"I am a Reform Democrat!" -- Part II

Cross-posted from MyDD...

Over the past months the rallying cry in the run-up leading to the successful election of Howard Dean as the DNC party chairman has been "I am a reform Democrat!" In the context of a debate over leadership of the party machinery, the focus on this "reform" message was rightly on grass/net-roots tactics, infrastructure and a more inclusive, bottom-up leadership role in the party. And behind this rallying cry we've we won some important victories in electing Dean, the emergence of BlogPac as a net-based leader in the Social Security fight (tip of the hat, of course, to Josh Marshall, too), the State Party Blog Project etc. Organizationally, we are on the move.

However, as we move forward to the policy fights and party positioning leading up to the mid-terms next year it is imperative that we expand the "Reform Democrat" franchise to these arenas.

As we saw yesterday, there is a continuing tension between the reactionary wing of the party, which believes we can return to the glory days of honorable bipartisanship and the reality-based net community, which sees an evil which must be defeated and replaced. It is time to mobilize for this fight over what it means to be a Democrat, how we are going to position the party to attract a majority of voters -- in short, how can we be truly new, proud Democrats.

With this focus on building a new, forward-looking, broad-based party,

I am a Reform Democrat:

For the abolition of corporate lobbying corruption of our lawmakers

For a fair, progressive tax code that rewards hard work, not fat-cat contributors

For fair trade and the export of products, not jobs

For fiscal responsibility, not borrowing from foreigners and handing the bill to our children

For protection of consumers and workers

For the ability of every person to live by their own moral code -- Kansas doesn't have to be San Francisco and vis versa

For personal privacy and the right to be left alone from government interference in private lives

For tolerance of all cultures and lifestyles

For a strong military that honors service and keeps its promises to veterans

For an affirmative strategy that fights terrorists instead of creating new terrorist havens

For a return of our government to the people

Note this platform is not tax and spend liberalism -- it makes no big, new spending proposals -- but instead is aimed at creating a progressive populist positioning for the party that would position it as the vehicle to remove the corrupt GOP cabal that now controls the federal government. Most importantly, it's a platform/positioning that can play in all regions and doesn't require full progressive ideological commitment to join in the greater cause of returning control of the government to ordinary people.  Only the most die-hard corporate/DLC honks could have a problem with this.

This list is by no means complete, but it is an opening salvo:

I am a Reform Democrat!