A NEW KIND OF DEMOCRAT
by Darrell Lewis

Much has been said of the Howard Dean-inspired movement inside the Democratic Party all across America.  Last night, I had an opportunity to talk to dozens of young people who are newly registered and will be voting in their first election on Nov. 2.  Their excitement, optimism and youthful energy are inspiring and gave me cause to ponder just what is going on within our party.

The best I can conclude is that there is a new kind of Democrat emerging.  We don't play by the same old rules and we dare to believe that by our involvement we can make a difference.

We have watched over the last two decades as the Republican Party has been dragged to the right by its most radical religious elements.  We listen to our moderate Republican friends talk about how their party has been hijacked and how they now have to rely on the votes of the radical right to win elections.  Many conservative Republicans have found themselves forced to abandon their traditional values of "states rights" and balanced budgets.  Democrats, frustrated with the success of the emerging ultra-conservative Republican Party, somewhere along the line came to the conclusion that they, too, had to abandon many of their core principles and also pander to the radical right.  Democratic insiders like to point to the election of Bill Clinton as evidence that this move to the right was necessary and successful; yet we all know the real truth about Clinton's success and his name was Ross Perot.

Howard Dean was the first voice who loudly cried foul almost two years ago and asked where the real Democrats are.  His bold challenge of the inside party establishment rallied hundreds of thousands of us to action.  Our sense of higher purpose created a bond and community that still mystifies the traditional Democratic Party insider and scares to death politically-savvy Republicans.

This new kind of Democrat is both a throwback to traditional Democratic values and at the same time embraces some of the traditional aspects of conservative Republicans.  Yes, it’s a bit of an odd mix and your politico types still don't understand it.  Yes, we truly do believe fiscal responsibility is necessary.  We are firmly committed to a balanced budget and only spending the resources we have.  However, we do believe that given the choice of eliminating corporate tax breaks or cutting a needed program, we will choose to keep the needed program and not cut corporate taxes.  We come very much from a "libertarian" perspective, that the government simply has no business in our personal lives and we value highly our personal liberties.  

Yes, in many ways we are Boy Scouts.  We believe in helping the little old lady cross the street.  We believe in doing a good turn daily.  We believe that it is NOT a crime to be poor and YES, we believe government has a responsibility to make sure everyone's boat rises.

So, what are we?  We are a new kind of Democrat and as Howard Dean loves to say, we do have the power - the power to change America for the better.
Darrell Lewis is a DFIA Founding Member.  He runs the Drury for Iowa Senate blog.