Originally posted May 28, 2008.

Don’t miss the smart essay by Mark Schmitt in the American Prospect. In his evaluation of the sorry state of the GOP in general and John McCain’s campaign specifically, he hits the nail on the head. The Republicans are waging a new culture war: it’s true, red-blooded “Americans” against that which is fundamentally “un-American”:

The GOP’s attack on “liberals” was always an attack on people not quite like “Americans”–secular, cosmopolitan, educated, egalitarian. When Republicans went after Michael Dukakis for his policies on crime, they weren’t just saying his policies were bad. They were saying, he’s not like us; he’s a cold-blooded, academic mush-brain who wouldn’t give his kids a whupping if they needed it.

The politics of American-ness needs to be cloaked in policy, simply because it’s unpalatable otherwise. Without the helpful crutches of symbolic issues like welfare, crime, and immigration, the raw edges of the politics of people-not-like-us would be a little too uncomfortable, and not just for those of us who fall into one or more of the “pluribus” categories. But thanks to the unlikely trio of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and John McCain, the usual game is impossible. Clinton took welfare and crime off the political agenda. Bush made global belligerence and eternal tax cuts unpalatable. And McCain’s inconvenient position on immigration takes away what Republicans last fall were dreaming would be their silver bullet. As a result, with Americans saying they are willing to pay more taxes for health care and better schools, with Republicans at a disadvantage in the polls on every single issue, there is no respectable costume in which to dress up identity politics.

Traditionally, the phrase “identity politics” has referred to the Democratic coalition’s caucuses, interest groups, and competitive claims of wrongs to be righted and rights to be granted. Identity politics on the left, according to this very conventional wisdom, opened the door to an alternative politics of national identity on the right. And yet in 2008, the Democratic presidential nomination battle between an African American and a woman has not exacerbated left identity politics but brought it to a peaceful close. Obama is not Jesse Jackson; Hillary Clinton is not former Rep. Pat Schroeder. He chose to campaign on national reconciliation, she on bread-and-butter economics and her expertise on military affairs. Whereas McCain–a man whose known positions on the war and on the economy are deeply unpopular, whose other positions are endlessly shifting, whose party and ideology are rejected–is recast entirely in terms of his biography, his honor, his character, his American-ness.

It’s obvious that conservatives are going after Obama via the new “identity politics”, hence the attacks on his lapel pins, the pledge of allegiance rumors, Michelle Obama’s ProudGate, Obama’s lack of military service, Rev. Wright’s “G-damn America”, and disdain towards his multicultural upbringing and foreign-sounding name.

However, Schmitt stops short of spelling out how Democrats can defeat the untrue “Obama is un-American” meme. Part of the answer certainly, is imaging, cosmetics, and argument framing. Democratic values ARE American values, and Democrats are no less patriotic than the GOP. Our patriotism needs to be front and center in how we present the campaign.

A Rovian campaign tactic is beneath the Democrats’ dignity. It simply will not do to imply that the Republicans’ patriotism is their greatest strength, and therefore attack them as unpatriotic. Therefore, I suggest Obama should tackle this strategy by doing what comes naturally to him: talking to Americans as the adults we are. Explain to them what he believes patriotism really means; explain his opposition to McCain’s agenda because of how damaging it is to America; show his anger towards attempts to impugn his own or others’ patriotism. Obama should also select a running mate with a strong American story to tell: for example, John Edwards or Jim Webb.

Finally, I would suggest to Obama add to his campaign some sort of “Take Back America” tour. He could spend three or four days visiting famous historic sites — Bunker Hill, the Liberty Bell, Mt. Rushmore, and so forth — and speak to the challenge of lifting America up again and erasing the dark stain on our spirit resulting from the failed policies of the past.

Technorati Tags: America, Barack Obama, GOP, identity, politics