Stand by your agenda

A poster on Table Talk named Ox had a superb point that I want to repeat:

Dean says that when we hold up the Democratic agenda for America against the Republican agenda, the Democratic agenda wins every time. All I see him doing is holding up the Democratic agenda. The question I have, which is just a variation on Mary's last post, is do we believe in our agenda for America or don't we?

When a party's leaders publicly raise questions about whether the party's agenda will appeal to the American people the underlying message is that those leaders don't believe in that agenda. The voters then have to ask themselves, "If they don't believe in their agenda, why should I?"

That's what Dean meant when he talked about representing the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. It's not a  statement of advocacy for leftism but a statement that he believes the Democratic party is simply, fundamentally, better for the American people than is the Republican party.

If the party's leaders can't say at least that much then they should not be allowed to retain their leadership positions.