Harsh Words

Syndicated columnist and member of San Diego Editorial Board, Ruben Navarette Jr. says this about Democrats' views on economy:

"This is a party that maintains power by trying to convince people that our country is a dark place, devoid of opportunities, and that the answer is to elect more of them."

I suppose I agree with the sentiment that sometimes Democrats take their populist message a little too far (maybe that's the politico-economic moderate in me). But I think Navarette's opinion is harsh and mis-characterizes Democrats on 2 main fronts:

1. That Democrats view America as a dark place without opportunity -
I don't know what Navarette heard, but more than once and from most everyone that took the podium at the DNC, I heard people talking about the power of America and how special America is. What I heard was that America is a bright place that has fallen on dark times. There is a difference.

2. That Democrats think that they are the answer to America's collective problems -
I don't know many Democrats that believe that. I think Democrats think they have the ideas that can help solve the problems we face, but I think it's a gross mis-charachterization to suggest that Democrats don't understand that it will take everyone, regardless of party or affiliation, to help improve our country. Obama has said that numerous times.

The "answer" does at least in part require Democrats to be elected though; I'll agree on that front. Why? Because the last 8 years has shown the GOP to be the party of go-it-alone politics. The same people that talked about being "uniters," when faced with reality, showed America that they don't care about the opinions or ideas of others. So yes, Democrats do think it is time for a change. But they don't think that that alone will come close to solving anything.