In the Oct. 5 opinion section, Judy Zone’s letter and Tressie McMillan Cottom’s piece lambasted our federal administration’s retribution-focused, autocratic and corrupt governance and its use of incessant lies, bullying, dehumanization and “flooding the field” with bombast and likely-illegal executive orders. Alas, railing against these tactics alone will be insufficient to effect change. Voters need to hear from potential candidates who can and will lead differently, how they will do so, and toward what goals.
Also, Jamelle Bouie offered perspectives that might guide Democrats, or anyone, with the wisdom and courage to lead us in better directions, though I believe he missed a key reason the Democrats lost last November — many voters felt their concerns were not being heard and that the administration didn’t care and was smugly plodding along, thus they saw little hope in a presidential candidate who couldn’t think of single thing to do differently.
To offer an alternative, as with Bouie’s example of Lincoln, Democrats must be steadfast and guided by principles. They must acknowledge their failures, as well as Republican ideas and efforts that are good/positive for our nation. They need to hear and balance the compelling, and often conflicting, priorities of our myriad economic, educational, geographic, political, cultural and ethnic/racial divisions. They must earn respect by honestly addressing each constituency, explaining their policies and how they expect them to play out, without pandering. They will need to resurrect and advance their numerous accomplishments (including environmental protection, infrastructure strengthening, research support, and the ACA). And they must prove their mettle and the value of true leadership.
Given the state of our media, discussed by Cottom, getting these messages across will be very difficult and will require skills rarely demonstrated by current Democratic leaders. Democrats must offer compelling alternatives — we are desperate for wise, competent, selfless, inspired leadership.
Charles Norlin, Salt Lake City
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible