The reason that the Democrats have become experts at losing the Presidency is that the Republicans have become experts at the dirty win. Or so the mythology goes. This idea gained traction with the smear campaign run against Michael Dukakis in 1988, when the patrician George Bush played the part of Pontius Pilate, washing his hands while Willie Horton’s face was plastered all over the TV. Since then we have seen Swift boating and Democratic candidates faces split-screened with Osama bin Laden. This year sets a low water mark in dirty campaigning, with John McCain claiming that Barack Obama wants to teach sex education to kindergartners and that he is pals with ‘terrorist’ William Ayers, the former member of the Weathermen, and now professor at the University of Illinois. Even with Obama’s good poll numbers right now, McCain’s nasty accusations has some Democrats worried once again. Personally, I think there’s too much mythology and not enough realism at work here. Democrats have lost every election since 1980, with the exception of Bill Clinton, for several reasons:
· The Democratic majority was chipped away when the racist South turned Republican in the Nixon era.
· The union movement, which was solidly Democratic, collapsed.
· Blue collar voters, with the arrival of prosperity, stopped voting their pocket books and started voting their social resentments against war protesters, minorities, gays, and the elite class.
· Widespread disillusion with politicians after Watergate drove voters away, allowing splinter groups like the religious right to seize power in a climate of apathy.
· The rise of character assassination and fake scandals promoted by the right wing drove away good potential candidates who refused to fight in the mud.
· An aging population moved right, as happens in almost any aging society.
· Pressure from immigration, terrorism, and crime triggered an angry defensive reaction. This aided the right-wing’s opposition to social progress. Falling back on patriotism and xenophobia is commonly seen under these circumstances.
· The Republicans forged a new coalition of Southerners, social and religious conservatives, and the mountain and plains states, taking advantage of the electoral college (which can give a candidate the Presidency while he loses the popular vote).
If you add these factors up, it’s clear that dirty campaigning is only one ingredient among many factors in the Republican victories. Barack Obama’s task isn’t to win nobly instead of losing nobly, it’s to counter the factors I’ve listed. He needs a perfect storm against the demographic gains the Republicans have built in the last few decades. With the recent financial meltdown and the insecurity it is engendering across the country, it is likely that Obama now has that perfect storm. The voters’ focus on leadership that can address these economic issues should be enough to wash away the narrow majorities that Lee Atwater and Karl Rove were able to carve out of the middle class electorate.
The McCain campaign understands that the ground has shifted under their feet, and that negative ads will likely work only if the election is already pretty close, but given the limitations of their candidate, smear tactics is all they have. As Sarah Palin and McCain whip their crowds into frenzies of anger and hatred toward Obama, letting shouts of “terrorist!” and “kill him!” go unchecked, they may find that the shouts of this poisonous pocket of their constituency will be their enduring legacy. Going dirty without the underlying basis to win means going down in history as a dirty loser.
Visit www.intent.com to read more from Deepak Chopra and other prominent voices.
Beliefnet
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posted October 10, 2008 at 8:24 pm
The perfect storm has altered the course of this campaign, US citizens are waking up from a despondent resignation.
The sting of cold water splashing our faces has woken us up abruptly; the thunder only we can hear as our hearts are broken, the searing pain of lightning ripping apart our life savings, the flooding of fear trying to drown out what we already know. This is what we needed to shake us out of noble loserhood. Our newly re-awakened consciousness did not heed a gentle rain shower of these realisms you speak of Deepak…
We can see so plainly the result of this “poisonous pocket” of intolerant Republicans; the inablity ride it out with dignity, catch a glimpse of the eye and wash away some of the filth. McCain/Palin aptly named dirty losers.
Ahhh, the tide of change. Most of us appreciate the power of a perfect storm.
Pamela
PS. Are we so sure of our nobility in loss had the perfect storm not occured? Are we done with the cold splash in our faces? Lets ride it out together.
posted October 13, 2008 at 8:55 am
Mr. Chopra,
I really enjoy reading your blogs a lot. I wanted to comment about this over the weekend, but for some reason the blog pages aren’t working correctly at my home PC.
I observe that the Democrats and Republicans have switched places on the political spectrum. The Democrats used to be the party that championed racist ideologies. They were the party that opposed the release of slaves, and they were the ones who committed some of the most horrible acts against the Native Americans. I do doubt, however, that the party that committed such acts would’ve been recognizable to party founders, and in a way I would see that today’s Democrats, while more aligned with the original founders, still has rendered itself unrecognizable. I also know for a fact that today’s GOP would be alien to the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.
I do find that the GOP tends to play very dirty with their accusations. It is perfectly fine for them to repeat that Obama and Ayers are bedfellows all the while stating it’s inappropriate for us to question McCain’s association with the S&L scandals of the 80′s or Palin’s abuse of power in Alaska. People want to bring out the associations that Obama had when he was first out of college, but we are the ones being considered out of line when we question McCain about his own incorrect assertions about our economy that he made not even six months ago. We are told how inappropriate it is to question Palin’s decision to veto more funding for the education of children with disabilities in Alaska, even when she has a child with a disability herself. Then the GOP parades around the Lewinski Scandal and even Ted Kennedy’s incident in the late 60′s.
I sincerely hope that the American people really are waking up to the tactics that are being used, to the fearmongering on the part of our GOP. I know that in some ways the parties are not that different, as both have had their share of ethical issues and both are in bed with lobbyists. Still, we can at least question the Democrats without the country’s terror alert level being raised.
posted October 15, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Serious things are happening in this election
Rev. Rights hatred is real
Ayers killed people
These are Obama’s friends
One can’t just deny their whole life or rewrite it
Look at the Bible codes on Obama, McCain , Palin
Also learn how to Aquire connect to Divine conciousness at:
http://godssecret.wordpress.com/category/bible-codes/
Choose wisely
Peace
posted November 3, 2008 at 4:17 pm
http://shastras.org/PressRelease32.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Person: Vikram Masson
(201) 674-2065
navyashastra@shastras.org
Navya Shastra Urges California Voters to Reject Proposition 8
Troy, Michigan—October 31, 2008—Navya Shastra, the international Hindu reform organization, urges California voters to reject Proposition 8, which would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry under state law.
The organization notes that Hinduism has never classified homosexuality as a sin against God. While some ancient law codes have spoken out against homosexual acts, the tradition has never called for the persecution of homosexuals. In fact, there is ample evidence that alternative lifestyles have been accepted throughout Hindu history. Several modern Hindu leaders have also spoken positively of gay rights, though disappointingly, a significant percentage of American Hindus remain uncomfortable with homosexuality. “According to the Hindu contemplative tradition, we are all manifestations of the one universal spirit, straight or gay, and worthy of the same respect and rights” said Jaishree Gopal, Navya Shastra Chairman, “we urge American Hindus in California to remember this central insight of their faith when they vote on November 4,” she added.
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