Unwanted Advice

Neither of the Big Two political parties in Alabama is likely to turn to me for advice about advancing their agendas during the next few years, but that's never stopped me before...so here we go!

Dear Democrats, Rep. William Jefferson (D), La., and Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), Ill., and the assorted Democrats in the Postsecondary mess here in Alabama should be your canaries, harbingers of what happens when chutzpa takes over. You guys won pretty big across the country in November, so how do you prevent more indictments? You encourage your members to act as the eyes and ears of the party. If the allegations are true, other Democrats must have known what the Representative and The Governor and the others were up to...turn 'em in! If you want Democrats to hold office long enough to accomplish your progressive goals, turn in the cheats and don't accept even little illegalities. Sure, it would be nice to think elected Democrats would do the right thing on principle, but it couldn't hurt to give them a healthy fear of quick disclosure by their own. Dear Republicans, After you finish licking your wounds, consider for a moment that it may be your agenda itself that is failing to attract minorities, not simply a bad job explaining that agenda. Here in Alabama there have been repeated unsuccessful attempts to attract African-American voters, yet black voters continue to vote overwhelmingly Democratic. In overwhelmingly white Cullman County, a black candidate defeated the GOP's white nominee this year. The racial makeup of the country is continuing to change, and unless you want permanent minority status, you'll have to adjust. The difficulty of course is changing your platform without alienating your base. At what point in the process of attracting new members do Republicans stop being Republicans? The RNC has a choice...remain a regional party with a small geographic center in the former Confederate States, or broaden your appeal and become a party that is representative of the new America while still maintaining at least your core economic conservatism.