America’s Pledge

A Work in Progress

The belated public awakening to the extraordinary incompetence, arrogance, and hypocrisy of the Bush administration provides a profound opportunity for progressive independent democrats to seize upon the political “anti-matter” that has emerged.  The anti-matter of the late 1990s was created by (whether from his own creation or fabricated by enemies) President Clinton’s sexual misconducts.  Clinton was perceived to be an amoral individual and therefore the representation of all things bad.  Whomever (or whatever group) emerged as the anti-indecency candidate (whether genuine or not) would appeal to those with a superficial knowledge of political debate simply looking for the opposite of a single characteristic - regardless of political persuasion.   George W. Bush filled this gap in 2000 using disingenuous rhetoric, shallow platitudes, and repeated hyperbole which established him as the moral candidate and voters followed without a critical examination of his policies or competence.  Particularly ironic is that Bush proceeded to govern mostly in contravention of the imaginary moral candidate of his (and others) creation.

The anti-matter brewing in the collective consciousness today is a reaction to inept governance and cronyism.  Most certainly the theme for the next two election cycles will include a strong emphasis on a competent government directed toward serving the majority and administered by those with a genuine interest in serving the public rather than on personal profit.  The candidates who can capture this theme early will no doubt possess the exclusive rights to frame in their favor the political debate on such issues.

The political climate is ripe for the introduction of bold ideas.  Independent progressive democrats could unite under a common theme – a focal point from which to derive constant guidance, to define the character of those who are driven to follow such principles, to project solidarity with similarly-minded leaders across the country, and to implicitly define opposing candidates as possessing the opposite characteristics. 

This venture is certainly not attractive to institutional democrats.  Most are still sitting on their collective hands paralyzed by the threat of controversy and seemingly allergic to the relatively effortless opportunity to emerge as a populist opposition party.  Rather, they appear to favor polite silence and await the spoils of the impending Republican Party implosion.  Further, many are embedded with private interests and devoted to Party – which would make their participation disingenuous.  This is the time for independent progressive democrats to define themselves and emerge as the leaders of a renewed, focused, and energized Democratic Party.

In that spirit, the following provides a suggested framework common to all progressive thinkers – for the consideration of every candidate for school board, park ranger, alderman, town trustee, state representative, federal representative, and all elected officials across the country.  Note that they are not policy declarations, which are generally an aspect of every candidate’s message.  Policy positions are not always universal among progressive thinkers (as we don’t generally march in unison to a single leader) and therefore contrary positions on policy matters among progressives may project the appearance of a collection of disjointed and isolated candidates across the country.  The following represents a message stronger than where someone stands on, say, education – it is a set of principles and pledges to voters that form a commitment to how one will govern themselves in office and outline measurable goals upon which an officeholder can be measured. 

The following points are admittedly not particularly inventive, articulate, or original (in fact, it’s quite shameful that they have to be affirmatively proclaimed rather than simply understood as fundamental assumptions) and can be easily modified or subject to wholesale substitution.  What gives them extraordinary value is that they convey a simple, clear, consistent, unambiguous message with universal appeal (it’s difficult to argue with the message behind any of them) and should be used and referenced in communications independent progressive democrats have with the public.  A simple mention of these principles presumably endorsed by progressive candidates across the country brings immediate recognition and credibility that an hour stump speech wouldn’t convey (the effect would not be unlike the perceived solidarity fabricated by those who followed the 1994 Contract with America).  It changes the frame of the debate to the issues of our choosing, forces discussion of these matters, and bestows upon us the positive characteristics of the principles while imposing the contrary implication on opponents who cannot agree to them.

The following is a living document and could use some help as it should continually evolve.  Any comments or suggestions are welcome.  It is a Work in Progress, so to speak.  Perhaps it’s naive and impractical for effective administration – but it would certainly be refreshing.

Click here for America's Pledge

Menu