Peter Beinart at Politics and Prose

*Conservatives tend to swing between isolationism and neo-imperialism.  In the next few years, it is likely that conservatives will swing back to isolationism.

*According to Beinart, that's a mistake.  The world isn't saying that it doesn't want America around, it's asking the question, "when do we get the REAL America back," the one that holds itself to a higher standard?

*On Joe Lieberman, Beinart expressed "profoundly ambivalent feelings."  On the one hand, Beinart believes that Lieberman is a "very honorable, courageous man" who was "a hero" on Bosnia, was "right about the Gulf War" in 1991, and "was right on Kosovo."  According to Beinart, Lieberman also was on the right course in his willingness to talk critically about "Hollywood and entertainment values" and "moral relativism." 

*On the downside, Beinart believes that Lieberman can be criticized for not having "learned enough" about the whole Iraq experience.  (Beinart notes that some on the Left have "learned too much" from Iraq - it would be interesting to hear more on this point).
*On the labor movement, Beinart talked about how unions used to link working class Americans to government.  Beinart made a fascinating point about how "we enter politics not as individuals but as groups."  He made another fascinating point about how membership in a union "changes peoples' views on economics AND culture," and specifically pointed out that the Teamsters Union had endorsed gay marriage! 

*Beinart feels that the main hope labor movement lies in the service sector, in areas that aren't easy to outsource.  What we need to do, he argues, is make it much easier for American service sector workers to organize.  We also need to empower Americans to compete in the global economy by guaranteeing them health care that moves from job to job. 

*Beinart made an important point, that if people are worried about losing their health care coverage, they will be far less likely to take economic risks, and that this is not good for small business development or for capitalism more broadly.

*If a Democrat is elected President, Beinart believes he or she should immediately take a symbolic act, admitting that we have a problem with Guantanamo Bay, inviting human rights groups in there, and creating a "compeltely transparent system."

*On domestic politics, Beinart believs a Democratic President should urge universities not to treat military recruiters like pariahs, by barring them from campus, even though Beinart personaly disagrees with "don't ask, don't tell."

*Beinart believes we need to "rebuild the institutions of the 1940s" - the IMF, World Bank, NATO - for today's world.  He adds that we need to empower those institutions to act early and forcefully in response to threats to international peace.

*Beinart argues that the "heart" of conservativism lies in the belief that government diminishes your freedom.  In contrast, liberals believe that the right kind of government action can make you MORE free.  For instance, if you're not educated or if you don't have health care, you're not going to have the opportunities you would have if you did.  According to Beinart, "the great story of liberalism is to save capitalism from itself."

*On Iraq, Beinart believes that "it may be too late" for that country.  However, Beinart feels that since the democratically elected government there hasn't given up yet, we shouldn't either.  In fact, our only hope in Iraq is that the government there succeed.  Also, Beinart argues that it would be "morally wrong for the United States to turn our backs unilaterally" on the Iraqis.  If we do and the Iraqi government falls, "its the deluge."

*The problem with Democrats is not "too much theory but too little."  Democrats need to define clearly what principles they stand for, what their vision of society is.  "We need to revive the liberal tradition."

*The Democratic Party needs to resolve the "dichotomy" between blue collar workers and "Northeast liberals."  According to Beinart, "if the Democratic Party isn't seen as the party that stands up for the 'little guy,' it collapses."  Bill Clinton was able to do this, to win the white working class, and he was elected President twice.  Gore and Kerry were not able to do this effectively, and they each lost. 

*According to Beinart, paraphrasing Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the Democratic Party cannot be run "by editors of the Harvard Crimson."  Democrats need to "offer a vision" to working class Americans, a compelling narrative that ties the "reality of peoples' lives" to a broader story of what's going on in the world economy and how that affects them.

*American needs to have a strong military around the world, because "we are the guarantors of last resort."  We need to be ready to intervene in situations like Darfur or Rwanda, preferably along with allies with the "legitimacy of international institutions" backing us up.

*On "nation building," Beinart makes the point that in Iraq, we had "no capacity" to do it effectively.  That's very unfortunate, because even though nation building has a bad name right now, "we will have to do [it] again in the future."  And that capacity can't just be in the military, it has to be in the State Department, the Treasury Department, etc.

Overall, this was a fascinating talk by an extremely articulate, informed person.  There were lots of great questions as well coming from the crowd of 75 or so.  No doubt, it's events like this that make me happy to live near a great city like Washington, DC.

Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign.  The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.

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