I was not (and am not and will never be) a Deaniac. Regardless of the righteousness of his cause, he's always come across as too much of an egomaniac for my personal taste. Still, the Guv's words sound pretty seductive:
I'm not one for making predictions -- but if we accept that philosophy this time around, another Democrat will be standing here in four years giving this same speech. we cannot win by being "Republican-lite." We've tried it; it doesn't work.
The question is not whether we move left or right. It's not about our direction. What we need to start focusing on... is the destination.
...That destination is a better, stronger, smarter, safer, healthier America.
An America where we don't turn our back on our own people.
That's the America we can only build with conviction.
When some people say we should change direction, in essence they are arguing that our basic or guiding principles can be altered or modified.
They can't.
On issue after issue, we are where the majority of the American people are.
What I want to know is at what point did it become a radical notion to stand up for what we believe? ...
Howard, it became radical about the same time that the media secured its marching orders and initiated an infatuation with (and annoited) John Kerry. I've come to believe that Kerry, even with all my respect for him, represents the past of the Democratic Party. Governor Dean, Dennis Kucinich, Barak Obama, Harold Ford, and John Edwards represent the future of the party.
There is a progressive future for America. I have to believe that there is hope for the political future of the country -- if we can only make it that far.
