GregsOpinion.com

Harkin is party's progressive voice

First off, let me begin this rant by saying I like Tom Harkin. Back in 1992, there were two candidates I was willing to support: Bill Clinton and Tom Harkin. I agreed with Clinton's ideas a lot more readily, and I disagreed with some rather big issues that Harkin was known for. So how can that be?

It can be, because both were fighters. Harkin moreso than Clinton, but Harkin is a political streetfighter, and had I not thought there was a chance in hell of winning in 1992, I'd have gone all out for him. I like Harkin for the same reasons I liked Wellstone. They are not ivory tower liberals who just think up great utopian themes and try to enact them (true, Wellstone was a college prof, but he also organized farm coops for crissakes). Harkin's brand of progressivism realizes that to be successful, one must measure by the results it has on real people. Being a results-type of guy, I can appreciate that.

I disagree vehemently on trade issues, and I consider myself a little more open minded on economic impacts to those in the upper 40%/20%/5% and 1%. A little too often for my taste, the more avowed liberalism becomes, the more inward it tends to become and Harkin's brand dances along that borderline a little too often for me to really enjoy all that much.

Harkin is basically going to spend January spelling out his vision of a Democratic party that needs to move left. On the face of it, I obviously disagree. I suspect that when Harkin spells it all out, though, there will be 80% of what he says that I'll likely agree with, and 20% that I'll disagree with. But where this sort of intraparty division originates is that many who see the DLC as moving the party to the right fail to see that the policies advocated via their think thank aren't all that diametrically opposed. Occassionally, the difference just comes down to the speed at which measures help any given aspect of society.

To be fair, there are still some big issues that separate the movements. Free trade perhaps being among the biggest. And to be sure, there are several Zell Millers out there who take comfort of the umbrella afforded by the DLC, just as their are those who take comfort in knowing they will have labor's support till their dying day on the left. Still, I'll look forward to seeing what Harkin has to say. Dick Durbin is looking to put together a more centrist caucus together in the Senate, so hopefully out of all this, there'll be a fairly healthy debate that more or less puts the party on one track for an election. Sadly, I'm still pessimistic that that'll be the 2004 elections.