As already stated in this website’s mission statement, and throughout the site, the Democratic Party has no single message, no common ideals or policies that hold it together. Ask anyone what Republicans stand for, and they can tell you: strong military, personal responsibility, lower taxes, less regulation, pro-business, pro-life, pro gun ownership, Christian, pro-family values, and now, anti-gay marriage. There might be a few other notions thrown in there if you give them time to think about it, but these should roll off most people’s tongues rather easily.
Ask the same question about Democrats. You will often get blank stares and hemming and hawing. A few common answers will probably emerge, such as pro-abortion, anti-gun, and environmentalist. Some might answer they are the party of minorities, racial quotas, and anti-defense. But these responses will be more rare.
The difference should be clear. The Republican description is well-defined, covers several issues, and is positive. Responses for the question about Democrats are muddled, spotty, and often defined negatively. Even liberals often have a hard time defining the Democratic Party. If they do, it is based in their personal conviction of what the party should be. This is an extremely large problem for the Party.
If the Party cannot define itself, it gets defined by its opposition, which has already happened to the Democrats. If the Party is defined by the opposition, it has to fight off the negative impressions cast upon it, rather than spend its time casting a positive view of itself or a negative view of the other parties. You simply cannot win by fighting off attacks. At some point you have to counterattack or build up your image so that it will be harder for the opposition to tear down.
This lack of definition comes from several quarters, but primarily from the fact that the Democratic Party is very broad. It has a large tent, as some say, incorporating several different groups under this tents that often have incompatible views.
The same is true for liberals and progressives. Slight differences of opinions create a chasm in their organizational efforts. Why are there scores of environmental groups? Do we need 10 different organizations protecting wildlife? Much of this division is pride and ego, but much of it has to do with the liberal belief that we should let 1,000 flowers bloom. In other words, everyone’s opinion is as valid as everyone else’s.
The sharing of differing ideas is crucial for developing good policy, science, technological innovation, and problem solving. Politically is does not fly. If your Party cannot decide what its policies are, then you are rarely going to win elections. Progressives have to learn how to tell others in the party, including other progressives, that while they respect their opinions, those opinions will have to take a backseat on the public stage so the Democrats can focus their message and be more effective politically.
The bottom line is that people have a hard time understanding your message if you let everyone allegedly supporting a particular agenda say different things. A political party cannot convince the electorate it can govern if they cannot govern themselves and decide what policies they are actually promoting.