Apparently, I’m not supposed to like the Democratic Leadership Council. Too moderate. Too pro-business at the expense of the needs of the people. Too willing to dismiss the progressive wing of the party. But in a room full of public servants, it’s hard not to feel excited about the democratic process in general and, more specifically, the ideas being generated and discussed. And listening to DLC Vice Chair Senator Tom Carper’s laser focused remarks on alternative energies, conservation, and removing our dependence on foreign oil, Governor Brian Schweitzer’s call for the continued development of renewable energies, and Governor Bredesen’s plea for us to concentrate on our core values, makes it easy to see the organization’s value.

One criticism of the DLC is that they have shifted the Democratic Party to the right. But early in his speech, Governor Bredesen assured the group that’s not what he’s suggesting, a pointed statement considering past criticisms. Echoing George Lakoff’s, “Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate” (2004), and Paul Waldman’s “Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn from Conservative Success” (2006), the Governor said he wanted to talk about the need for Democrats to reach inside themselves and rediscover who we are. We can learn a lot from barn raisings, he suggested, which are all about team work and personal responsibility.

Bredesen loosely repeated the main point of both Lakoff’s and Waldman’s books by saying that if you ask him what Republicans stand for, he can tell you in about 25 words.* However, he can’t do the same for the Democrats. Until we can state what the Democratic party stands for in 25 words, he said, we’re doing nothing but feeding a losing habit. We need to stop measuring ourselves by others, shut out noise, look inside ourselves for our values and reconnect with the things that are important to the “common people.”

The answer to fixing the country’s problems, he continued, is for us to rediscover how to raise a barn. And, we have big barns to build - the war, financial difficulties of our country, educating our kids, health care for all - and we’re not going to build solutions by choosing sides. His plea was for governing to get things done and though “American’s have always loved contact sports and elections are certainly that” he stressed the importance of toning down the partisanship when elections are over start raising some barns. It is never leadership to divide those who look to you, he said, leadership, is about finding common ground and raising barns.

Bredesen’s use of the barn raising analogy was powerful but he stressed that doesn’t have to only be idealistic talk, “it can be potent politics as well.”

As his remarks became more keen, Bredesen had nothing but derision for the health care ideas being bandied about by both Democrats and Republicans today. He said they are “stale” with the S Chip discussion being solely about “how much more of that 1965 vision we are going to buy this year - nothing bold or new about them.” 1965 was 42 years ago, he said, it’s time to look for a new design.

His analogy worked particularly well with his vision of health care reform. He explained to the group of city-slickers in the audience that a barn raising is done piecemeal, because if it’s done all at once it won’t work. In a barn raising, a foundation is built first, and the following gradual steps could be used to fix health care:

• First, tackle a sensible system for perscription drugs, “solveable by stepping away from the traditional Democratic and Republican tools and finding some new tools.”
• Next, health care for all children. Fixing some of the problems within the children’s health care system first could lead the way for other areas.
• Continue inventing in this vein for a while and we’d “have the makings of a barn” with a strong foundation on which to put up walls and a roof.
• Eventually the sun would come up on a a workable system of comprehensive health care for all.

Bredesen wrapped up with a plea for “Passion, big dreams, and to show a way into the future that resonates with the deepest values of Americans and the hope and dreams they have for themselves and their children.” Forget about polls, shut out the noise, and reach inside ourselves to rediscover how to build a barn.

P.S. to the Governor: In addition to rediscovering and learning how to present our values to the American people we need to build a passionate and vocal infrastructure to disseminate the message. Hrm….I wonder how we could do that…

*Democrats believe in Freedom, equality, opportunity, prosperity, and security for all Americans and not just a privileged few. (18 words!)

This post was written by Mary Mancini