Macho Liberals, Part Trois
Michael Signer has an op-ed in USA Today urging Democrats to be tougher. His prescription:
If they are to prevail, liberals need to reinvent themselves. This enterprise will require a brand of internationalism that unquestionably places America first; the framing of causes in a moral language of certitude; a renewed fighting approach, both in campaigns and governance; a side-stepping of policies and language based purely on rights or empathy; and a new political vocabulary premised on courage, fortitude and certitude.
I don't see how it's going to work. Even John Kerry's fans admit that he sees the world in shades of grey, which sort of rules out "framing of causes in a moral language of certitude". The "renewed fighting approach" of course sounds great to liberals who think that a lack of feistiness is what cost Michael Dukakis (we hear this all the time, now that another Massachusetts liberal is about to win the nomination). Not to be unkind, but it sounds more to me like rubbing the lipstick off the pig and hoping that NOW people will kiss it.
