I’ve seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the fair Deal, and says he really doesn’t believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don’t want a phony Democrat. If it’s a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don’t want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign.
But when a Democratic candidate goes out and explains what the New Deal and fair Deal really are — when he stands up like a man and puts the issues before the people — then Democrats can win, even in places where they have never won before. It has been proven time and again.
-Harry Truman, Address at the National Convention Banquet of the Americans for Democratic Action, May 17, 1952
There's a real need for many to be reminded of Harry Truman's "phony Democrat" argument these days. It panned out in the 2002 midterms when the party, cowed by Republican demagoguery of 9/11 and terrorism, threw their support behind the invasion of Iraq. Democrats lost big that year, giving George W. Bush's party both houses of congress. The winners on the left that year were not the Democrats who ran to the right, but those who stood by their principles. No antiwar Democrat lost -- the losers were all the wishy-washy middle-of-the-road types. These days, we'd call them Blue Dogs... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
