I'm rather uncomfortable with the raft of Republicans currently telling the Democrats what beliefs they have to change in order to have a chance to win national (and Senate) elections in the future, and my discomfort doesn't derive from a desire to step aside as our opponents destroy themselves. The primary advice I'd offer to the chorus is to say what you believe and believe what you say. If you still lose, well, that's democracy. Other good advice is to believe in something and learn how to clearly articulate it. But telling Democrats to adopt the rhetoric of the religious right is akin to telling Democrats who don't believe in their issues to find some way to obfuscate that fact. Democrats shouldn't be expected to change their beliefs just to win elections. Hasn't that been the centerpiece of our complaints about Kerry?
No, the Democrats owe it to themselves and our republic to hold to their beliefs, change them only if their conscience dictates that their prior beliefs are wrong, and articulate those beliefs so that the public can be well informed come election time. That's not so hard.
A corollary to this advice, is that Democrats should endeavor to understand the arguments of their opponents - just as Republicans should try to understand the Democrats. It's not enough to write-off ideological competitors as ignorant, superstitious, bigoted or marxist. And it doesn't serve democracy to attack the perceived motives of your opponents rather than addressing the substance of their ideas.
Jonah Goldberg touches on some of this in National Review Online, including a dive into the deep end of the raging debate over religion and anti-religion currently spreading through the blogosphere and op-ed pages. He sums up with the following advice to his adversaries:
But for those of you who think your grief and disappointment justify your pious nastiness and blame-shifting for your own failures: Do keep in mind that it is precisely such self-indulgence and arrogance that costs you elections.You may disagree with the conclusion, but advising Democrats about image is much better than advising them to abandon their deeply held beliefs.
