They don’t really go together except in one way.  They were both explained in full a year ago this September.  

Recent events reminded me that in his book last year Howard Dean addressed both issues.  He addressed the issue of why our party finds it so doggone hard to speak up.  He also addressed the issue of why those people in New Orleans were so alone in their time of need.

From page 100 of “You Have the Power”

“It has of course been in the interest of Republicans to stress self-reliance and individualism.  That’s the Frank Luntz way of packaging their economic plans to starve support for the needy.

More below.

But leaving people on their own to flounder and drown doesn’t really reflect the values of most America.  The policies based on this philosophy of social Darwinism haven’t made American strong: they’ve made middle-class America weaker by draining resources away from families.  By taking our own money away from civic life and community activism. By encouraging selfishness. By making people feel alone.

And more from Howard on why you are not hearing that much on the above topic from our Democrats….they are not willing to pay the price for the candor that will be needed to speak the truth. Some are getting there, but there really is a dear price to pay.

From page 124 of You Have the Power

“For Democrats to offer voters a significant change over the long term, we need to say what we mean and not be afraid of the consequences.  But there is a price to be paid for candor, and I and others inclined to speak our minds have discovered the hard way.  There is no reward now in politics for saying what you think.  On the contrary, in the get-along-go-along world of Washington, politicians are penalized for saying what they believe, and insincerity is the currency of our culture.  (After I finished my campaign, I fully understood what Harry Truman had meant when he said, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”)

From the same page, this paragraph reminded me of the games they appear to be playing on the Roberts’ nomination.

America’s politicians attack one another by day and slap one another on the back by evening.  They can play this game because they know that their fighting words have no real meaning.  And the media play right along, reporting on the game as though it were a story of substance.  Indeed, the game becomes the story, and discussions of substance are relegated to a newspaper’s inside pages if they are covered at all.”

His words came to my mind as I was reading a diary by wu ming at Daily Kos tonight.  It was a nice diary, thoughtful.  I remembered how Howard had addressed these issues last year.  I still wish he were my president, but as my second graders used to say…”teacher, wishes don’t mean nothing.”

wu ming’s diary
Obama’s scold is a good sign