Democrats can’t win if they don’t play

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, August 26, 2006

BROKEN BOW, Neb. – Rodeo night at the Custer County Fair, and the Democratic Party booth looks as spiffy as the Republican one. “We’re Democrats!” proclaims a smiling Roy Crites, a candidate for county sheriff.

Democrats were rare sightings here not long ago, when the national party – observing that Republicans in Nebraska outnumber Democrats by three to two – had given up the state for red. Thanks in part to Howard Dean’s 50-state strategy, Democrats are now aggressively rebuilding a presence on the prairies, in the South and wherever else Republicans have had the upper hand.

It’s about time, but also good timing. Anger at Republican-dominated Washington now flares in places where the GOP once held a big home-field advantage. Nebraska, for example, was one of the few states that gave Bush an approval rating of over 50 percent. Since May, it’s gone below.

For Democrats, there’s opportunity in Nebraska. It is a conservative state, but retains a strong populist streak. Nebraskans are churchgoers who take morals seriously, but this is not the Bible Belt. People also tend to vote the person, rather than the party. Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson is a popular Democrat who seems headed for easy re-election. In sum, Democrats should be able to do more business here.

And so why haven’t they?

“We didn’t show up” is the explanation offered by Barry Rubin, executive director for the Nebraska Democratic Party. “I’ve had people tell me that they haven’t seen a Democratic Party person in their town for 20 years.”

Rubin sees job No. 1 as finding viable candidates for local office – “for town council, mayor or weed supervisor.” This puts a familiar face on the Democratic Party, he says, and helps groom talent for future races.

One recruit, Scott Kleeb, could very well set off a political earthquake. A rancher educated at Yale, Kleeb is running strong against Republican state legislator Adrian Smith in Nebraska’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District – the seventh most conservative district in the country. Republicans are so alarmed at the prospect of losing it that they flew out Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert to buck up Smith’s campaign.

If Democrats want to sink deeper roots in the heartland, they can’t just offer better candidates. They must bring the heartland onto their national stage.

Let’s face it, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Ted Kennedy sound like chalk on the blackboard, even to those who are used to them. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Democratic spokesperson weren’t always from California, New York or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? Why not try a Hoosier for a change, like Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana?

Looking toward the 2008 presidential race, Rubin thinks the region might warm to Democrats like Bayh, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson or Gen. Wesley Clark. Democrats will totally lose the region, he says, with “a John Kerry type of candidate and a presidential campaign that targets 15 states.”

What about Hillary Clinton? “Unmitigated disaster,” he says, “not that we dislike her.”

The party must also make social conservatives feel more at home. Opposition to abortion is strong in Nebraska, extending even to half the state’s Democrats. During the 2004 national convention, Rubin complains, Democrats didn’t showcase a single “pro-life” speaker, while Republicans put several pro-choice politicians on stage.

Hard to believe but true, the 50-state strategy is actually controversial among Democrats. National Party Chair Howard Dean has to fight the House and Senate campaign chairmen for the paltry $10 million a year that goes into the effort. They would rather spend the money on a few hotly contested races.

The question is: Are Democrats going to be so stupid as to not compete everywhere? Republicans pray the answer is yes. They are in a tough spot these days. Their best hope is that Democrats don’t show up.

Froma Harrop is a Providence Journal columnist. Contact her by writing to fharrop@projo.com.