Coyote Crunch

Stand Up for Government: Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne is the latest to suggest that the Democrats need to propose a vision of their own if they hope to compete successfully with Republicans in the next Congressional election. Hearkening back to Franklin D. Roosevelt's view of government, Dionne said "...Democrats will continue to lose ground if they fail to stand up for [the] affirmative government role in enhancing both individual liberty and self-sufficiency." Because Republicans generally take the side of weaker role for government (especially federal government), this makes considerable strategic sense. And he warned the Dems against focusing too strongly on rights. "The other challenge to the conservative status quo must focus on the obligations of citizens to their communities and their country ..." Hear! Hear! Anybody remember, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country"? Somebody ask Ted Kennedy when the Dems start turning that statement on its head. Wile E.

A Centrist Network: The coyotes have long been impressed with the Communitarian Network, an collection of arguably centrist intellectuals and policy wonks positioned more or less between "libertarians" (advocates for a very weak government) and "totalitarians" (advocates for a very strong government). We'll be adding more links from different sides of the spectrum as time goes on. Wile E.

And Coyotes Are Here to Help: The coyotes are much in favor of the two-party system. It's the American Way. Now that the Republicans are on the ropes, you would think the Dems would be gaining favor. You would think wrong. Voters remain disgusted with the Democrats, and rightly so. The Dems seem to stand for nothing more than abortion rights and for whatever President Bush is against (or against whatever he is for). Rumor has it that Democratic think tanks are working on program that the leadership will spring on the public shortly before the 2006 Congressional Elections. In this, they seem to be borrowing a strategy from the Republicans of 1994 who took over the House by playing negative until springing the Contract With America shortly before the 1994 elections. Bad idea. The Dems are out of practice. They need to start showing some leadership now--so they can get the bugs out by election time. The coyotes will help by offering some ideas for a Democratic political program that makes sense. (The Republicans don't need as much help. Even though they are bumbling in their execution, they at least seem to have some sense of what they stand for.) Stay tuned. Wile E.