RNC Chairman Michael Steele managed some successful party leadership when he convinced his fellow Republicans that it was a poor idea to try and rename the Democratic Party the Democrat Socialist Party. It was an idea that most people who had an IQ over that of a kangaroo knew was a bad idea, but one never knows these days. Instead they will condemn a Democratic march towards Socialism.
What made this effort so incredibly foolish becomes evident on several levels.
The philosopher/theologian Dallas Willard has a classic and wise statement. "The system we have now is perfectly designed to produce the results we are now getting." His statement, in its totality, is very simple. If you want different results, you must change the system. Most failures are systemic as are most successes. But when a successful system fails, it fails and it must be changed.
The move to change the name of the Democratic Party failed to pass and would have been an embarrassing effort for these reasons.
The first is systemic. The system the party has been using, of late, is a tried and proven failure. It is the relentless use of cheap labels in an attempt to define others. Rush does it all the time. The McCain campaign did it. The RNC does it. Congressional elections did it and the result has been a huge failure. When people are paying high prices at the gas pumps, are worried about their jobs, their houses have fallen in value (or they have lost them), and their 401 K's are now 201 K's, labels mean nothing. Nothing. Steele, I think, actually sees this and he's trying to move a party that has placed its faith in labels, into having faith in ideas.
The second reason is definitional. The word 'Socialist' has little meaning for younger generations. For people who grew up during the Cold War, the word Socialist has clearly defined meaning. A generation of young adults has little regard or little concern for this word. The phrase' Socialized Medicine' is thrown around like it's this monster, but the reality is that people who have no health insurance do not care what anyone calls something that will get them health care is named. The term Socialism is not a word that the average American can really define any longer. It is difficult to get lathered up over a label you cannot define.
The third reason is personal. People do not vote for ideologies, they vote for people. Here is the news flash. Many people did not vote for Barack Obama because of his ideology. They voted for HIM. They liked him and had confidence in HIM. And, the same was true for Ronald Reagan. Most people who voted for Reagan didn't vote for his ideology, they voted for HIM. They had confidence in HIM. There are political junkies who vote for positions and ideology, but a significant number of people vote the person they like better. Voting is personal.
Michael Steele gets mocked a great deal and even vilified. He saved his party from a group of people who had IQ's lower than kangaroos. This was a large victory for Michael Steele.
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