Why YOU Should Care About Minnesota Politics - Part 2

Why has the Democratic Party lost the American working class? While this question was prominent during the 2004 election cycle, it remains important. Without a concrete answer, and without a concrete plan, the Democrats hold little hope of returning to power in 2006. Well, I humbly propose that my little state could provide an answer.

Both Democrats and Republicans have identified with values. The problem nowadays is that the Republican party has done such an effective job in framing its policies as values issues that the Democrats have essentially fled from any values characterizations at all. They’ve retreated so far that they actively scorn values voters. They say they've been duped by conniving Republicans; they stereotype the socially conservative working class as obese "Bubbas" who get their politics from the pulpit of their evangelical Protestant church. In fact, people vote Republican because President Bush and others have convinced them that their economic policies (the free market, tax cuts, less corporate oversight) reflect their values.

How can Democrats win back these voters? By returning to the field of values. Democrats have always been the party of social justice, of protecting the weak from the strong, the minority from the majority. All of these are clear values concepts. Imagine a values-driven Democratic attack on Republican policy; they could say that it rewards the greedy, rich minority while harming the hardworking blue-collar majority. Make working-class Americans realize that Democratic economics are in line with their values, and they'll forgive you for your support of Roe v. Wade.

So where does Minnesota politics come into this? Well, to engage in a little old fashioned populism, the east- and west-coast elites and the Democratic Party leadership are out of touch. John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer; they've been out of the values debate for so long that any re-entry now seems disingenuous. Minnesota politics, however, have always revolved around what was best for the people. Hard work, compassion, honesty--these values, translated into policy, are what once gave Minnesota the best education system, the best labor conditions and the best standard of living in the country. Minnesotans like Matt Entenza, Amy Klobuchar and especially the late Paul Wellstone embody these ideals.

The Democratic Party has made some abortive attempts to return to the values arena. Harry Reid is pro-life; Tim Kaine is a religious Catholic. But what the Democrats need to realize is that it isn't the specific stance on "values issues" that matters, it’s the conviction that lies behind any issue. Minnesotans have that conviction.