"Dealing with legitimate Conservative concerns"

This is a DU post and Journal entry I wrote in 2006, before all the current folderol was underway. I came across it and decided to repost it because it relates to what I believe is the basic challenge that Democrats have to address in this election.

Although he was far from my mind at the time, it also explains why I support Obama. IMO his goal and strategy reflects how I see things as reflected in this post.

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IMO, one of the biggest screw ups of the left side of the spectrum over the last 30 years is our failure to find the best way to address the very real concerns and problems that average Americans have about liberalism and progressive policies. Failing to deal with that honestly has driven many people into the deceptive arms of conservatives and the GOP.

Most Americans (of most political stripes) have a basic division in their souls. They are liberal in some respects but they are libertarian and conservative in other respects. The political ideology one gravitates to is generally how the balance tips on an individual basis -- whether the liberal/progressive or libertarian/conservative side is strongest.

Let's face it. The goals of liberalism nd progressive populism are necessary, and desirable. But the means to achieve them can be burdensome on an individual basis.

For example, most Americans are in favor of protecting the environment. They don't want pollution. And it's easy to say "Crack down on the polluters" when it's a big remote corporation.....

However, the regulations that have been put into place to protect the environment are often a pain in the ass for individuals and for non-polluting businesses. When you have to go through a lot of rigermarole just get a permit to build an addition onto your house,it can seem like burdensome, meddlesome bureaucracy....Or well-intentioned businesses often still find that simple things can become much more complicated and expensive because of environmental restrictions and requirements.

Same thing with workers rights. Most people are in favor of workers getting paid fairly, having a safe workplace, etc....However, on an individual basis, regulations to enforce these things can be backbreakers for businesses, even businesses that are well-intentioned.

A backlash against the perceived burdens of liberal policies had a large part in driving the country to the right in the last 30 years. It's not just that people were brainwashed by the right-wing or are more selfish and greedy....Rather,the individual balances within people was tipped to the right because they felt their freedom was being impinged upon excessively.

That's also part of what gave rise to "centrism" in the Democratic Party. The desire to acknowledge the perceived downsides of liberalism, and minimize them.

However, the result of that was that we threw the baby out with the bathwater. The DLC and "centrists" became so obsessed with distancing themselves from the drawbacks of liberalism that they also abandoned the benefits and advantages and necessities of liberalism.

IMO, if our side is going to regain political power -- and if the national pendulum is to moved back from the right wing extremes -- we have to figure out ways to deal with this. Both in terms of "framing" and message, and in terms of substantial policies and governing philosophy.

I don't have a surefire solution to that dilemma, but I think it's both possible and necessary.

What's your thoughts on this?

It's impossible, becuase as you said... it's based on the individual, and the personal experiences that have shaped their perception of liberal policies.

So since there's really no one way that anyone could address all that... I have the impression that it's better to focus on the "big picture" goals that BOTH liberals and conservatives care about. This is the key, and IMO this is the message that Obama's campaign has been so skilled at delivering.

It's not easy, obviously... people will demand specifics, and pick apart the answers... but it seems to me that most voters aren't going through a checklist of policy positions... most are voting based on their "gut".

Centerism I think is a misnomer. Most political parties, groups, whatever are coalitions. There is a center in that coalition which almost everyone agrees with, but the point of a coalition is to lock competing groups into policy decisions that may be more contensious.

Demonizing those 'outside the circle' while effective politics, is a recipe to disillusionment and collapse over time. This is what I see happening with the DLC. Its top down center is shrinking. Whatever else, popularism has the potential to make the circles wider. Moderates of all flavors, actually strengthen the ties that bind. More progress is possible if people appreciate they have been consulted and have some say in things. This is why I believe Obama's most important initiative is maximum transparency in government.

And sadly, secrecy has always been the Clinton's modus operandi.

The "center" is fluid and constantly shifting. It also depends on the specific of any issue and circumstance.

My center is where my own political compass is. Same for everybody.

The trick, as you noted, is forming coalitions that share common goals, even if they might differ on specifics. That is the necessary basis for the constructive give-and-take that is required to get anything done.