Neoconservatives accuse Barack Obama of leading the United States down the road to communism. In reality, mainstream Democrats have become more fiscally conservative since the Cold War era. Obama is no more economically radical than Richard Nixon, whose presidency produced the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, increased spending on social programs, and an attempt at comprehensive health-care reform.
Even though Democrats controlled the White House and legislature from early 2009 to early 2011, party “moderates” joined with Republicans and corporate lobbyists to water down reform of health care, finance, and foreign policy. Then the reactionary Tea Parties helped the Republicans regain control of Congress. Only a similarly effective liberal coalition can change the balance of power in Washington.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has failed to build such a coalition. Chants and signs left over from the 1960s have won few converts among Democratic politicians. Port blockades have alienated members of the working class that protesters claim to be representing. Acts of vandalism have reinforced the stereotypes pushed by neoconservative media figures.
Protests aside, liberal appeals to altruism fall short with the American public because self-interest is a large part of the national culture. Tax protesters helped bring about the Revolutionary War, and most Americans to this day are unwilling to accept European or Canadian levels of taxation. Besides, those countries have populations equivalent to a single American state, meaning that a larger and more expensive bureaucracy would be needed to administer similar social programs here.
Although neoconservative lobbyists and politicians have wealthy backers including the Koch brothers, the Right has taken over populism by successfully labeling the Left as elitist. This stereotype isn’t completely wrong: academic utopianism and New Age consciousness mostly appeal to urban middle-class whites and successful entertainers.
More liberals need to acknowledge the definition of insanity—repeating the same actions while expecting different results—and push for an updated strategy. They should stop using the following clichés when speaking or writing: The 99 percent. American imperialism. The people. Shame. Social justice. The world is watching. They should pay less attention to movies by self-serving millionaire Michael Moore and books by self-serving millionaire Noam Chomsky. They should stop supporting third-party presidential candidates—who have never been elected in this country, not even during the Great Depression.
Changing strategy doesn’t mean becoming Republican Lite and trying to please everyone, as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have done. Most Fox News disciples won’t be swayed by any message besides what they already “know.” What really matters is swing voters, who went Democratic in 2008 not as an endorsement of liberal idealism, but as a reaction to the Bush administration’s incompetence. By 2010, they were ready to “throw the bums out” again.
A new liberal strategy should acknowledge individualism and the need for limits on corporate power. Federal action on health care should be sold not by pleading for compassion, but by showing how a dollar of prevention can eliminate sixteen dollars of cure. Causes with potentially broad support should take priority—for example, limits on donations to politicians and the length of campaigns. Private environmental organizations have successfully sued government agencies for lax enforcement, and private financial watchdogs could do the same.
Pundits warn us that liberalism is a runaway force of extremism in this country, but in fact it stands at a crossroads. The easy path consists of hoping in vain that protests and continued hard times will inspire many millions of Americans to reverse their long-held beliefs. The harder path requires choosing issues with appeal beyond the usual (drum) circles, and doing the groundwork necessary to get respect on Capitol Hill.
