Zell Miller Fails to Read the Full Lesson of `70's History

One of my favorite historians, Zell Miller, had a fascinating piece on the op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal the other day. In it he talks about the situation in which a Republican is in the White House; a former vice president wants to become the Democrat candidate for president, but is being challenged by a Senator from South Dakota. In this scenario, the Democratic Party is headed by a well-connected confidante of a former president. Other players on this stage are a governor from a small state; an unlikely black candidate from New York City; and a "prominent actress who tries to direct the Democratic Party from Hollywood." And then Historian Miller throws you a well-timed zinger. "And last but not least," he says, there is a YOUNG Ted Kennedy" And at this point Zell Miller points out this show was in 1972, not 2002, and the people included a former veep named Hubert Humphrey; a Senator from South Dakota named George McGovern; George Wallace, the governor; Shirley MacLaine the actress.

"So," Zell says, "any resemblance to Al Gore, John Kerry, Tom Daschle, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, Howard Dean, Al Sharpton, Terry McAuliffe and Barbra Streisand is purely coincidental." "The world threat at the time was communism, not terrorism, and this highly ambitious group of senators was sailing the ship and tacking hard to the left" Zell Miller goes on to seek a lesson from this history and says "no matter how laudable or well intended, the antiwar, peace-at-almost-any-price position is a loser for Democrats."

Zell Miller's story was very well done, but it strikes me he failed to read the full lesson of this history. The liberal, left-leaning stance is a loser for Democrats because it is a loser for all America. And so long as Democrats focus only on what keeps them in
power, like TV endorsements for the likes of Max Cleland and votes to keep Tom Daschle as the leader of the Senate, today's Democrats will continue to embrace what Zell calls "... the same old failed script that doomed us 30 years ago."

This is Gordon Sawyer, from a window on historic Green Street.