Born to move on!

James K. Glassman offers ten suggestions to help the Democrats save their party.

1. Nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton for president in 2008. A Northeastern senator will be a big advantage this time around as Americans tire of Southern hicks. Sure, her negatives are already 44 percent, but Hillary will resurrect government-run health care, a sure winner. Also, she'll get the support of the New York Times -- the key to the White House.

2. Be honest about the so-called terrorist "threat." As Democratic leaders know, it doesn't exist. If it did, then why hasn't there been another attack on American soil in more than three years? The platform should advocate disbanding the Homeland Security Department and banishing those screeners who make us get to the airport so early.

3. Fund a new Michael Moore documentary blowing the lid off religion in America. Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, hailed by Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle (whoops, soon-to-be former leader), nearly won the election for Kerry. The new movie will mock those kooky "born-agains," rendering them too embarrassed to show up at the polls.

4. Involve Hollywood more in the campaign. Kerry failed to make enough use of high-IQ stars like Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Ben Affleck. Whoopi Goldberg's brilliant speech at Kerry's Madison Square Garden fund-raiser galvanized America, but she dropped from sight. Use the woman!

5. Two words: "Gun Control." Why didn't Kerry emphasize gun control more instead of killing geese? Americans hate guns and understand that criminals do not shoot people, guns do. Ms. Clinton should push for a ban on the hunting of defenseless animals and a repeal of the Second Amendment, that antiquated guarantor of the so-called "right" to bear arms.

6. Reinstate the draft. America's military has become far too professionalized. Democrats understand that the best way to fight a modern war is with citizen soldiers. Also, do not hesitate to criticize our troops, who have botched the job in Iraq.

7. Bring foreigners into the Cabinet. The best way to improve relations with our European allies is to ask them to join the next Democratic administration. Jacques Chirac, for example, may soon retire as president of France. Why not ask him to become our next secretary of state? There's nothing in the Constitution that says he can't. Look it up.

8. Make George Soros chairman of the Democratic Party. Sure, it will be difficult to replace a genius like Terry McAuliffe (and let's not forget the help provided by Harold Ickes and Joe Lockhart). But Soros is a billionaire with a common touch, a rare ability to connect with Middle America (probably because he's from Mitteleuropa). He cleverly compared Republicans to Nazis and judiciously spent $24 million of his own money in efforts that came oh-so-close to beating Bush.

9. "Vote or Die." Use P. Diddy's catchy slogan, which turned out hundreds of millions of young first-time voters in 2004, as the main theme of the 2008 campaign.

10. Raise taxes across the board. Of course, fleece the rich. That's normal Democratic policy. But lower-income Americans will feel a stronger sense of community if they, too, contribute more to government. And, goodness knows, Washington could use the money.

Quite impressive. But I do have one additional suggestion -- humbly offered to reinforce the infrastructure of Mr. Glassman's proposals.

While it's a brilliant idea, I don't think merely pushing George Soros as chairman of the Democratic Party goes quite far enough. For any number of reasons, Hillary Clinton's campaign might run into various troubles along the way. If Chelsea fails to supply the much-anticipated grandchild, the "family values" platform might suffer. There could also be problems with bloggers posing too many questions which went unanswered (and were ignored by the MSM) back in the 90s.

Right now, the Democrats are presented with a major opportunity to seize the momentum being created by the Republican plot to amend the Constitution:

Schwarzenegger, the former actor and bodybuilder, grew up in Austria and became a U.S. citizen in 1983. Under provisions of the Constitution, he - like Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, Sen.-elect Mel Martinez, Commerce Secretary nominee Carlos M. Gutierrez and every other immigrant - is ineligible for the presidency.

For most of the 216 years since the adoption of the Constitution, there has been little debate about Article 2, Section 1, which states: "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."

But now there are four proposals in Congress to amend the Constitution to permit foreign-born citizens to be president, after a lengthy period of citizenship (20 to 35 years, depending on the bill). Three of the measures were introduced before Schwarzenegger became governor last year, and their sponsors say the amendments were not crafted with him in mind.

Schwarzenegger, though, has become the poster child of the movement, and he has said he would consider running for president if the Constitution allowed. Last month, TV commercials, created by a Schwarzenegger fund-raiser, were shown in California urging support for an "amend for Arnold" campaign. And the campaign's founders have created a companion Web site, www.amendforarnold.org, to raise money and rally support.

Why do these articles only refer to foreign-born Republicans? While I think Chirac is a bit of a stretch, George Soros would be a natural as a foreign-born candidate for president! And surely he's at least as electable as Hillary!

Why, it's almost no-brainer.

(Besides, the Democrats are already discussing it.)

UPDATE: Things are worse than I imagined. As blogger Ian Hamet points out in a comment below, Michigan Gov. Granholm is a Democrat. Obviously there are many Democratic "fureigners" already in place. . . Might it be part of a shrewd Democratic strategy to make Ahnuld appear to do the heavy lifting for them?

Stay tuned.

posted by Eric on 12.06.04 at 10:06 AM





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» Miscellanea - I Haven't Even Read It Yet Edition from Decision '08
Well, thanks a lot, Ed Driscoll and Professor Bainbridge! I haven't even got around to reading my copy of Hitler's Pope yet and now you tell me it's a waste of time (Driscoll wonders if CBS is paying attention)... Don't miss James Glassman's 10 wa... [Read More]
Tracked on December 13, 2004 09:27 PM



Comments

Excellent suggestions. Sure-fire winners, every one of them. If the Democrats keep following such good advice, I can guarantee they will soon get as many votes as Michael Baradnik got. Whoopi!

Granholm is a Democrat.

Ian Hamet   ·  December 7, 2004 07:55 PM

I stand corrected. Thanks, Ian!

Eric Scheie   ·  December 7, 2004 10:23 PM


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