Drippy Dick

With Kerry apparently having weathered the crapstorm of Bush attacks and--at least for now--his own limitations as a candidate, the attention of the chattering classes turns back to his vice-presidential pick. This Newsday story notes that "vetting" is underway for several possible candidates, including Usual Suspects Dick Gephardt and John Edwards as well as some governors (Vilsack of Iowa, Fast Eddie Rendell of PA) and others who, lamentably, are probably being floated only as window dressing. (More on this below).

Now, I like John Edwards. His "Two Americas" campaign theme was a little simplistic--though the first iteration of it, focusing on the Bush agenda of shifting the taxation burden "from wealth to work," was catnip for policy dweebs like me--but the guy could charm the birds out of the trees and, as an old co-worker of mine once put it, probably could sell oil to the Arabs. Maybe because he's not a career politician, he gave the odd impression of meaning what he said. (Even if he said it again and again. Probably that's a lawyer trick, but it's also the sign of a very disciplined campaigner.) Both Edwards and Wes Clark--my first choice for the Democratic nomination--showed how it might be cool to be a Democrat, something I've never seen in my lifetime. I'd love to see Clark as the VP--not only would he demolish Cheney's delusional geostrategic thinking in debate, but once in office he could handle a large chunk of foreign policy guidance. (Another post for another day: the modern presidency is now so big and complicated that you basically need a #2 who can help carry the load. We will never again see a Dan Quayle-type who just plays golf, goes to the odd funeral and mis-spells "Competitiveness". )But Edwards would be fine, too; he presents a great personal contrast with Cheney, would bring some sunlight to the generally dour Kerry message, and probably would play very well among both young voters and economically worried but socially conservative heartlanders.

Actually the very best choice would be Rep. John Lewis, D-GA. He's a hero of the civil rights movement, has been described as a virtual American saint, and as an African-American would spark unprecedented black turnout throughout the south and in the big cities of swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. A Kerry-Lewis ticket could plausibly be said to represent the best of America: a hero in war, a hero in peace, and two dedicated public servants. (On the downside, it sounds too much like "Jerry Lewis," and nobody wants to be associated with that guy. Then again, the other side is running "Bush and Dick." So much for family values...) Sadly, Lewis--who is mentioned at the end of the Newsday article along with several women, including Govs. Shaheen of NH and Sibelius of KS, is probably being floated only to appease the constituencies. I suspect Kerry wouldn't have the courage or imagination to go this route.

And then there's Dick Gephardt, or as I like to call him, Drippy Dick. Robo-populist, two-time loser at the Democratic nomination, four-time loser in the battle to retake the House of Representatives. Bush's Rose Garden ass monkey on the war, presumably because some pollster told him it would help on the campaign trail this year. (How'd that work out?) The walking, talking symbol of Democratic failures in the last 20 years. Look closely and you can actually see the big red "L" stenciled indelibly on his forehead.

If you want to build a bridge back to the 20th century, Dick is your man. But let's briefly go through the arguments for his inclusion on the ticket.

"He'll help carry Missouri, and will sway labor and gay voters (his daughter is out)."

Let's start with Missouri, generally considered a swing state this year. What gives us any confidence that Gephardt will help win the state? He's a million-term congressman from a reliably Democratic district in St. Louis. He's never run for statewide office, to my knowledge. Do we even have statewide approve/disapprove numbers? I find it much easier to believe that this failed, tired symbol of wimpy pseudoliberalism is loathed throughout "Red America"--including those parts of Missouri beyond the Arch.

As for labor and gay votes, is this really a swing constituency in 2004? To say the least, it strains credibility to imagine that Dick would convince any union members or gays who aren't already committed to ousting the most rabidly anti-labor and homophobic administration in memory to pull a Donkey lever.

"He's a proven leader who knows how to move legislation."

Well, he knows how to see things die in committee. Granted, any Democrat finds it impossible to do business in the House of DeLay, but it can't be a good sign that on the campaign trail this year, Gephardt's go-to citation for his House service was casting the deciding vote for Clinton's economic plan... 11 years ago. Assuming Kerry wins but the House remains Republican (thanks, redistricting), what makes us think that Gephardt would be able to move anything through an opposition party leadership that loathes him? As for the Senate, where a VP Gephardt would have the power to cast tie-breaking votes, I've heard that they tend to react poorly to House veterans...

"He's been a good Democrat for so long."
This one is somewhat akin to people defending Phils manager Larry Bowa because "he wants to win so badly." Hey, so do I, and I'm even smart enough not to hit Abreu and Thome back-to-back every night. Similarly, Gephardt probably does bleed Democratic blue, but considering all the negative connotations that go with the late 20th century Democratic Party, is this such a good thing?

We want to broaden the appeal to independents and disaffected moderate Republicans; Gephardt plays only to the base (and not even that well with them). We want to run to Bush's right on fiscal conservatism and responsible economic stewardship; Gep is the embodiment of tax-and-spend liberal excess. We want to carry the standard of change and reform; a ticket with a combined half-century of Congressional experience pretty much suffocates that message. And we want to keep faith with young voters, former Deaniacs and people new to the process; trotting out a man who probably has his own dressing room at "Meet the Press" is not the way to do that.

I couldn't be more against a Gephardt pick. Only in a sewer of self-delusion and asinine "thinking" like Democratic DC could this possibly be seen as a good idea. What more could Kerry do to energize Nader-leaners than to pick the man who stood with Chimp-in-Chief to support the war? What more could he do to stick a middle finger in the face of Dean loyalists than tap the man who slimed Dean in Iowa?

Gephardt on the ticket would represent such a colossal failure of political courage and imagination that it would substantially justify the argument on the left--which I haven't shared to this point--that the Democratic Party is a spent force and needs to be replaced.

Please, please, please e-mail the Kerry campaign, talk to anyone you know who's remotely connected, call radio stations, write letters, and do everything you can to stop the nominee from making such a horrendous decision.