State of the Party

Bill Bradley's Times op-ed from last week offered a pretty clear analysis of the problems with the current Democratic Party structure. While I agree with Bradley's inverted-pyramid metaphor, I think what he describes is more a perception problem for the party rather than a fundamental weakness. While the Bush-Rove era has put a premium on Orwellian organization and control of the 'message', we are beginning to see the problems when that message no longer unifies an entire party, yet is still pushed hard by the administration and their supporters. However, it's the Democrats whose varied party strands, when laid out the right way, actually have far more appeal. It may not present a singular message at all times, but what the party lacks in coherence it can make up for with greater political flexibility and majority public support on the issues that matter most to Americans.