You're Dressed as a What-O-Crat?
By Richard Craig
October 31, 1998
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You're Dressed as a What-O-Crat?By Richard Craig October 31, 1998 |
I suppose we all bemoan certain lost aspects of our youth. We wish we could run and jump like we used to. We wish the streets were safer, the money went farther, and TV shows were better. We miss the innocence that no longer seems to exist in our society.
Well, I miss something else, too. I miss the Democratic Party.
Some of you older readers may remember when we used to have two major parties in this country. Way back in the days of yore, voters and candidates alike proudly identified themselves as Democrats, and espoused the traits that made the party the majority in America. Republicans disagreed with them, but that was okay. A little healthy debate never hurt anybody in America.
But here in Indiana, with the election just three days away, there's not a single solitary Democrat to be found. I've looked high and low, and not even Democratic candidates will own up to being Democrats. Not even trick-or-treaters -- who will dress as anything from ghosts and witches to McDonald's french fries -- will pretend to be Democrats.
This isn't to say that there's nobody listed on the ballot as a Democrat. But judging from the recent wave of campaign commercials, this state is the party's own Bermuda Triangle.
The Democrats' supposed Indiana standard-bearer, former Governor Evan Bayh, enjoys a hefty lead over his GOP opponent. Yet Bayh's TV ads make him sound like a youthful, handsome Newt Gingrich -- repeating the words "conservative" and "tax cut" until you think you've gone through the looking glass. Nowhere in Bayh's entire portfolio of campaign ads is the word "Democrat" mentioned even once.
Democratic candidates for the House and state offices have followed Bayh's example and steer as far to the right as possible without sideswiping David Duke. You'd think "Democrat" was an epithet heard only on NYPD Blue.
Republicans, on the other hand, repeat their party's name like a mantra. Every GOP candidate gets on TV and drapes himself in the label like it's an Armani suit. Party ads urge viewers to "Vote for the Republican team," as though all they need is a good clean-up hitter to wipe the Democrats out once and for all. They also gleefully take credit for passing President Clinton's balanced budget proposal.
Did we mention the word Clinton? Or is that a dirty word too? In all likelihood, the obscenities released by the prim and proper Ken Starr had more to do with the sudden disappearance of the Democratic party than anything else. Clinton went from being a party hero in 1996 to the man who could cause the Dems more damage than anyone since Lyndon Johnson in the Vietnam War.
Clinton's misadventures will not only prevent the Democrats from retaking either house of Congress (as had been forecast last year), it will likely mean a loss of several seats that had previously seemed secure. This is why some of Clinton's staunchest stalwarts are forgetting they ever knew him, and dumping their party identification.
This abandonment of the party label has hit races nationwide. The most controversial House race, in California, is between Democratic incumbent Loretta Sanchez and former longtime Republican congressman Bob Dornan. This hotly-contested battle sounds like the perfect partisan dichotomy -- an emerging Democratic star with a Hispanic background against the staunchest White conservative in America.
The problem with this dream matchup is that the ideological split between the candidates is much less perfect than it's portrayed. In fact, Sanchez was a Republican until 1996, when she became a Democrat out of convenience. She essentially borrowed the Dems' resources in an effort to finally put down Dornan, who is a major embarrassment to the GOP. Like Bayh, Sanchez says the word "Democrat" about as often as she says "Madagascar."
It will be interesting to see how the phantom party does on election day. There are several tight races across the nation, which may hinge on how effectively some Democrats have burned their partisan bridges. If the strategy proves effective, it will create an interesting scenario for 2000. How long do incumbent Democrats steer clear of their non-party? Will Al Gore prove a more appealing party leader than Philandering Bill?
It's hard to say, but in the mean time, I'm still not finding any Democrats among the ghouls and goblins demanding treats at my door. They may deign to dress as Monica Lewinsky, but not as her Democratic heartthrob.
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