Now that John Kerry has finally won an election - albeit to the post of jury foreman - it's time to start electing the next generation of Democrats. Right now, the most interesting race next year promises to be the U.S. Senate race in Ohio. Yes, that's right; Ohio will once more be the focus.The race would have been interesting if only because Iraqi invasion veteran Paul Hackett will probably challenge incumbent, pro-war Republican Mike DeWine for the seat. This race became more interesting in recent days because Jeanne Schmidt, the woman who narrowly beat him in a special election for the House of Representatives, just made a complete fool of herself. Pushing the issue even more into the forefront is the potential indictment of another Ohioan in Congress, Bob Ney, on bribery charges related to the Jack Abramoff investigation.
But rather than spend more time detailing the corruption in the Republican ranks, let's focus on the Democrats who are running.
Paul Hackett is probably the best known of the next generation of politicians. He is someone who, until very recently, had never been involved in politics. He has never dealt with party machines, never been appointed to small posts by a district or county leader, never "proven" himself to be a "loyal" Democrat. Yet he may be on the verge of being elected to the U.S Senate.
And he is not alone. There will be many others running on the Democratic ticket - some of them in primary races - who didn't come up through the ranks in the old-fashioned, back-room manner. These new Democrats won't be in party leadership positions any time soon, but they represent a new voice, not only in Democratic party politics, but in American politics as well.
And that spells serious trouble for the Republicans.
Generally, outside of Presidential elections, the majority of Americans don't vote. In other words, most Americans are completely uninvolved in their own government more than 99.9% of the time. Americans who don't vote represent the largest single interest group around, and anyone who gains their support stands to win every major election for a generation to come. Right now, it looks like the Democratic party is doing just that.
When Howard Dean created Democracy for America and then made his successful push to become the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, his main message was simple: Get more people involved in all levels of government. Regardless of whether his fundraising efforts are working or his comments are helping, his main goal is beginning to bear fruit. And it looks like the first of many bumper crops.
People are springing up all over the country, advocating a progressive platform on all levels of government. Their voices are beginning to make themselves heard. Combine this effort with the seeming inability of the national Republican leaders walk and talk at the same time. The result could be a huge Democratic victory at the polls next year, a victory that could be just the beginning.
Thomas Jefferson believed that every generation should stage its own revolution. We may be witnessing the first generation of Democrats to lead such a revolution since the New Deal.
Copyright 2005, Dan Jacoby
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