… and I don’t know if it’s the Democratic Party, or me.

Surfed over to Drudge this morning and dropped a news alert regarding the Venezuelan court case I alerted you to earlier today. My curiosity piqued, I checked out this NYT article, on the basis that it’s always good to understand what the other side is thinking.

The problem, of course, is that much of what I read seemed to strain the bounds of credulity. The premise of the article is that Democrats are poised to capitalize on Republican scandals and ineffectuality at the polls this November, if only they can devise the proper system to do so. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), I have a difficult time finding anything in this article that convinces me that such is the case; indeed, I see several items that make me wonder how the Democrats can possibly be considered serious candidates for national elections at all.

Put on your hip boots and wade into the muck with your intrepid blogger.

[…]”Asked to describe the health of the Democratic Party, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said: “A lot worse than it should be. This has not been a very good two months.”

Ok. To this point in the article, I’m following along and nodding. Things are still making sense; nobody’s drank the Kool-Aid yet. However, I continue on…

“Democrats said they had not yet figured out how to counter the White House’s long assault on their national security credentials.”

I smirked at my monitor, at this point. Note to the Democratic Party: You have no national security credentials with mainstream America. Whether it’s Jimmy Carter’s utter borking of the Iranian hostage crisis, Clinton’s ignominous retreat from Somalia or Murtha’s utterly blind statements about immediate troop withdrawal in Iraq, you continue to prove that on the national security front, you’re gutless pantywaists. I mean, seriously guys. C’mon.

“And they said their opportunities to break through to voters with a coherent message on domestic and foreign policy — should they settle on one — were restricted by the lack of an established, nationally known leader to carry their message this fall.”

Should they settle on one? Are you shitting me? How do you expect American voters to take you seriously at the polls when you still can’t agree on something as basic as how to protect the country? It’s rare for me to go from an incredulous smirk to raised-brow-and-bulging-eyes so fast (at least, if Michael Moore isn’t on the tele), but this one paragraph did it. You have it to thank for the genesis of this post.

” “I think that two-thirds of the American people think the country is going in the wrong direction,” ” said Senator Barack Obama, the first-term Illinois Democrat who is widely viewed as one of the party’s promising stars. “They’re not sure yet whether Democrats can move it in the right direction.”

Mr. Obama said the Democratic Party had not seized the moment, adding: “We have been in a reactive posture for too long. I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes.” “

Mr. Obama hasn’t said anything of true substance in two years. It’s good to see he’s remaining consistent. That quality alone might ensure his star shall rise very highly in his party, indeed.

” “We’re selling our party short; you’ve got to stand for a lot more than just blasting the other side,” said Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee. “The country is wide open to hear some alternatives, but I don’t think it’s wide open to all these criticisms. I am sitting here and getting all my e-mail about the things we are supposed to say about the president’s speech, but it’s extremely light on ideas. It’s like, ‘We’re for jobs and we’re for America.’ “

Governor Bredesen is starting to ‘get it’. The problem here is obvious: Instead of being told what to say, perhaps it’s time for politicians of any party affiliation to start articulating and standing behind ideas which offer practical solutions. You know, instead of being a party based purely on obstructionist policies (see Nancy Pelosi’s comments further down) and hollow sloganeering.

Just a thought, though.

“Presidential campaigns typically produce prominent party leaders, followed around the country by a cluster of reporters and television crews, but that is at least two years away.”

Prominent leaders like… Howard Dean? John Kerry? That’s good material, right there. I’m phoning that shit in to Chris Rock.

You had your chance to create prominent leaders, guys, and those’re the jokes you foisted off onto the American public. And while they might appeal to your fringe of insane, outrageous ultraleftists, they won’t get you far anywhere else.

Will the American voters give you a mulligan at this point? I guess we’ll find out in nine months, eh?

“Since Mr. Bush’s re-election, Democrats have been divided over whether to take on the Republicans in a more confrontational manner, ideologically and politically, or to move more forcefully to stake out the center on social and national security issues. They are being pushed, from the left wing of the party,” [emphasis mine - Nate] “to stand for what they say are the party’s historical liberal values.”

Dingdingdingding. We have a winner!

Any party that uses a morally-bankrupt Hollywood elite as a prime fundraising tool, makes nutjobs like Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore it’s public face in the absence of real leadership, and has elected representatives like Dick Durbin cozying up to brutal dictatorships is doomed to political failure unless I’m misreading the true level of apathy among the American electorate.

I’m no pollster, so that’s entirely impossible, of course.

The bottom line here is that American Democrats have not only identified themselves with the American hard left, but with the global hard left - wonderful people like George Galloway. I can’t reasonably see that as anything but political suicide.

“But among more establishment Democrats, there is concern that many of the party’s most visible leaders — among them, Howard Dean, the Democratic chairman; Senator John Kerry, the party’s 2004 presidential candidate; Mr. Kennedy; Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader; and Al Gore, who has assumed a higher profile as the party heads toward the 2008 presidential primaries — may be flawed messengers.”

May be? I’d stop questioning that, personally. Bill Clinton showed the Democratic Party a valuable lesson - that the key to winning elections and governing successfully as a Democrat is to campaign and govern from the center. Instead, today’s Democratic Party leadership lists as a veritable who’s-who of “Hands off Cuba”-style radical lefties. We don’t trust you. Period.

” “I think the Republicans are ripe for the taking on this issue,” Mr. Bayh said in the interview, “but not until we rehabilitate our own image. I think there’s a certain element of denial about how we are viewed, perhaps incorrectly but viewed nonetheless, by many Americans as being deficient on national security.” “

If you’re being viewed “incorrectly”, Mr. Bayh, it’s because of the company you choose to keep. See my point above.

As long as you appear to be the party for abortion-on-demand for 10-year olds, destroying the institution of marriage, leniency for pedophiles, unlimited cocaine for supermodels and a “chicken in every pot and a dimebag in every glovebox”, you will be a failure. And that’s the rep you’re building with middle America.

Rehabilitate your image, indeed.

” “We’re going to keep hammering this,” said Mr. Dean, the party chairman, referring to the scandals. “One thing the Republicans have taught us is that values and character matter.” “

The greatest gift that the Democrats have given the Republicans is Howard Dean.

You have to read this and ask yourself: “Why did Republicans have to teach Democrats that values and character matter?” The cynical answer is this: Because Democrats had no values and character to begin with. Like a parrot, they are learning to mimic the motions and expressions that convey values and character without really knowing what they’re talking about.

Seriously. You have to laugh, or you’d cry. These people will get votes in November. That makes me sad for America.

“And Mr. Bayh said, “I don’t believe we will win by just not being them.”

Ms. Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, did not dispute that argument. But, pointing to the Democratic strategy in defeating Mr. Bush’s Social Security proposal last year, she said there was no rush.

“People said, ‘You can’t beat something with nothing,’ ” she said, arguing that the Democrats had in fact accomplished precisely that this year. “I feel very confident about where we are.” “

Ms. Pelosi certainly seems proud of being a party with no true substance, does she not? Remarkable.

Whew. That’s alot of deconstruction and analysis in one sitting.

The worst part of everything quoted and stated above is that none of this is new. These self-identity crises are old hat for the Democratic Party, who suffer from one of the worst cases of Multiple Personality Disorder since Sybil. In a time when new ideas and solutions could sweep them into unquestioned power, the Dummycrats continue to run firmly in place, believing, as Howard Dean once said, that the problem isn’t in their message, but in the delivery of it.

Keep on believing, Howard. Keep it up, for all our sakes.