The Democrats Need These Republicans

While we live in hope, it does not look as if Pat Toomey is going to be beaten by Peg Luksik in tomorrow's Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania. Both are pro-life Catholics, so that the election of either would, to that extent, make Pennsylvania Republicans the equals of the Pennsylvania Democrats of Senator Bob Casey, sponsor of the Pregnant Women Support Act, and son and namesake of the state's ferociously pro-life old Democratic Governor. But Toomey is also President of the Club for Greed and fully signed up to its motto of "invade the world, invite the world, in hock to the world".

Luksik, by contrast, not only takes the standard pro-life positions and supports the traditional definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman, but also supports the Second Amendment, supports closing the borders and enforcing immigration laws, supports the right of parents to direct the education of their children, opposes using American troops as the world's police force, believes that "our military should only be put in harm’s way when American territory or lives are in jeopardy", supports every effort to make America energy independent, opposes "any treaty or organization that seeks to undermine America's sovereignty or weaken our Constitution", supports making English the official language of the United States, opposes judicial activism (although she doesn't specify which examples), opposes the bailouts, supports a requirement that all federal government officials comply with all rules and regulations they pass, supports "fair trade in the international marketplace", supports auditing the Federal Reserve, supports "a total revamping of the federal tax codes to make them simpler and fairer" (although, again, without specification), and supports ending all secret earmarks.

Alas, she also professes to "oppose government programs that seek to redistribute wealth from those who earn it to those who want it" and to oppose the "death tax", although on healthcare she says only that she opposes "rationed care for seniors, the disabled, or any other group of citizens", which of course is not on the agenda. Frankly, the Democrats could do with being beaten by Luksik, and then they might finally get the message: "If you'd only run a pro-life, pro-family, anti-war, economically and culturally patriotic supporter of public healthcare and the Employee Free Choice Act, then you wouldn’t now be one vote down on public healthcare and the Employee Free Choice Act". And the Republicans might finally get the message, too: "You can only win what is now a naturally Democratic state in the Northeast, not with another Arlen Specter, but with a pro-life, pro-family and anti-war economic and cultural patriot".

However, it looks increasingly as if Rand Paul will be nominated in Kentucky tomorrow. Such a nomination would be a spur to the Democratic Party, perhaps not if it hopes to beat him in 2010, but certainly if it wants to win the seat in 2016, when everyone will be very used to their healthcare entitlement and therefore not remotely inclined to vote to abolish it. Since care needs to be taken over mentioning Colorado and affirmative action where there is a large black electorate, a candidate is or will be needed who is or would be able to issue something like the following statement:

"I stand with those who, on the same day as President Obama received their states’ Electoral College votes, voted in California and Florida to re-affirm traditional marriage, voted in Missouri and Ohio not to liberalize gambling, and voted for President Obama from coast to coast while also keeping the black and Catholic churches (especially) going. I am a Democrat and an Obama supporter because Bob Casey, Ben Nelson, Jim Webb, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Bart Stupak and others of like mind are Democrats and Obama supporters. Obama was and is my candidate because he was and is the candidate of General Jim Jones, of Dick Lugar, of Chuck Hagel, of Christopher Buckley, of the conservative Catholic constitutional scholar Douglas Kmiec, and of Donnie McClurkin, the ex-gay gospel singer whose presence on the Obama team infuriated the Clinton camp.

The America that elected President Obama is the America of traditional marriage, heavily regulated (if any) gambling, and the reduction of abortion through support for pregnant women. That is the America of big municipal government, strong unions whose every red cent in political donations buys something specific, very high levels of cooperative membership, housing cooperatives even for the upper middle classes, small farmers who own their own land, and the pioneering of Keynesianism in practice. That America long led the world in protecting high-wage, high-skilled, high-status jobs both against the exportation of that labor to un-unionized, child-exploiting sweatshops, and against the importation of those sweatshops themselves. Until very recently, that America led the world in “not seeking for monsters to destroy”. That is my America.

I support President Obama as the true heir of Republican calls for Europe to revert to pre-1914 borders and thus end World War One. As the true heir of those who resisted entry into World War Two until America was actually attacked by either side. As the true heir of President Eisenhower’s ending of the Korean War, of his even-handed approach to Israel and the Palestinians, of his non-intervention in Indo-China, and of his denunciation of the military-industrial complex. As the true heir of President Nixon’s pursuit of détente with China, and of the ending of the Vietnam War by him and by President Ford, an old stalwart of the America First Committee. As the true heir of President Reagan’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 1983, and of his initiation of nuclear arms reduction in Europe. As the true heir of Republican opposition to the global trigger-happiness of the Clinton Administration. And as the true heir of President George W. Bush’s removal of American troops from Saudi Arabia after 9/11, thus ensuring that there has been no further attack on American soil. I want to play my part in building another movement in the tradition of the American Anti-Imperialist League that eventually endorsed William Jennings Bryan, and of the America First Committee of Norman Thomas (anti-Communist campaigner to build a Farm-Labor party), of Sargent Shriver (Peace Corps and Special Olympics founder, McGovern running mate, and pro-life Catholic), and of Shriver’s future brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy.

I want to ally with the Blue Dog Caucus in every way compatible with my alliance with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. And I want to ally with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, not least on healthcare and on the Employee Free Choice Act, in every way compatible with my commitment to the sanctity of each individual human life from conception to natural death (the Human Life Amendment, the Pregnant Women Support Act, the enactment of Stupak-Pitts, opposition to embryonic stem cell research, support for ethical research into adult and cord blood stem cells), to President Obama’s definition of marriage as only ever the union of one man and one woman, to traditional family values generally, to the Second Amendment, to strengthening and enforcing our immigration laws, to the deployment of the American military only ever to defend American territory or lives, to withdrawal from any treaty or organization that undermines American sovereignty or weakens the Constitution, to making English the only official language of the United States, to opposing the bailouts, to fair trade rather than “free” trade, to auditing the Federal Reserve, and to ending all secret earmarks.

On the protection of American jobs, there is now a natural alliance between conservatives and the labor unions, in close cooperation with a President hysterically denounced as a “protectionist” as if that meant anything other than a patriot. On halting and reversing the national emergency of unrestricted and illegal immigration, and on making English the only official language of the United States, there is now a natural alliance between conservatives and a largely black electorate, including the Congressional Black Caucus and including President Obama. On fair trade agreements, on repealing much or all of the USA Patriot Act, on ending completely the neoconservative war agenda, on strict campaign finance reform, on a crackdown against corporate influence generally and corporate welfare in particular, and on tax cuts for the poor and the middle class, there is now a natural alliance between conservatives and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. On decency in the media, there is now a natural alliance between conservatives and those in the tradition of the late C. Dolores Tucker and of Father Michael Pfleger. And a natural alliance now exists around recognition of the fact that the black male, in particular, is the victim of a triple genocide in the womb, on the streets, and on the battlefield.

Democrats need to reach out to those who would otherwise be attracted to Mitt Romney, the prophet and apostle of socialized medicine, who ran for the Senate from the left of Ted Kennedy. Democrats need to reach out to those who would otherwise be attracted to Mike Huckabee, economically one of the most progressive governors in American history, and who also happens to be against abortion and same-sex “marriage” while in favor of Second Amendment rights. Democrats need to reach out to those who would otherwise be attracted to Sarah Palin, with her admirable history as a Buchananite battler for job protection, for war aversion, for immigration control and for family values against the archenemy of all of them, the global “free” market, and with her record as Governor of Alaska on the basis of publicly administered natural resources held in common ownership. And Democrats need to reach out to those who would otherwise be attracted to Ron Paul and to his opposition to bailouts, to wars, and to the erosion of constitutional checks and balances. I want to play my part in that reaching out."

So, where is that candidate? By no means only in Kentucky.