Well, the Republicans have finally sunk far enough in the polls that they might actually lose the next presidential election.   

I said “might.”

Democrats are crowing and strutting, but in my opinion they should tone it down and do some deep thinking. 

You’re always in a risky spot if your political prospects are based on how badly the other guys have fucked up.  And the Democrats have special cause to worry because look at what the Republicans had to do before they lost enough support to actually risk losing an election. Polls say two-thirds of the American people have now turned against them, but that means one-third are still for.  And yes, I kinow, there’s hardly anyone so corrupt, dishonest, incompetent and venal that someone doesn’t think “You’re a doing a heckuva’ job, Brownie.”  But still: I mean look at their record

Cheating their way to power.   Plunging this country into a ruinous and unnecessary war. Lying to get us into it.  Exposing one of our own intelligence agents to intimidate critics. Sending America’s soldiers out there without body armor–telling them, “If you want it, buy it yourself.”  Profiteering off the war. Bringing the dead home on commercial flights as “freight” to save money.  Putting the wounded into hospitals like Walter Reed.  Seeking (and getting) the authority to torture. Using that authority to…well…torture.  Operating an international gulag of secret prisons. Wiretapping American citizens illegally. Attempting to use the justice department to hound political opponents and protect friends from criminal prosecution. This list goes on. And on.  How could these guys have any supporters at all outside a fringe of extremist loonies in need of medication?

To put it another way: what are they doing right? There must be something. We could stay here all night listing their trangressions and shortcomings. What’s on the other side of the ledger?

I think I know.  It’s the vision thing. Granted, the current administration is running on the fumes of the vision the Republicans used to have. And granted, the vision they used to have was repulsive (to me at least). The fact remains: for years and years , people were boarding the Republican train because it announced a destination. It was, at least, going somewhere. Republican electoral success from the 1970s into the oughts shows that it’s better to have a crummy vision than no vision at all, better to be going somewhere than nowhere in particular. 

What does this add up to?  Hey, I’m not saying the Democrats should cobble together a bad vision in preference to none at all.  I don’t see why the choice should be “bad” or “none”. They should forge a humane and noble vision, a sense of some grand and mythic destination for the whole society, a project that all who board the Democratic train will be joining–that’s the task Democrats should be undertaking now. 

Oh wait–I’m a Democrat. I guess that means me: I should get going on this task. And I’m trying, I am. So should we all.  Let’s quit complaining that we can’t come up with a charismatic, electable leader.  The problem isn’t our lack of leaders. Our lack of leaders is a sympto9m o fthe problem.  Leaders don’t make movements; movements make leaders, and a movement is the thing we don’t have right now.