Book review: "Why The Democrats Are Blue"

Blue, so blue, my love is burning blue.
Any brighter flame would be a lie.
"How Much I Lied," Gram Parsons, 1973.

Using the word "blue" for the Democrats works on so many levels. Brother Marathon Pundit gave me Mark Sricherz' Why the Democrats are Blue: Secular Liberalism and the Decline of the People's Party for my birthday last month, which I finished reading last week during my vacation.

This is not a "Why The Democrats Suck" book. Sticherz is a Democrat and a practicing Catholic. And a large part of why the Democrats have lost seven out of the last ten presidential elections is that the Dems have spurned the Catholic vote. The affinity for Roman Catholics to the Democratic Party goes back to the 1830s, but the post-1968 Democratic Party elite has little use for them. Not even having a Catholic (some dispute that, calling John Kerry a "CINO," a Catholic-in-name-only) at the top of the Democrats' ticket helped them four years ago, the Republicans won the Catholic vote, as they have every presidential election since 1976. And Jimmy Carter won that year.

Hmm...I think we are on to something.

The situation reminds me of the famous Ronald Reagan quip, "I didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me." Reagan wasn't Catholic (his father was, and he was a Democrat), and Reagan became a Republican in 1962. It's not a perfect analogy, but Reagan's comment resonated with my parents (both Catholic) and millions of people like them.

From the ashes of the 1968 Democratic National Convention fiasco came the McGovern Commission. Whereas most people remember the quadrennial get-together for Boss Daley's cops beating up hippies, the McGovern Commission had the greater influence on the party.

From Why The Democrats Are Blue:

Officially known as the the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection, the commission was approved by a majority of delegates at the convention that (Bill)Clinton deplored, the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The twenty-eight member panel is best known for creating the modern presidential nominating system, in which primary and caucus voters rather than big-city and state bosses choose the party's nominee. It is also known for its first chairman, Senator George McGovern, who won the party's nomination in 1972.

What an amazing coincidence that McGovern got the nod!

More...

The most significant consequence of the McGovern Commission is that the Democratic Party's coalition changed and shrank. The New Deal or Roosevelt coalition had included white southerners, Catholics, union members, blacks, and intellectuals. Under this coalition, the national party was a majority party, and its presidential candidates won seven of the ten elections from 1932 to 1968.

Seven of ten elections? Where have I heard that before?

And some more...

The McGovern Commission destroyed this old alliance and replaced it with the social change coalition led by secular liberals. The commission pushed through a rules change that required informal delegate quotas for women and young people. The proposal had three major consequences. First, while the Democratic coalition added feminists and secular professionals, it drove away blue-collar workers and Catholics, many of whom became Reagan Democrats. Second, it broke the Democratic Party's longstanding alliance with the Catholic Church. Third, it reduced the number of Democratic constituents. According to the party strategists, William Galston and Elaine Kamarck, only 21 percent of the electorate regard themselves as liberal, while 34 percent regard themselves as conservative.

The Democrats are playing a sport popular in small high schools, nine man football. But the Republicans have eleven players suited up for each game.

The 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach was a disaster for the party. Besides nominating the hapless McGovern, who managed to win just one state and the District of Columbia in the general election, the conventions credentials committee kicked the elected delegate slate led by the one of the bosses, Mayor Richard J. Daley, replacing it with a "more representative" group of liberal activists, minorities, and women led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and lakefront liberal William Singer.

The contrast of this confrontation couldn't be more stark. Stricherz doesn't go into detail about this incident, but I will. I recall a column by Mike Royko, which explained that if Jesse really felt that sincere about toppling the Daley slate that year, then he should have run his own slate in the Illinois Democratic Primary. Not only did he not do that, he didn't even bother to vote in the primary.

But quotas were viewed more as "fair" than having an elected slate of delegates at the convention, and the legendary mayor and his fellow delegates were sent home. Daley, known for his Irish temper and stubbornness among other things, was understandably livid about getting "86ed" in Miami Beach.

That fall, McGovern attempted a rapprochement with Daley, but it was too late. Not only did Richard Nixon win Illinois by an enormous margin, he accomplished the seemingly impossible--he got more votes than McGovern in Cook County, something no Republican presidential candidate has accomplished since.

In fact, to lose Cook, the Democrats have to try to lose, which is exactly what they did in 1972.

Besides making the contemporary Democratic Party more hospitable to Catholics and other voters of faith, Stricherz has a number of suggestions to repair the problems the world's oldest political party faces, but going back to the Boss System is not one of them. You have to read--and buy--to find out what they are, but dumping quotas and caucus elections are just two of them.

Whether you are a Democrat of Republican, this book is a must-read for any political junkie.

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Don't believe the call for reform by "Junior"

I've been writing at length about the worst govermental body in the nation, Illinois' Cook County goverment. In today's Chicago Tribune, I came across this gem of an op-ed:

From the Tribune, free registration is required:

Well, here it is: John Stroger, who is beloved and remains in our prayers, managed one of the largest fraud-ridden bureaucracies known to man, Cook County government.

That massive bureaucracy was handed down by vested interest to his son, Todd, whose sole focus is to protect a huge patronage army—an army fed by increasingly overtaxed citizens, who, ironically, are rewarded with a steady erosion of the health care and county services they deserve.

Stroger's outrageous $888 million tax hike plan would add 1,100 new jobs—after laying off hundreds of nurses and frontline health-care providers. It shortchanges the sheriff's police—but adds "administrative" jobs, apparently for Stroger's families and friends.

Hoping to obscure this ugly truth is dinosaurus-erectus, a.k.a. Stroger's floor leader and self-professed "hog with the big nuts," County Commissioner William Beavers. He seeks to deflect attention from bloated incompetent mismanagement by saying opponents to Stroger's taxes are racists.

Which Republican wrote that?

Trick question: It was a Democrat, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Chicago).

Great stuff, Junior. But Jesse's son also leaves out a couple of details. The Jackson clan and the Beavers clan have been feuding for over a decade. In February, Junior's wife, Sandi, defeated William Beaver's handpicked successor as Chicago's 7th Ward alderman, his daughter Darcel. In three months, Sandi Jackson will try to unseat William Beavers to become the 7th Ward Democratic Committeeman.

Junior has asked the Federal Elections Commission for permission to transfer funds from his political warchest into his wife's, just as he did in the aldermanic campaign.

Jesse Junior's plea for reform appears in the op-ed section of the Tribune, but that doesn't let the paper off the hook. The editorial editors should've prefaced Jackson's piece mentioning the upcoming ward race and February's aldermanic contest.

Amazingly, of the 43 Tribune commenters who've chimed in Junior's stirring but deceptive rhetoric, only one, "Merrill" sees Jackson for what he is.

Dear Mr. Jackson:

When you think of youself, your wife's, and familiy's own political ambitions, I hope that you factor in your own desires about replacing Todd's patronage people with your own. I have met you in person and found you to be super arrogant and self-absorbed. Now you are writing in a conservative newspaper to try and further your own political greed at the expense of the poor, sick and underemployed.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. is not a reformer.

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Liberals laud book by ex-con husband of Jan Schakowsky

This delicious morsel came to me via e-mail from a great American who prefers to remain anonymous.

Robert Creamer, not to be confused with the famed baseball writer, is now also going by the name of Bob, which I'm sure greatly pleases the more famous Creamer.

About Creamer the Lesser: For many years, he was the executive director of the Illinois Public Action Council. His wife, Jan Schakowsky, now a Democratic Illinois congresswoman who nominally represents me in Washington, was on the board of directors of the self-appointed consumer advocacy group. Creamer got caught kiting checks while running the group--he had done it before and was warned by federal authorities not to do it again. He didn't listen, and got nabbed by the Feds again, which got him a trip to a Federal Prison Camp for five months last year.

Rep. Schakowsky has not been accused of any wrong doing.

Click here for a good explanation of how check-kiting works, and how it undermines the integrity of our financical system.

Creamer has written a book, Listen to Your Mother. Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win. Amazon lists it under "Robert Creamer," but the promotional hoopla mostly refers to him as "Bob."

Hey, I have no problem with an ex-con writing a book or trying to make a living. But I find it quite humorous that a whole bunch of big-time liberals, such as Sen. Dick Durbin, Jim Hightower, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, and a whole bunch of others fawn over Creamer in their endorsements of his book--and none of them mention his five months in prison last year, nor is that part of his life included in the summary of his public life below.

About those five months in the joint. Federal prosecutors had asked for a three year sentence, but US District Judge James B. Moran took mercy on Creamer. Coincidentally, Moran is the father-in-law of Peter Giangreco, a longtime Illinois Democratic insider who like Creamer, worked on Rod Blagojevich's successful 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Giangreco's endorsement is the first one I list.

To his credit, Creamer writes in his book, "I did much of the preliminary work on this book while spending five months on a forced sabbatical at the Federal Prison Camp at Terre Haute, Indiana."

Oh, Lynn Sweet, presumably the politically neutral Washington correspondent for the Chicago Sun-Times, gives an endorsement too.

Bob Creamer has been a consultant to Americans United since its inception in 2005 to successfully fend off the president's plan to privatize Social Security. Bob is one of the top political strategists in the country and he has spent four decades influencing the political and issues debates in America from Springfield, IL to Washington, DC. He has served as a consultant to some of the country's leading politicians and he has helped lead some of the most important issue fights in our nation's history.

Bob has taken all he has learned from his decades of public service and chronicled them in the definitive how-to-manual for how progressives can fight the right wing machine and win. Listen to Your Mother. Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win is the Bible for progressive activists and politicians who want to and are willing to go toe-to-toe with the right over the future of the country. Please join Bob, his wife Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and a host of Senators, Representatives and leading progressive figures for a reception on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 (see details below)

Celebrating the publication of Listen to Your Mother. Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win. Comments appearing in the book (can be found below). Credentialed media will receive one complementary copy of the book. (Note, if you want you are credentialed media, leave your e-mail in the comments section, and I'll give you the e-mail address where you can RSVP.)

You Are Invited
To a Reception Celebrating the Publication of Bob Creamer’s New Book
Listen to Your Mother. Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win

Tuesday November 13, 2007
The Mott House
122 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

New Book Says Progressives Must "Stand Up Straight" to Win

Washington, DC. A new book by veteran political organizer and strategist Robert Creamer says that progressives have an historic opportunity over the next two years to create long-term political realignment in the United States. But to be successful, he argues, progressives must forcefully reassert their commitment to fundamental progressive values and vision for the future.

"Some people think that in order to win, Democrats need to move to the political center by adopting conservative values and splitting the difference between progressive and conservatives positions," says Creamer. "History shows they are wrong. To win the next election and to win in the long term, we need to redefine the political center."

The book, titled Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight. How Progressive Can Win, lays out a broad strategy for progressive victory and describes the tactics needed to win real-world political battles one at a time. In the book’s foreword, "Progressive today need to take direct responsibility for winning." This book lays out a game plan for victory.

As an organizer and strategist, Bob Creamer has won all kinds of improbable victories for progressive causes. This book is must-reading for his fellow progressives who seek to do the same, and to build a more decent world. Pete Giangreco, Democratic Political Consultant, Partner, The Strategy Group

Even before the book’s publication it has received wide acclaim.
If Progressives are ready to move beyond the "Age of W" into a winning era, they can start with Stand Up Straight. This is more than a call to arms. This is a battle plan from one of the best campaign minds in America. Bob Creamer takes his readers from values to votes with practical tactics and insight gathered over decades of experience. This book is for player...spectators need not apply.
Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL)

If every activist in America read Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight, we could change our country. This book will help bring on the New Progressive Era. It's that good." Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)

Creamer’s book is a one-stop shop for political junkies, from a novice to a know-it-all…While Creamer writes from the progressive Democratic perspective, his chapters on organizing, messaging, demographics and constituency groups comprise a how-to political manual. Chicago Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief, Lynn Sweet

Stand Up Straight is nothing less than the bible for progressive political activists." Brad Woodhouse, President of Americans United for Change

Stand up Straight is a one-stop, nuts-and-bolts manual on how to run a winning campaign – and, in the process, return America to its progressive roots. Filled with learned-in-the-trenches lessons, Creamer's book is a master's class in electoral politics. Ariana Huffington, The Huffington Post

Stand Up Straight is a straight up shot in the arm for progressives. Robert Creamer has successfully turned decades of campaign and organizing skills into an essential handbook for understanding political power, activism, and progressive values. Creamer rightly argues that progressives should embrace their core principles and fight for the real political center in American politics today -- issues like universal health care and pre-K, energy independence, redeployment from Iraq, and a return to sane and sensible national security policies. John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress and former Chief of Staff to President William J. Clinton

Progress takes more than passion, it requires planning. This book is a blueprint for victory." Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

Bob Creamer's welcome book rightly instructs progressives to say and fight for what they believe. To Hell with the politics of timidity - a long-term progressive majority is within our reach." Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA)

Creamer's classroom has been (on) the frontlines and trenches of progressive organizing, from the Civil Rights Movement to the battle for children's health care. Here, he shows us how to replace fear with hope, to renew the call to commitment, and to create our society's next historical movement. Congressman John Lewis (D-GA)

A stand-up book from a stand-up guy, showing us how to put progress back into "progressive." From broad vision to minute details, Creamer offers an invaluable manual for those who want to reassert our country's historic egalitarian values of fairness, justice, and opportunity for all. Jim Hightower, best selling author, radio commentator and editor of the Hightower Lowdown.

In Stand Up Straight, Bob Creamer gives citizens an owners manual for Democracy. With a practical eye from his decades of experience, Bob shows how to do the real work of political organizing and win, by promoting deep progressive values. With hundreds of real world examples and step-by-step advice, Stand Up Straight is both inspirational and a serious tool. Thanks, Bob. Wes Boyd, Founder of MoveOn.org

This book is so important because it focuses like a laser on the one element that is essential to progressive victory: courage. With out exception, all of our historic victories have required that people had the courage to act -- and stand up straight. The lessons in Stand up Straight were learned the hard way by generations of Americans fighting for civil rights, women’s rights and important social change. It's a must read for anyone who is passionate about changing America – now. Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, President, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

Jim Hightower's comment is my favorite. "A stand up book from a stand up guy..."

Try running that one past some bankers who had to deal with Creamers kited checks.

Also, considering the skeleton in her closet known as her husband, it's understandable why Schakowsky wants to bring back the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" to the public airwaves.

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Bush to kick off Lincoln bicentennial celebration next Feb. 12

Just as President Theodore Roosevelt did in 1909 with the 100th anniversary celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth, President George W. Bush is expected to inaugurate the Lincoln bicentennial remembrance next year on February 12 at the Lincoln birthplace site near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Yes, next year is 2008, but the bicentennial bash is scheduled to last two years.

In addition to President Bush, all of the living presidents are invited to attend the festivities.

Actor Sam Waterston, who has portrayed Lincoln on stage and screen, will offer a presentation of the words of the savior of the Union.

Hat tip to Pol Watchers

Several Illinoisans are on the board of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, including Dick Durbin, Ray LaHood, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Julie Cellini, and Lura Lynn Ryan. Dr. Jean Bandler, who lives in Connecticut, is the daughter of the late Paul Douglas. Durbin now holds his seat in the Senate.

Related Marathon Pundit posts:

Andrew Ferguson video on his new book, Land of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site's log cabin
"My earliest recollection is of the Knob Creek place"
Thirty hours in Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois
I found this bit of history in downtown Chicago today
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission playing with Lincoln Logs
Illinois lagging in Lincoln bicentennial celebrations

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