Returning to Our Priorities

Happy Friday.

The other night I bumped into former Mayor Ed Koch while I was out to dinner with some friends. As he left the restaurant, so did I--in pursuit. I called out after him and he graciously turned to greet me. I explained that I always respected and admired him but that he broke my heart last year (when he supported Bush). He immediately asked if I knew his rationale. I answered that it was my understanding that he supported Bush's foreign policy even though he didn't agree with anything on the domestic agenda. He agreed. I retorted that the current administration's foreign policy was a failure. He agreed. I further commented that they were killing us on the domestic front. He agreed.

His departing words were "Ok, but Hillary in 2008."

There is hope in this. In response to last week's missive, a Happy Friday victim kindly forwarded the provocative article "Just Say No". The article analogizes the upcoming mid-term elections to those of 1994 when the obstructionist republicans gained a majority in both houses of Congress. The premise of the article is that "Democrats are [succeeding by] finally rejecting craven compromises and redefining the party in opposition to right wing Republicans."

Looking deeper, however, the article also points out that in doing so, the Dems are focusing on core domestic issues: healthcare, the economy, education, poverty, and jobs.

Getting back to Ed, while he once was willing to support Bush placing foreign policy concerns (read: the amorphous "war on terrorism") above all else, he is now returning his focus toward domestic issues. Similarly, the focus of the 2004 electorate was on foreign policy; 41 percent thought war/foreign policy/terrorism was the most important problem facing the nation, with just 26 percent choosing the economy.

In 2006, and hopefully again in 2008, the electorate will join Ed in ranking domestic issues as the priority. These issues are where the votes are, and where the Dems can lead.