Senator Obama & a Great Day for Democracy

I first posted this as a series of comments in response to diarists dismayed at the welcoming that Senator Obama received from what’s been affectionately described as the “rabble” over at DailyKos .

I’ve been heartened by what I’ve witnessed in response to the Senator’s diary; because it’s been a great exercise in democracy, 21st century style.

Senator Obama has not been dismissed nor belittled in the more thoughtful responses/diaries; and, if he is truly interested in hearing what Americans — all Americans, not just what insiders consider “Average Americans” — have to say, than am sure that he and his staff appreciate much of the feedback earnestly submitted by this group of Americans. Moreover, Senator Obama’s main message, that we should act with “civility” and not-throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bath-water over one vote, is hard to dismiss out of hand and to argue against — I mean, it’s just plain commonsense, though rather innocuous and lacking substance. And, while the Senator’s advice and gesture are appreciated, at this point, it simply is much too little and much too late. In stead, this group of Americans demand and need more from their elected representatives. Here’s what I believe the “rabble,” Americans all, is looking for — at least this is what I want: I want my elected Democratic representatives to more stridently advocate Progressive principles and to provide affirmative/concrete leadership in crafting a Democratic brand/message that we can rally behind. It’s that simple.

Now, in the marketplace of ideas, competing brands/messages arise frequently and, eventually, one vision wins out. However, for this to occur, there must be enterprising salesmen/political leaders aggressively presenting their competing visions, and the public then decides which brand/message obtains their support. However, because the marketplace of ideas is often saturated with products, salesman/political leaders must be assertive and aggressive in presenting their product. It is in this last part of the process that we, Americans, feel the Democratic sales force has failed on. The Democratic party sales team is, it appears, content in picking up the scraps from the failures of the dominant Republican brand — even as that brand is showing clear signs of overexposure, unsatisfactory customer support and an incapacity to meet the American public’s demand for real leadership. And yet, rather than mounting an aggressive and glossy ad campaign to attract customers and to invigorate the Democratic brand, the Democratic sales force is content with mediocre gains at the margins. To illustrate, look at what Apple did when it was on the brink of extinction: it innovated, brought new products/ideas to market, presented an integrated marketing strategy for its entire line of products (from the iMac to iTunes to the iPod), and it aggressively saturated the market place with vibrant glossy ads and well honed message — going so far as to open stores, something a lot people criticized — presenting Apple products as the alternative to the bland Windows beige PCs. (By the way, am a Windows user.) Today Apple enjoys economic success, has seen its market share rise and it continues to drive innovation and ideas in the PC industry, often setting the standard — even as Windows based systems collectively have market dominance.

Again, I urge understanding, the response to Senator Obama has little to do with partisan purity or orthodoxy… it is more simple than that… it’s as basic as expecting our elected Dems to stand up to the bully and to give voice to our frustration. Am sure we all understand and appreciate how the vast majority of the grassroots — my self included — are simply tired of hearing about comity and so-called moderation when we (Democrats and Progressives collectively) have been taking it on the gut since the Gingrich Revolution, through the Clinton Presidency, the post-2000 elections, the charges against our patriotism during the 2002-midterm elections, the Iraq debacle and the Swift boating of John Kerry. And, yes, this list doesn’t even begin to record the grievances against the Republican party… not by a long shot. Remember, recent polls confirm that we, Progressives and America at large, want and expect the Democrats to stand up to the Republican party. And, as to the charge of “obstructionist,” you know that it — and worse — will be made, because that’s what Republicans do, have done and will do… so let’s not be surprised when they react exactly as expected.

Moreover, a lot of the responses to Senator Obama have been extremely thoughtful, and if he and his staff have any sense — which am sure they do –, they’ll find a lot themes to adopt and messages to fine tune. The DailyKos community has done the Senator a service, which am sure he appreciates — it is, after all, a two way street… he “spoke,” and we responded — democracy at work.

Remember, it is the role of elected officials to hear their constituents and to represent them. Now, this is how it’s supposed to work in theory, I understand. In the real world, the people are supposed defer to authority… at least that’s how it works. Well, I say, why not let theory win out for once… why not let OUR elected representative hear how it really is… how we feel… and how WE want more than innocuous calls for “civility” and to not-throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bath-water. After all, it’s supposed to be By the People, For the People; and not, From Elected Officials, For Elected Officials. We, here at DailyKos and across America, We are the people… today we’ve seen democracy in action… we’ve gathered in the 21st century version of a democratic forum and aired our concerns and aspirations to an elected Democratic official that honored us by opening dialogue. The people, hopefully, will have been heard and OUR representative and OUR democracy will be the better for it.