Concession Stand

The Dash brothers concede that despite their efforts, the Bush brothers and their evil minion Darth Rove have retained their slimy grip on the Mirror Universe. So we return to our own universe for awhile, except for Gabriel, who has taken refuge in his own alternative universe where the Crosscurrents opened for the Beatles in Pittsburgh 1966, and a winning lottery ticket currently finances the reunion concert of the Basement Peacock Band; and Theron, who is addicted to outrage and so remains hidden somewhere nearby.

For those who insist on silver linings, Chris Bowers offers his politico analysis in "Our New Base" at the blog:

MyDD :: Due Diligence of Politics, Election Forecast & the World Today

We offer a further thought on how the Democrats can become a majority party again.

Once again, a Democratic presidential candidate with superior credentials, intellect, experience and temperament has crashed against a blind red wall. There will be recriminations and second guessing, all self-destructive nonsense. John Kerry was pretty much the best the Democrats have: a war hero, an anti-war hero, former prosecutor and defense attorney, a lieutenant governor and veteran Senator, with experience in foreign policy, a commitment to health, education and jobs for the middle class, and creative ideas on energy and the environment. Others may have different strengths, but they also have weaknesses Kerry doesn't, especially in terms of red states appeal. On balance, the usual suspects---from Howard Dean to John Edwards---aren't significantly better.

Liberal Democrat, New Democrat, progressive--- when it comes to even potential electoral impact, they seem distinctions without a difference. The change isn't going to come from progressive think tanks or liberal talk radio, or even the Internet and the blogosphere, as essential as all those may be to any transformation. To become the majority over the long term, the Democrats will have to rebuild by anticipating the coming American majority. The difference is not ideology or strategy. The Democrats must anticipate the end of the era of white male dominance. And the white men who are now the face of the party must eventually take a secondary role behind the scenes, becoming the mentors, the advisors, the elders. They must advance candidates of color, beginning now.

It's not that something is wrong with these white men, or with what we blithely categorize as white men in general (a category with its own problems to be sure, considering that it supposedly includes the powerful and powerless, gutless warmongers and courageous peacemakers, among other opposites.) Nor are we saying that white males aren't part of the future. They just aren't going to dominate it anymore.

It's become an instant truism that Barack Obama, whose easy election to the Senate from Illinois was virtually the only bright spot on the electoral map, represents the future of the Democratic party. But it's a broader representation than his own personal ascendancy. While that future in terms of running for president may be more than four years away, the party needs to commit to a transformation that makes Obama the template as well as the emerging star.

More people of color, especially reflecting the multiracial character of the emerging America, must be identified, mentored and backed with campaign funds. Party leaders must search the nonprofits and foundations as well as local communities and state governments. And while they prepare this new generation, they must prepare themselves to step aside.

We make this suggestion as more or less white, male Democrats of Kerry's generation. Of course we are far from being party leaders, so we have nothing to lose (or gain) by this suggestion. Still, it feels right that we should be the ones saying it. We believe that John Kerry was the best choice to be President this year. But if someone with his credentials could not defeat an incumbent with so many liabilities, then our generation needs to look to a different future. We may have another election to go (especially if "we" includes a white woman) but the conscious process needs to start now.

This doesn't confront the apparent ideological divide, or even struggle trying to define it. It simply anticipates the future, and thereby changes the game. The nation will soon follow California in having no majority race. Multiracial individuals like Obama and Tiger Woods are everywhere, in red states as well as blue. There are so many nationalities, so many combinations, that different points of view are inevitable, and the resulting mix of political ideas and strategies is unpredictable. But as Obama's speech to the convention this year illustrated, these individuals can find Democratic party values inspiring, and they can assimilate and adapt and express them so they will be attractive to new electorates, creating new coalitions.

If the Democrats aggressively become the voice of this future, they follow their traditional path to a majority party. The traditional Democratic values of equality, fairness, generosity and public service can be energized and redefined through values formed in urban and suburban Asian, African-American and Latino communities, in rural Native American communities, and in hybrids of all kinds everywhere, as well as through contact with the larger culture. There are inherent dangers of race-based politics, which is why the guidance of the most experienced leaders is needed. But the truth is that anyone getting ahead in America also moves laterally, and comes in contact with different people, cultures and communities. The individuals who emerge from this process necessarily have a different point of view that is alive to the times.

This is a natural evolution well underway. But for the sake of its survival as well as its soul, the Democratic party should commit to accelerating that process by recruiting and backing candidates of color for major offices, like the still overwhelmingly white U.S. Senate. Kerry's generation should lead that effort, and while they lead today, they should also be preparing to get out of the way.