Michael Kinsley

Michael Kinsley has a column bemoaning the unfair treatment given to Democrats:

It seems to be time once again to play Kick the Democrats. Everyone can play, including Democrats. The rules are simple. When Republicans lose elections, it is because they didn't get enough votes. When Democrats lose elections, it is because they have lost their principles and lost their way. Or they have kept their principles, which is an even worse mistake.

Democrats represent no one who is not actually waiting in line for a latte at a Starbucks within 150 yards of the east or west coastline. They are mired in trivial lifestyle issues like, oh, abortion and gay rights and Americans killing and dying in Iraq, while the Republicans serve up meat and potatoes for real Americans, like privatizing Social Security and making damned sure the government knows who is Googling whom in this great country. Just repeat these formulas until a Democrat has been sent into frenzies of self-flagellation, or reduced to tears.

This is a strawman. While Kinsley is trying to be sarcastic, he's more right than perhaps he knows. When one surveys the world today the first two issues he cites indeed strike me as being more on the trivial end of the scale. And perhaps Kinsley can do us all the favor of explaining what the Democratic position is on Iraq, since even they don't seem to know.

Just compare and contrast. The Bush Administration is attempting to reorder the Middle East, spread freedom and democracy more generally, has cut taxes, pushed Social Security reform (sans success, but at least the attempt was made) and is expected to make moves on both immigration and health care reform. They may be right or wrong, but at least they are confronting some big issues.

Democrats meanwhile, as Kinsley admits, stand for maintaining the status quo on abortion and gay rights. Sorry, but I'm underwhelmed. To me that means that they are either bankrupt of ideas or think we can't do better than the status quo. And that's sad.