Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

The Alpha Democrats

Art by Stephen Kroninger. Above, from left to right: Charles Schumer, Jon Tester, Heath Shuler, Jim Webb, Brad Ellsworth and Rahm Emanuel.

What is Ryan Lizza talking about? The men who just got elected to
the 110th Congress. If you didn\’t see his column yesterday, here\’s a snippet.

NANCY PELOSI’S carefully crafted introduction to the American people last week seemed to reinforce some stereotypes of the so-called mommy party. On the day she made history as the first woman to be elected speaker, she appeared on the House floor, surrounded by children and bedecked in pearls. But even as this nurturing image dominated the news, the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday was notable for another milestone in gender politics: the return of the Alpha Male Democrat. The members of this new faction, which helped the Democrats expand into majority status, stand out not for their ideology or racial background but for their carefully cultivated masculinity. “As much as the policy positions is the background and character of these Democrats,” says John Lapp, the former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who helped recruit this new breed of candidate. “So we went to C.I.A. agents, F.B.I. agents, N.F.L. quarterbacks, sheriffs, Iraq war vets. These are red-blooded Americans who are tough.” The Invasion of the Alpha Male Democrat

I\’m sure Mr. Lizza didn\’t expect Mrs. Pelosi to come out in combat fatigues,
but the obtuseness of this column is matched only by the catch 22 nature of
its conclusion.

More interesting may be the implications of the Macho Dem theory for the 2008 presidential campaign. If a party measures its candidates by whether they wear a uniform, carry a gun or simply look tough — does it invite the public and press to apply that standard to all the party’s leaders? The leading presidential candidates — Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — may not score that high on the Alpha meter. And in the past, when Democrats believed their candidate was a true hero — well, just remember how the Republican Party was able to portray John Kerry. It could be a warning sign for Democrats: live by the Macho Dem creed, die by it.

Excuse me, but why do you think Senator Clinton held on to her Iraq vote for
so long?

Why do you think Senator Obama let fly that silly statement quoted in Fineman\’s
column: \”I cannot in good conscience … cut off funding for our troops
that are already there.\” After coming out against the war very early,
before he was in the U.S. Senate, Obama wants to make sure his \”support
the troop\” cred isn\’t cratered with some silly notion that he\’s one of those old fashioned Vietnam war era Democrats. Never mind that the alpha male Democrats who just got elected
are all supporting redeployment. Obama can\’t get caught in that generational crossfire. He doesn\’t have the biography for it. Mind you, I like Obama, but this latest statement is a very bad omen.

As for John Kerry, Lizza obviously didn\’t pay too close attention to the post
2004 election years, because Kerry learned his lesson and has been kicking collective
ass since that point in time, regardless of the botched joke pr debacle.

Honestly, \”Live by the Macho Dem creed, die by it\” may be the dumbest thing
ever written to analyze the current state of the Democratic Party. We actually did die without it!

First the
Democrats had to live down Vietnam by proving we had the right stuff to lead
on national security. Now we\’ve not only proved it, but convinced Americans to vote for what we now have to offer. However, Lizza decides this will, in the end,
be our downfall. Wow.

It\’s infuriating in the extreme to go from weak and dead to strong and, well, still dead, in the end. Again, first the
Democrats were seen as weak on national security. Now we\’ve got a Speaker of
the House who bet it all on Iraq by not only backing the veteran Jack Murtha
to prove her point, but who also stood up and took a hit for doing it. Standing
behind her is a full compliment of veterans, including Joe Sestak (who should have also been included in the art at the top), all of whom are against \”the
surge,\” which is escalation in 2007 language. Yet, we may die by the \”Macho
Dem creed.\”

Damned it we do or don\’t or can\’t or won\’t doesn\’t begin to describe the political
schizophrenia involved in Lizza\’s analysis. It also makes me want to go to the
range. For you non-alpha Democrats, that would be the gun range, not the kitchen range.

Bang.

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