The New York Times
The seemingly interminable Clinton scandals are not the Democrats' biggest problem, and merely distancing themselves from Bill Clinton (or Hillary Rodham Clinton) won't restore the party's soul.
The Democratic establishment in Washington is no longer connected to the grass roots. The national party is nothing but a fund-raising machine. Terry McAuliffe, head of the Democratic National Committee, is distinguished mostly by his ability to wrestle dollars from donors. The Democratic Leadership Council is distinguished mostly by its opposition to organized labor. Congressional Democrats who flock to the vacuous ''center'' of a rightward-creeping agenda lack the courage of any strong conviction.
Yet strong conviction is exactly what's needed. Three million more Americans voted for Al Gore or Ralph Nader than voted for George W. Bush. Most Americans don't want a giant tax cut for the rich. They'd prefer health care, good schools and quality child care for all; stronger Social Security; and a tax cut mostly for men and women of modest means.
They don't want a giant missile defense against the world; they'd rather join the world in slowing global warming and reducing global poverty.
A third party won't get there. (Nader was a disaster.) But neither will the poll-driven, money-grubbing Democratic establishment in Washington. Reviving the Democratic Party will require rebuilding a party rooted in our communities and fiercely opposed to what the Republicans are pushing. In short, a political movement that inspires Democrats to be the party of the people who have been left out.
