Dollywood vs. Hollywood
November 28, 2004

Republished with permission from the Charlotte Observer. Copyright owned by the Charlotte Observer.

The following appeared in the Charlotte Observer on November 28, 2004.

DOLLYWOOD VS. HOLLYWOOD;
EX-S.C. GOVERNOR URGES NATIONAL DEMOCRATS TO LEARN FROM STATES

JIM HODGES, FORMER GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA (1999-2003)

From Jim Hodges of Columbia, former governor of South Carolina (1999-2003) and partner in the Charlotte law firm Kennedy Covington Lobdell and Hickman:

My Democratic Party has now lost seven of the 10 presidential elections since 1964. While President Clinton defied the trend in 1992 and '96, in neither of those elections did he win a majority of the nation's votes. What's wrong with the nation's oldest political party? What can be done to fix it?

As someone who won statewide in a "deep red" state in 1998 and lost four years later, I think our party needs fundamental changes. Among them:

Stop responding to Republicans on their terms. Republicans use talk radio, FOX News, religious broadcasting and a solid grassroots network to shape the national debate. In the middle of a war, they managed to focus attention on gay marriage. It may be in Democrats' genetic makeup to intellectually engage and thoughtfully debate policy whenever possible, but debating Republicans' issues using their language will never advance our issues. Neither will adopting their agenda.

Make the case that domestic policies are a national security issue. The policies we Democrats support (better education for all children, affordable high-quality health care, a progressive tax system, accessible worker training, etc.) make our country stronger, our economy more resilient and our people more determined and unified to face and defeat terror and other threats from abroad.

We need to talk about our agenda from a moral perspective as well. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy advanced their agendas with inspiring language rich in biblical references. We must do that again for causes as great as equitable school funding and affordable prescription drugs.

Develop a better "brand." Polls show a clear majority of Americans support the Democratic Party's positions on issues, but not our "brand" as a party. Too many of our candidates must spend critical time and resources explaining why they're not like the national Democrats. That's not healthy for a political party. We need to boldly test new ideas and new ways to present our positions.

Discover humility. It would be refreshing for party leaders to acknowledge that Democrats have lost touch with the concerns of middle-class and working-class Americans and enter into a new covenant (see Bill Clinton) with the people focused on better education, health care and job protection. Americans are searching for a party that understands the concerns expressed around family dinner tables every night. We can be that party. It starts with a dramatic statement that we're changing our focus to the concerns of people in middle America - the same folks Roosevelt and Truman championed.

Look to our successes in the states for guidance. In North Carolina, Gov. Mike Easley won re-election the same day President Bush was winning big on the same ballot. Easley's brand is that of a tough former prosecutor and former attorney general who responsibly balanced budgets while shooting straight with the people in a language that everyday folks understand. He is adept at engaging Republicans on his terms - something the more intellectual wing of our party doesn't seem to get. Easley is far more Dollywood than Hollywood, and so is America.

Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia won in a red state in 2001. So did governors Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Janet Napolitano of Arizona in 2002 and Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana in 2003. It can be done nationally with new people and better ways of communicating our positions with the voters.

As a Democrat living in a medium-sized city in the middle of red state country, I can tell you that we're hungry for new faces and new ideas from the national Democratic Party leadership. Cosmetic changes won't do. We must make dramatic changes in key leadership positions, language and focus if we are to again enjoy electoral success.

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