Core beliefs of the Democrats?
You may know about my slight obsession with US politics, which has been just a bit in abeyance recently for the UK political season. Am very tempted to put my CV in the post to the junior senator for New York state, just in case she needs any extra help over the next couple of years, so was heartened to see this earlier, with 53% of the US public very or somewhat likely to vote for her were she to run in 2008.
At the same time, the Dem bloggers and blog-readers (what’s the noun for a reader of and commenter on blogs, btw?) are having another argument about their positioning and lack of uniting ideology, played out in great fashion here, here and here, at the Daily Kos. Seems to have disintegrated into an argument about whether the Dems should be hardline on abortion or not, though.
So, I went to look for the statement of belief of the Democratic Party, and found this (PDF):
“We, the Democrats of the United States of America, united in common purpose, hereby rededicate ourselves to the principles which have historically sustained our Party. Recognizing that the vitality of the Nation’s political institutions has been the foundation of its enduring strength, we acknowledge that a political party which wishes to lead must listen to those it would lead, a party which asks for the people’s trust must prove that it trusts the people and a party which hopes to call forth the best the Nation can achieve must embody the best of the Nation’s heritage and traditions. What we seek for our Nation, we hope for all people: individual freedom in the framework of a just society, political freedom in the framework of meaningful participation by all citizens. Bound by the United States Constitution, aware that a party must be responsive to be worthy of responsibility, we pledge ourselves to open, honest endeavor and to the conduct of public affairs in a manner worthy of a society of free people.”
Horrible and meaningless, isn’t it? No wonder the Dems are having trouble coming back, if they’ve never set down what they believe in, but instead just adopt a platform every four years prior to the presidential elections (and rereading it, last year’s seems a little banal, too, though at the time the obvious political compromises were clearly justified).
Thank goodness for Clause IV then - at least it’s there, on the back of our membership cards, reasonably succint and clear, something most of the party can unite around, even if it’s not exactly prose to set the world alight. Mind you, those pesky Fabians were discussing changing it again last autumn. Cos that’s a can of worms we need to open.
Check this out:
http://www.mesacountydems.com/platformcore_beliefs.htm
okay so it isn’t the national democratic party but its specific. We don’t have party membership cards here in the US. What’s written on the back of yours?
Thanks for the comment, Kimberley. How did you come across this blog?
Clause 4 of the Labour party’s constitution is on the back of our membership cards:
‘The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few. Where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe. And where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect.’
I thought that the page you linked to was interesting, and it gave a position on the important issues - to the extent that it became a shopping list. But my question is this - what are the core beliefs and values of the Democrats? I know what you think on the issues of today, but I have no tools to work out from your values how you might react to future challenges. Where set down are your values, as opposed to your policy priorities? What value unites your support for abortion rights with your advocacy of fair taxation and trade union rights?