On candidates for a humane and moral society

This is something I wrote back in, I think, 2005, following the awful crush of disappointment and anger that so many of us felt after the 2004 election.

I think what the Dems need to do is run candidates who bring the message with them that what the Republicans are doing to the country is morally wrong. Enriching the rich while leaving others to rot, sending people to kill and die without just cause, obstructing health care insurance reform, destroying the social safety net, torture --- these are all moral issues.

Humanity should be more important than corporate profits or political power. Compassion should be a higher priority than saving some money. Good citizenship does more good than correct political incorrectness.

Religion should be a private matter and empathy should be built into public policy. Human and civil rights should be our top priorities.

We need leaders who can take a People First message out to the people here and abroad and proclaim it loudly. We need someone who can get Americans out of this selfish mindset and make them feel like being good citizens, like pitching in for the cause.

The core values of a more generous and trusting society should be front and center. (This is what Arianna Huffington calls "going big" --- carrying a big moral message that draws people together, the way Bobby Kennedy did during the Viet Nam war.)

I think a lot of liberals have known in the backs of their minds that liberal policies tend to lead to that more trusting, engaged, decent society anyway, but not everyone knows this.

I think many "red" voters who really do care about people, but were sucked in by Bush's phony promise of morality, would go for a big message like this.