially liberal, and the left could have made a strong argument against Ashcroft that the public might have bought.

The left has been in decline for about 30 years and it is due to blunders, scandals and a lack of leadership. Where as the right had Ronald Reagan, the best the left ever came up with was Jimmy Carter. From the 1970s up until 1992, the Democrats lined up moron after moron as their presidential nominee.

First there was George McGovern, who chose as a running mate a man who had undergone electroshock therapy. Then there was Carter, who only got elected because the country was mad at Gerald Ford, who had pardoned Richard Nixon.

Then the democrats lined up Walter Mondale, who ran on a platform of higher taxes. Then came Michael Dukakis, who supported all kinds of wacky stuff like converting to the metric system. As we all know, Mondale and Dukakis got their butts kicked.

By the time Bill Clinton came along, liberalism was looked down upon and considered outdated. Clinton, being the slick politician he is, jumped in on the liberal bashing. For most of his presidency, Clinton has treated his liberal base as red-headed stepchildren, hacking lefties off by signing welfare reform, supporting free trade and expanding the death penalty.

Liberals have done a terrible job of selling their ideas to the public. It hasn’t been able to compete with the rhetoric the right has come up with.

“Were gonna get the government off our backs” and “We’re gonna cut taxes to give you your money back” beats the heck out of “Republicans are racist” and “Uhh, did I mention Republicans are racist.”

The left sorely needs a spokesman who can lead them, much like Reagan did for the right. Ralph Nader could have been that man, but then he lied and said crazy things like there is no difference between the Republicans and Democrats and that the Democratic Leadership Council was right-wing. His refusal to drop out of the presidential race probably cost Al Gore the election. Now Democrats hate Nader almost as much as they hate Bush and aren’t likely to listen to him anytime soon.

The left is going to have to change its approach if it wants to get its agenda passed anytime soon. Here are some recommendations:
Stop avoiding the liberal label like it is the black plague. Be proud of it. Remind people it was the left who gave the country labor laws, who dug us out of the Great Depression, who supported the Civil Rights Movement and has fought to end poverty. These were worthy causes that the right by and large opposed. Don’t let the right get away with calling you immoral either. Standing up for the poor and trying to seek racial equality is not immoral by any means.

For crying out loud, stop lying. Quit branding every Republican a racist. Not all of them are. And don’t nominate people who claim to have invented the Internet. Especially rather robotic people who claim to have invented the Internet.

You are going to have to change your stance on some issues or at least tone it down a bit. The war on drugs is a classic example. Although it is true the war on drugs has been an expensive failure, legalizing drugs and just giving up isn’t the answer either.

esides, by fighting for the legalization of drugs, you’re only reinforcing the stereotype that liberals are purple-haired, pot smoking hippies fighting for free love and another joint.

It’s time to kiss and make up with the Democratic Party. The little fling with the Greens just isn’t going to last. Liberals need the Democrats to be successful and vice versa. The Democrats may claim to have found a new love (the center) but deep down inside they still have a soft spot for good ‘ol fashioned liberalism.

And one last thing. Please, no more sex scandals.

Brandon Ortiz is a freshman news-editorial journalism major from Fort Worth.
He can be reached at (b.p.ortiz@student.tcu.edu).

Editorial policy: The content of the Opinion page does not necessarily represent the views of Texas Christian University. Unsigned editorials represent the view of the TCU Daily Skiff editorial board. Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent the opinion of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board.

Letters to the editor: The Skiff welcomes letters to the editor for publication. Letters must be typed, double-spaced, signed and limited to 250 words. To submit a letter, bring it to the Skiff, Moudy 291S; mail it to TCU Box 298050; e-mail it to skiffletters@tcu.edu or fax it to 257-7133. Letters must include the author’s classification, major and phone number. The Skiff reserves the right to edit or reject letters for style, taste and size restrictions.