Tristero for Digby: The Third Way And The Highway

There is a much discussed report by The Third Way Middle Class Project called "The Politics of Polarization" that purports to analyze the plight of the Democrats and suggests concrete measures to focus the party. Based on a reading of the executive summary, the conclusions, and some skimming through the report, those of us who are liberals will find at least some food for thought. But it has several major flaws in its reasoning which led the authors to conclude, wrongly, that the Democratic Party should advocate "centrist," actually center-right, positions.

Two of the flaws are uwarranted assumptions on the part of the authors. First, they deride "the myth of mobilization;" it is a mistake, they say, to assume that by energizing liberals and getting them to the polls in record numbers, Democrats can win. They argue that since conservatives outnumber liberals 3 to 2, "Democrats cannot win the game of “base” ball, except in those rare circumstances in which conservatives are discouraged and demobilized."