The Political-Industrial Complex, Part II
The Prairie Progressive

by Jim Larew

In contrast with the era of the Iowa Democratic Party’s modern rebirth, today, in too many instances, within the same Party, the proper order of priorities has been reversed. An emphasis on organizational politics, and concerns about the need for money to finance those organizations, now frequently supplants and precedes any overt commitment to liberal and progressive core values.  

This premise—that the Iowa Democratic Party needs to re-commit itself to a substantive progressive agenda before focusing on matters that mere technological fixes cannot remedy—is increasingly obvious to many party activists, particularly in light of the November 2004 election.  

But this viewpoint is not frequently spoken about by Democratic Party officials or by candidates who seek the support of Democratic Party activists. Indeed, apologists for the losing status quo, persons whose voices are given disproportionate access to the public forum, too frequently explain and excuse the sad events of November 2004 with implausible rationales.  

Some of these apologists are themselves entrenched in a formidable, growing new industry, an expensive phenomenon that might well be called the “political-industrial complex.”   Often acting in the capacity as “political consultants” and “experts,” their survival appears impervious to political defeat.  Ironically…participation in losing causes appears to provide solid credentials for the next campaign season.

If the Party’s future is to be different than its recent past, its members must re-establish the correct order of priorities. A dedication to fundamental liberal values must precede any grand schemes for new campaign machineries and strategies to finance the same.  

A successful Iowa Democratic Party of the future will be infused with progressive and liberal ideas, led by persons who are at least as concerned about the contents and substance of our State’s future policies as they are about getting voters to the polls on time.

Only with sound, progressive public policies can citizens hope to enter and to remain in our increasingly fragile middle class.
 
     ~ Jim Larew is an attorney in private practice in Iowa City
To read the entire article (Part II), see the Summer 2005 issue of the Prairie Progressive, Iowa's oldest progressive newsletter, available only in hard copy for $12/yr.  PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244.  Co-editors of The Prairie Progressive are Jeff Cox and Dave Leshtz.
Click here to sign up for action alerts from  RapidResponse - Iowa.