Nuance and divisive politics…
January 22, 2008 by Staff
Filed under News, Politics, Weekly Columns
(Akiit.com) I noticed this past week that the strategy of nuance and divisive politics has raised its ugly head once again. I’m actually old enough to remember the politics of the 1990’s, and it’s devastating effects on the Democratic Party. The slash and burn Clinton’s we knew well in the 1990’s, have returned “back from the future,†with a vengeance. Every democrat that remembers this political re-run, has to wonder whether the Clinton’s are trying to re-destroy the new Democratic Party in 2008. The political team that now claims to “embody†“change,†is seemingly very comfortable using their same old strategy of divisive politics to reclaim their throne in the White House. Anyone truly interested in the future of our Democratic Party has to be very alarmed.
The Clinton’s political strategy of slash and burn will serve them well now, but the eventual cost to the Democratic Party will be devastating once again. The same strategy of half-truths, nuance, right-winged conspiracies, and divisive ideological battles, that won the Clinton’s the presidency in 1992, and a subsequent New York Senate seat, will cost our national and local party seats in the 2008, upcoming elections. The last time we allowed the Clintons to lead our party, we suffered historical political losses, never seen before in American politics. The net result of the divisive, self-serving Clinton political machine of the 90’s, shrank the Democratic Party base, and cost the party control of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. The sad result of the Clinton politics, and continuous scandals, eventually empowered George W. Bush past the setting incumbent vice president, Al Gore in the 2000 presidential elections. As a result the republicans have took firm control of the Supreme Court, appointing 7 of the last 9 justices currently serving.
Looking at the complete picture, I don’t believe that the Clinton administration or politics have lead, served, or is currently serving our Democratic Party well in any capacity. We have to understand, that as a democrats, we have yet to fully recover from the political damage of the Clinton administration scandals, investigations, and politics during the “1990’s. As a party, if we don’t learn from our past mistakes, and demand a new leadership, we will surely suffer the same devastating consequences in 2008 and beyond. We have to move forward and turn the page of division, if we are going to expand our electorate and chart a stronger, more inclusive future for the Democratic Party.
Written By H. Smith