Every day conservatives say, “No we can’t,” and every day I say, “Yes we can.”
On a principled level I resent people who enter government without either the intention or the capacity to make it work and do good things. For me, people who affirm the conservatives’ argument are aiding the opposition. I have little patience for people who disrespect the profession. It’s much the same way that a professional ballplayer disrespects another player who gets caught gambling on his own game. Or a police officer disrespects a cop who violates someone’s civil rights. Or a finance professional disrespects a broker who is found to do insider trading. Or a clergy member disrespects another clergy member who abuses his position. When government officials disrespect their office, it affirms the negative stereotype that I and so many others have been working to overcome.
Every example of dysfunction, corruption, or incompetence sets back the entire movement. It makes the conservatives’ argument.
Every Democratic mistake fuels the conservative cause. Every failed program and over-budget construction project fuels the conservative agenda. Every unrealistic or unintelligent proposal fuels the conservative agenda. Democrats have already given conservatives too much ammunition. Failed government and unrealized proposals only feed public skepticism.
Democrats who see government as merely a public relations position, or a pulpit for political pronouncements, or who are either unwilling or unable to actually get the job done have been a long-term liability for the progressive movement. If people want to be celebrities, they should go into show business. If people want to be advocates, they should join an advocacy organization. Progressives in government must be dedicated to achieving progress; otherwise they are really only bolstering the conservative cause. Too many progressives today fail to realize or focus on the fact that we must prove government can work to be successful and vindicate our cause. The burden of proof is on us. It is mastering the art form of effective government service. Some progressives now engaged in politics or government think they can just act the part. They can’t.
When I was about eleven years old, a couple of my friends in the neighborhood said that they were forming a band and that I should come over and check them out. I went to see them in the neighbor’s garage and sure enough there was a drum set, guitars, and a microphone stand. The band then turned on a record player, picked up the instruments, and played along with the song. Except they didn’t really play. The record player was playing the music. The band was just lip-synching along and the guitars and drums were props. After this went on for a while, I said to my friend, “That’s great, but I think a band has to be able to make music without the record player.” He looked surprised and confused. I don’t know if they missed the point or believed they were going to work up to it, or were ahead of their time as the next Milli Vanilli. In either event, I didn’t care to join. That’s how I feel when I see some now engaged in the political arena. It’s not about holding an instrument or singing with the music. You have to know how to perform.
I applaud elected officials who know how to play the instrument, accomplish the goal, and affirm government capacity. Look at Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta. She showed the nation brave, principled, competent leadership. She inspired. Likewise, I applaud Joe Biden. He is an honorable man who has dedicated his life to public service and constantly leads people to do better and be better. His career has produced positive change that builds public confidence.
The political contest in this country between Democrats and Republicans or, more clearly, between progressives and conservatives comes down to a simple proposition: “Who do the American people believe?”
People who call themselves progressives must be examples of why Americans should trust us. Their service must be honorable and productive. They must be willing and able to make the hard choices to effect change and deliver results. Not just to advocate, but to actually achieve. Not to talk, but to act. They must make things better. If they fail to do that for one reason or another, they set the progressive cause back and give Americans more of a reason to distrust us. An unanticipated result of the COVID pandemic is that it can be a transformational moment in politics. Not since the Great Depression has government been as relevant to domestic issues. Government has gone from an abstract concept to a practical day-to-day essential. It impacts everyone every day, for better or worse. The veil of political theory has been lifted and the reality of government capacity has been exposed. Government leaders have been scrutinized and the level of their competence has been revealed. People know who was up to the job and who wasn’t. They know who stepped up and who fell down. It is an opportunity for progressives because it establishes our main point: Government matters and leadership matters. Progressives cannot miss this opportunity to rise to the public’s expectations. Government must deliver; it is actions, not words. Leaders must lead, and they must respond to the crisis. In this moment, progressives can change politics for the next fifty years the way the ultimate progressive, FDR, changed the political trajectory after the Depression. The stakes are just too high to fail. That is my philosophy and that is the plain truth.
JUNE 19 | 716 NEW CASES | 1,220 HOSPITALIZED | 25 DEATHS
“We learned that our better angels are stronger than our demons and sometimes we just need to listen for them. Over the past 111 days, we heard them and it was beautiful.
